WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.860 Imagine a military manual that is just so strategically 00:00:04.860 --> 00:00:07.500 brilliant that it fundamentally revolutionized 00:00:07.500 --> 00:00:11.439 an entire nation's defense. offered by a royal 00:00:11.439 --> 00:00:13.800 prince who was infamous for these terrifying, 00:00:13.800 --> 00:00:16.679 murderous rampages. Right, a really dark history. 00:00:16.899 --> 00:00:19.960 Exactly. And now imagine that despite its massive 00:00:19.960 --> 00:00:22.859 historical impact, like exactly zero physical 00:00:22.859 --> 00:00:25.420 copies of this masterpiece exist anywhere in 00:00:25.420 --> 00:00:27.620 the world today. Literally a phantom text. It 00:00:27.620 --> 00:00:30.039 is a complete phantom, yet we know precisely 00:00:30.039 --> 00:00:32.100 what is written on every single missing page. 00:00:32.719 --> 00:00:35.159 Welcome to the Deep Dive. Glad to be here. For 00:00:35.159 --> 00:00:37.439 you listening today, our mission is to explore 00:00:37.439 --> 00:00:40.320 the Muya Sinbo, which is the new compendium of 00:00:40.320 --> 00:00:43.420 martial arts published in Korea in 1759. Yeah, 00:00:43.420 --> 00:00:46.020 we are unpacking a historical mystery today that 00:00:46.020 --> 00:00:48.679 feels honestly like a true crime thriller crossed 00:00:48.679 --> 00:00:52.340 with a martial arts epic. It really does, because 00:00:52.340 --> 00:00:54.240 the contradictions surrounding this text make 00:00:54.240 --> 00:00:56.640 it one of the most compelling documents in military 00:00:56.640 --> 00:00:59.240 history. Oh, absolutely. I mean, we are looking 00:00:59.240 --> 00:01:02.259 at a text that totally redefined 18th century 00:01:02.259 --> 00:01:05.469 combat. right? But it was born from the mind 00:01:05.469 --> 00:01:07.909 of a deeply troubled ruler, and then it just 00:01:07.909 --> 00:01:09.549 completely vanished from the physical record. 00:01:09.549 --> 00:01:12.569 It's just gone. Right. But to understand the 00:01:12.569 --> 00:01:15.909 sheer magnitude of what this missing 1759 manual 00:01:15.909 --> 00:01:18.109 accomplished, we really have to look backward 00:01:18.109 --> 00:01:20.469 first. OK, let's unpack this. Yeah, because the 00:01:20.469 --> 00:01:22.989 Korean military didn't just wake up one day and 00:01:22.989 --> 00:01:26.500 decide to you know, meticulously catalog their 00:01:26.500 --> 00:01:29.159 combat techniques for the sake of scholarship. 00:01:29.459 --> 00:01:31.000 Right. They weren't just bored in a library. 00:01:31.260 --> 00:01:33.459 Exactly. They were forced into it by sheer survival. 00:01:33.900 --> 00:01:36.959 We need to set the stage with the catalyst for 00:01:36.959 --> 00:01:39.299 all of this frantic military organization. And 00:01:39.299 --> 00:01:41.379 that would be the Imgen War, right? Stretching 00:01:41.379 --> 00:01:45.579 from 1592 to 1598. Yes. This was just a catastrophic 00:01:45.579 --> 00:01:47.439 conflict for the Korean National Army. I mean, 00:01:47.540 --> 00:01:50.159 they were caught entirely off guard by the invasions. 00:01:50.379 --> 00:01:54.319 Which exposed some pretty fatal flaws. Oh, systemic 00:01:54.319 --> 00:01:57.299 fatal shortcomings. in their national defense. 00:01:57.780 --> 00:02:01.019 Their existing military structures, their troop 00:02:01.019 --> 00:02:04.280 formations, and their tactical playbooks simply 00:02:04.280 --> 00:02:06.640 crumbled against the realities of this specific 00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:10.740 conflict. Wow. Yeah. The devastating losses forced 00:02:10.740 --> 00:02:14.099 King Ciancio, who ruled during this period, to 00:02:14.099 --> 00:02:17.379 initiate these sweeping military reforms. He 00:02:17.379 --> 00:02:19.460 realized they needed a completely new approach 00:02:19.460 --> 00:02:22.389 to training and combat. So this is like a professional 00:02:22.389 --> 00:02:24.629 sports team getting absolutely crushed in the 00:02:24.629 --> 00:02:27.129 playoffs, realizing their entire foundational 00:02:27.129 --> 00:02:30.030 strategy is totally obsolete and completely rewriting 00:02:30.030 --> 00:02:31.930 their playbook based on the team that just beat 00:02:31.930 --> 00:02:33.849 them. That's a great way to put it. Or in this 00:02:33.849 --> 00:02:35.889 historical case, looking to the allies who stepped 00:02:35.889 --> 00:02:38.270 in to help. Right, exactly. So following the 00:02:38.270 --> 00:02:40.669 Imjin War, King Seon -jo ordered his military 00:02:40.669 --> 00:02:43.550 leadership to adopt the successful training models 00:02:43.550 --> 00:02:46.969 of a renowned Chinese general named Kiji Guang. 00:02:47.099 --> 00:02:49.979 Okay. And they synthesized these foreign tactics 00:02:49.979 --> 00:02:52.460 into a foundational text. This was published 00:02:52.460 --> 00:02:55.479 in 1610, and it was called the Muyebo, which 00:02:55.479 --> 00:02:57.719 translates to martial arts illustrations. Martial 00:02:57.719 --> 00:03:00.780 arts illustrations. Yeah. And this manual distilled 00:03:00.780 --> 00:03:03.800 their new tactical doctoring into six highly 00:03:03.800 --> 00:03:07.020 specific foundational skills. Right. And rather 00:03:07.020 --> 00:03:09.500 than just listing these weapons, Paint a picture 00:03:09.500 --> 00:03:12.139 for us. Like, how did these six skills actually 00:03:12.139 --> 00:03:14.699 function together on a 17th century battlefield? 00:03:14.960 --> 00:03:17.379 Well, they operated as a tightly coordinated 00:03:17.379 --> 00:03:20.819 unit, really engineered to counter enemy infantry. 00:03:21.340 --> 00:03:24.659 So first, you had the Dune Pei. The Dune Pei. 00:03:24.740 --> 00:03:27.039 Right, which is a large shield used by soldiers 00:03:27.039 --> 00:03:29.460 at the very front of the formation. They were 00:03:29.460 --> 00:03:31.939 there to absorb the initial shock of an enemy 00:03:31.939 --> 00:03:35.039 charge. Got it. And right behind them stood soldiers 00:03:35.039 --> 00:03:38.560 wielding the Naxian. This is a fascinating weapon, 00:03:38.580 --> 00:03:41.300 translated as a thorn spear. A thorn spear? Wait, 00:03:41.300 --> 00:03:43.039 so like... Yeah, it wasn't just a pointy stick, 00:03:43.099 --> 00:03:45.379 it was a multi -branched pole arm, literally 00:03:45.379 --> 00:03:48.199 covered in iron thorns. Oh, wow. The goal was 00:03:48.199 --> 00:03:50.719 to actually entangle and trap the enemy's swords 00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:52.819 in the branches. Okay, so the shield bearer takes 00:03:52.819 --> 00:03:55.180 the hit, the thorn spear traps the attacker's 00:03:55.180 --> 00:03:57.639 weapon, and then what? Then the offensive line 00:03:57.639 --> 00:04:00.639 strikes. You had soldiers with the jang chang, 00:04:00.800 --> 00:04:03.539 which is a traditional long spear, and they would 00:04:03.539 --> 00:04:05.460 deliver the fatal thrust from a safe distance. 00:04:05.740 --> 00:04:07.919 Right, while the enemy is tangled up. Exactly. 00:04:08.319 --> 00:04:10.620 And for closer, heavier engagements, they utilize 00:04:10.620 --> 00:04:13.439 the Dengpa, a three -pronged spear designed to 00:04:13.439 --> 00:04:15.479 catch a blade and instantly counter -strike. 00:04:15.780 --> 00:04:18.839 It sounds so systematic. It was. And rounding 00:04:18.839 --> 00:04:22.139 out the unit, you had the Ganbong, a heavy long 00:04:22.139 --> 00:04:25.300 staff for blunt force trauma, and the Song Sudo. 00:04:25.480 --> 00:04:28.480 a massive two -handed sword. Two -handed, so 00:04:28.480 --> 00:04:30.959 really heavy. Very heavy. It was capable of breaking 00:04:30.959 --> 00:04:33.639 right through enemy pole arms through sheer kinetic 00:04:33.639 --> 00:04:35.980 energy. It's basically an interlocking machine, 00:04:36.220 --> 00:04:38.740 like every weapon covers the vulnerability of 00:04:38.740 --> 00:04:40.800 the weapon next to it. Precisely. But I have 00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:44.720 a question here. If they already completely overhauled 00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:47.579 their military playbook and perfected this interlocking 00:04:47.579 --> 00:04:50.199 machine in 1610, why did they need to invent 00:04:50.199 --> 00:04:52.759 a brand new one a century and a half later? If 00:04:52.759 --> 00:04:55.100 we connect this to the bigger picture, military 00:04:55.100 --> 00:04:57.639 strategy is a living, breathing entity. Right. 00:04:57.800 --> 00:05:00.279 What worked flawlessly in 1610 was a massive 00:05:00.279 --> 00:05:03.379 leap forward at the time. But, you know, warfare, 00:05:03.680 --> 00:05:05.620 metallurgical technology, and cultural exchanges 00:05:05.620 --> 00:05:08.319 continually evolve. The enemy adapts. Always. 00:05:08.660 --> 00:05:10.459 Enemies adapt to your interlocking machines, 00:05:10.500 --> 00:05:13.230 so you must adapt again. By the time we reached 00:05:13.230 --> 00:05:15.509 the 18th century, specifically the reign of King 00:05:15.509 --> 00:05:20.350 Young Jo from 1724 to 1776, those six original 00:05:20.350 --> 00:05:23.110 skills simply weren't sufficient to handle the 00:05:23.110 --> 00:05:25.720 diverse threats of the era. New combat environments, 00:05:25.899 --> 00:05:28.180 new weapons. Exactly. The military desperately 00:05:28.180 --> 00:05:30.300 needed an expansion. Which brings us directly 00:05:30.300 --> 00:05:32.560 to the author of our phantom manual, the Moya 00:05:32.560 --> 00:05:35.139 Senbo. And this is where the story shifts from, 00:05:35.139 --> 00:05:37.699 you know, military logistics into something much 00:05:37.699 --> 00:05:40.379 darker. Yeah, it takes a really grim turn. Because 00:05:40.379 --> 00:05:42.800 the author tasked with this expansion was King 00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:45.000 Young Jo's heir apparent, Prince Sato. Right. 00:05:45.279 --> 00:05:49.430 Prince Sato is an incredibly complex and frankly, 00:05:50.050 --> 00:05:53.209 tragic figure. In 1759, he takes the initiative 00:05:53.209 --> 00:05:55.589 to compile the Moyes and Go. He's the one who 00:05:55.589 --> 00:05:58.470 adds to it. Yes. He retains those six original 00:05:58.470 --> 00:06:01.769 skills from the 1610 manual, but he conceptualizes 00:06:01.769 --> 00:06:04.490 and adds 12 entirely new skills to the curriculum. 00:06:04.930 --> 00:06:07.610 It dramatically expands the King's military repertoire. 00:06:07.930 --> 00:06:10.350 Yet the historical record regarding Prince Sado's 00:06:10.350 --> 00:06:12.990 personal life is horrifying. It really is. We 00:06:12.990 --> 00:06:16.490 aren't talking about a disciplined stoic scholar 00:06:16.490 --> 00:06:19.480 quietly writing in a palace library. The sources 00:06:19.480 --> 00:06:22.319 detail that Prince Cerdo suffered from profound, 00:06:22.899 --> 00:06:24.860 severe mental illness. Oh, very severe. This 00:06:24.860 --> 00:06:27.399 manifested in horrific, unpredictable, violent 00:06:27.399 --> 00:06:30.360 outbreaks. He was known to randomly kill and 00:06:30.360 --> 00:06:32.399 assault people within the palace walls. Yes. 00:06:32.519 --> 00:06:35.740 I mean, he was a daily terror to the very people 00:06:35.740 --> 00:06:38.079 he was theoretically preparing to defend. It 00:06:38.079 --> 00:06:41.420 creates a staggering historical paradox. On one 00:06:41.420 --> 00:06:43.720 hand, you have a mind succumbing to chaotic, 00:06:44.019 --> 00:06:46.920 violent impulses, destabilizing the entire royal 00:06:46.920 --> 00:06:49.319 court. Right. But on the other hand, that same 00:06:49.319 --> 00:06:52.839 mind possessed the rigorous mathematical focus 00:06:52.839 --> 00:06:55.420 required to meticulously categorize, organize, 00:06:55.600 --> 00:06:58.100 and expand a highly technical system of martial 00:06:58.100 --> 00:07:00.459 arts. It's so hard to grasp. We often struggle 00:07:00.459 --> 00:07:02.959 to reconcile such destructive madness with such 00:07:02.959 --> 00:07:05.860 constructive genius in a single historical figure. 00:07:06.060 --> 00:07:07.839 And his actions eventually crossed a line where 00:07:07.839 --> 00:07:10.000 the kingdom could no longer look away or manage 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:13.459 his illness. Yeah, the situation became entirely 00:07:13.459 --> 00:07:15.970 untenable. The threat he posed to the stability 00:07:15.970 --> 00:07:18.610 of the state was so extreme that his own father, 00:07:18.949 --> 00:07:21.709 King Young Cho, was forced into an unprecedented 00:07:21.709 --> 00:07:24.350 and tragic decision. Just a brutal outcome. Very. 00:07:24.889 --> 00:07:28.829 In 1762, merely three years after Prince Sado 00:07:28.829 --> 00:07:31.610 compiled this vital revolutionary martial arts 00:07:31.610 --> 00:07:34.720 manual, he was executed by suffocation. He's 00:07:34.720 --> 00:07:38.259 only 27 years old. 27. I mean he drafts the blueprint 00:07:38.259 --> 00:07:40.620 for their entire national defense and three years 00:07:40.620 --> 00:07:44.079 later he is executed for his madness at 27. It's 00:07:44.079 --> 00:07:46.439 a tragic timeline. But the ultimate twist of 00:07:46.439 --> 00:07:49.199 this entire saga is the fate of the book itself. 00:07:49.399 --> 00:07:51.959 Yes. The Moisimbo, this brilliant compilation 00:07:51.959 --> 00:07:55.199 born from tragedy, it just does not exist. Not 00:07:55.199 --> 00:07:57.879 a single physical copy has survived to the modern 00:07:57.879 --> 00:08:00.839 day. It is entirely lost to history. Which naturally 00:08:00.839 --> 00:08:02.899 presents modern historians with a massive problem. 00:08:03.120 --> 00:08:04.699 Right, and here's where it gets really interesting. 00:08:04.899 --> 00:08:06.879 I have to express some heavy skepticism on behalf 00:08:06.879 --> 00:08:08.339 of you listening right now. Okay, let's hear 00:08:08.339 --> 00:08:10.939 it. If there are absolutely zero surviving copies 00:08:10.939 --> 00:08:13.660 of this book, how can any historian definitively 00:08:13.660 --> 00:08:16.220 state what was inside it? Like, is the academic 00:08:16.220 --> 00:08:18.800 community just making educated guesses? That's 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:20.720 a fair question. Are they just looking at the 00:08:20.720 --> 00:08:23.079 weapons of the era and filling in the blanks 00:08:23.079 --> 00:08:24.959 of what an 18th century prince might have written 00:08:24.959 --> 00:08:27.779 down? It is a vital question to ask any time 00:08:27.779 --> 00:08:30.839 a historian makes a definitive claim about a 00:08:30.839 --> 00:08:33.519 missing primary source. But what's fascinating 00:08:33.519 --> 00:08:36.620 here is the methodology. It is not guesswork. 00:08:36.759 --> 00:08:39.240 OK, so how do they do it? Historians utilized 00:08:39.240 --> 00:08:42.320 a rigorous process of historical reverse engineering. 00:08:42.980 --> 00:08:45.779 It's effectively a process of subtraction using 00:08:45.779 --> 00:08:48.100 the text that do survive on either side of the 00:08:48.100 --> 00:08:49.759 missing manual. Walk us through that mathematical 00:08:49.759 --> 00:08:51.899 deduction. How do we read the shadow of a missing 00:08:51.899 --> 00:08:54.789 book? Well, we established our timeline. We know 00:08:54.789 --> 00:08:57.889 the 1610 manual, the Ouijaibo, contained exactly 00:08:57.889 --> 00:08:59.830 six skills. That is our starting point. Right, 00:08:59.929 --> 00:09:02.350 the shield, the thorn spear, the six. Exactly. 00:09:02.809 --> 00:09:05.470 Now we jump forward past our missing 1759 book 00:09:05.470 --> 00:09:07.710 to a highly comprehensive manual published later 00:09:07.710 --> 00:09:10.870 in 1795. This one is called the Muidobotamji. 00:09:11.230 --> 00:09:14.870 Okay, so 1795. And we have intact copies of this 00:09:14.870 --> 00:09:19.149 1795 text. It contains exactly 24 martial systems. 00:09:19.389 --> 00:09:22.769 So we have six skills in 1610 and 24 skills in 00:09:22.769 --> 00:09:26.090 1795. Yes. And the historical records from 1795 00:09:26.090 --> 00:09:28.690 explicitly state what new elements were being 00:09:28.690 --> 00:09:30.750 added to the curriculum at that specific time 00:09:30.750 --> 00:09:33.490 to reach the number 24. Oh, so they documented 00:09:33.490 --> 00:09:37.110 the new additions. Exactly. The 1795 manual focused 00:09:37.110 --> 00:09:40.350 heavily on adding horseback techniques. It took 00:09:40.350 --> 00:09:43.549 four existing weapons. The flag spear, the twin 00:09:43.549 --> 00:09:46.580 saber is the moon knife in the flail. and created 00:09:46.580 --> 00:09:48.679 specific disciplines for wielding them from the 00:09:48.679 --> 00:09:50.860 saddle. Got it. They also added general horsemanship 00:09:50.860 --> 00:09:54.299 and a polo -like game. That is six new equestrian 00:09:54.299 --> 00:09:56.220 focus additions. Okay, let me do the math here. 00:09:56.220 --> 00:09:59.159 So we take the 24 total systems from the 1795 00:09:59.159 --> 00:10:01.840 book. Right. We subtract the six original skills 00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:04.299 from the six tier 10 book. We are down to 18. 00:10:04.799 --> 00:10:07.340 Then we subtract the six horseback and polo skills 00:10:07.340 --> 00:10:10.399 that we know for a fact were added in 1795. And 00:10:10.399 --> 00:10:12.139 what does that leave you with? That leaves exactly 00:10:12.139 --> 00:10:15.299 12 skills unaccounted for. Exactly. Those 12 00:10:15.299 --> 00:10:17.639 remaining skills are the precise additions made 00:10:17.639 --> 00:10:22.379 by Prince Sano in 1759. The Mui Simbo forms the 00:10:22.379 --> 00:10:25.639 exact, mathematically perfect, missing puzzle 00:10:25.639 --> 00:10:28.500 piece bridging the two surviving texts. That 00:10:28.500 --> 00:10:31.559 is incredibly satisfying to realize. Right. We 00:10:31.559 --> 00:10:34.220 know the contents because we can isolate the 00:10:34.220 --> 00:10:36.679 exact variable that changed between the 17th 00:10:36.679 --> 00:10:39.600 and late 18th centuries. It completely validates 00:10:39.600 --> 00:10:42.179 the entire premise of the text. So since we know 00:10:42.179 --> 00:10:44.919 exactly what these 12 missing skills are, let's 00:10:44.919 --> 00:10:47.379 look at the actual martial arts techniques Prince 00:10:47.379 --> 00:10:49.559 Sato was codifying. The terminology he chose 00:10:49.559 --> 00:10:52.379 is vital here. Prinzano originated the term sipal 00:10:52.379 --> 00:10:54.940 -gi, which translates to the 18 fighting methods 00:10:54.940 --> 00:10:57.659 or 18 warriors tools. 18 fighting methods? Yeah. 00:10:57.840 --> 00:10:59.820 This encompasses the six original skills plus 00:10:59.820 --> 00:11:01.799 his 12 new additions. But the number 18 wasn't 00:11:01.799 --> 00:11:04.179 just a coincidence of the math, was it? Not at 00:11:04.179 --> 00:11:06.720 all. The number deliberately mirrors the established 00:11:06.720 --> 00:11:09.379 Chinese concept of the 18 arms of Wushu. Oh, 00:11:09.419 --> 00:11:11.940 interesting. Yeah. Prinzaforta was purposefully 00:11:11.940 --> 00:11:14.720 structuring the Korean military curriculum to 00:11:14.720 --> 00:11:18.039 parallel a highly respected, deeply historical 00:11:18.039 --> 00:11:21.750 Chinese martial framework. He systematically 00:11:21.750 --> 00:11:24.730 classified these 18 skills into three distinct 00:11:24.730 --> 00:11:28.250 categories of bodily mechanics, thrusting, slicing, 00:11:28.590 --> 00:11:30.669 and striking. Let's dive into the fascinating 00:11:30.669 --> 00:11:34.409 variety of those 12 new skills he added. I mean, 00:11:34.470 --> 00:11:36.929 he includes the jupjungsang, which is a long 00:11:36.929 --> 00:11:40.149 bamboo spear, and the gichang. Right, the flag 00:11:40.149 --> 00:11:42.509 spear. Yeah, a spear heavily weighted with a 00:11:42.509 --> 00:11:44.450 flag attached to confuse the enemy's vision. 00:11:44.909 --> 00:11:47.009 But the blade variety is where you really see 00:11:47.009 --> 00:11:49.450 how highly specialized their combat environments 00:11:49.450 --> 00:11:51.570 were becoming. The environmental adaptation is 00:11:51.570 --> 00:11:53.690 brilliant. You can see how weapons were tailored 00:11:53.690 --> 00:11:55.970 not just for open battlefields, but for highly 00:11:55.970 --> 00:11:58.570 specific tactical scenarios. A perfect example 00:11:58.409 --> 00:12:00.990 from the sources is the yado. It's described 00:12:00.990 --> 00:12:03.429 as a sharp sword featuring a single edged blade 00:12:03.429 --> 00:12:05.750 about three feet long utilized with one hand. 00:12:05.789 --> 00:12:08.070 Yeah. But the key detail is who it was issued 00:12:08.070 --> 00:12:11.330 to. It was favored by foot soldiers and specifically 00:12:11.330 --> 00:12:14.100 by sailors. Right, naval combat. Because if you 00:12:14.100 --> 00:12:17.320 are fighting in the incredibly cramped, chaotic, 00:12:17.580 --> 00:12:20.700 rigging -filled space of a ship's deck, you literally 00:12:20.700 --> 00:12:23.419 cannot swing a massive two -handed sword. You 00:12:23.419 --> 00:12:26.039 need a fast, agile, one -handed three -foot blade 00:12:26.039 --> 00:12:28.139 to navigate that claustrophobic environment. 00:12:28.360 --> 00:12:30.679 It is pure pragmatism. On the other end of the 00:12:30.679 --> 00:12:33.259 spectrum, for open field combat where reach and 00:12:33.259 --> 00:12:36.080 momentum dictate survival, the manual introduces 00:12:36.080 --> 00:12:39.240 heavy pole arms. Like the Waldo? Yes, the Waldo 00:12:39.240 --> 00:12:41.820 or Moonblade. This is a massive pole arm topped 00:12:41.820 --> 00:12:45.049 with a wide curve blade that relies on sweeping 00:12:45.049 --> 00:12:47.649 circular mechanics. It directly parallels the 00:12:47.649 --> 00:12:49.970 Chinese Guandao. And right alongside that Chinese 00:12:49.970 --> 00:12:52.190 -style weapon you have the Haiyapdo, or spear 00:12:52.190 --> 00:12:54.309 blade. Exactly. This is another polearm, but 00:12:54.309 --> 00:12:57.909 its narrower, swifter profile parallels the Japanese 00:12:57.909 --> 00:13:00.649 Nachinada. Right. But out of all the 12 editions, 00:13:00.950 --> 00:13:03.409 the mechanical ingenuity of the Seng Jiong, the 00:13:03.409 --> 00:13:05.629 Twin Swords, really stands out. Oh, the Twin 00:13:05.629 --> 00:13:07.809 Swords showcase a deep, deep understanding of 00:13:07.809 --> 00:13:10.539 combat efficiency. because you are fighting with 00:13:10.539 --> 00:13:13.500 two identical blades, one in each hand, but they 00:13:13.500 --> 00:13:16.100 were specifically manufactured with flat inner 00:13:16.100 --> 00:13:17.960 profiles so they could be carried together securely 00:13:17.960 --> 00:13:20.899 in a single sheath. Right, one scabbard. So a 00:13:20.899 --> 00:13:25.059 soldier draws once in one fluid motion and instantly 00:13:25.059 --> 00:13:27.919 has two weapons deployed. The design reduces 00:13:27.919 --> 00:13:31.179 the time from resting state to full combat readiness 00:13:31.179 --> 00:13:34.059 by half. It's brilliant engineering. But looking 00:13:34.059 --> 00:13:36.679 at this whole list, a Chinese style moon blade 00:13:36.909 --> 00:13:40.389 a Japanese -style spear blade, specialized naval 00:13:40.389 --> 00:13:43.789 swords, the twin swords. The analogy that comes 00:13:43.789 --> 00:13:46.629 to mind is open source coding. Open source coding. 00:13:46.870 --> 00:13:48.649 I like that. Break that down. Well, Prince Sato 00:13:48.649 --> 00:13:51.570 isn't limiting his military by saying, we will 00:13:51.570 --> 00:13:54.070 only use weapons invented within our own borders. 00:13:54.230 --> 00:13:57.389 No, not at all. He is looking at the entire regional 00:13:57.389 --> 00:13:59.750 theater of war like a developer looking at a 00:13:59.750 --> 00:14:03.220 global code repository. He observes the Japanese 00:14:03.220 --> 00:14:05.940 spear blade mechanics. He analyzes the Chinese 00:14:05.940 --> 00:14:09.179 curved blade physics He takes traditional native 00:14:09.179 --> 00:14:12.019 Korean swordplay and he compiles all of it into 00:14:12.019 --> 00:14:14.759 the ultimate updated hybrid operating system 00:14:14.759 --> 00:14:17.019 for his military He really takes the best features 00:14:17.019 --> 00:14:18.919 from everyone exactly, but you know This raises 00:14:18.919 --> 00:14:20.960 an important question though regarding national 00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:24.360 identity house armies are historically very proud 00:14:24.360 --> 00:14:27.759 often conservative institutions There was an 00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:30.659 inherent tension between ruthlessly adopting 00:14:30.659 --> 00:14:33.879 for technology to survive and maintaining your 00:14:33.879 --> 00:14:37.139 own distinct cultural heritage. Ah, I see. The 00:14:37.139 --> 00:14:39.440 manual highlights this tension beautifully by 00:14:39.440 --> 00:14:42.059 juxtaposing two specific sword disciplines. Right, 00:14:42.240 --> 00:14:44.179 the Admiral's sword versus the National's sword. 00:14:44.360 --> 00:14:47.379 Exactly. The Muya Simbo includes the Jadok Jium, 00:14:47.539 --> 00:14:50.039 the Admiral's sword. These were techniques directly 00:14:50.039 --> 00:14:52.600 introduced by a Chinese admiral named Li Ruosong. 00:14:52.779 --> 00:14:55.200 who fought alongside the Koreans during the Imjin 00:14:55.200 --> 00:14:58.460 War. Admiral Lee's system utilized straight bladed 00:14:58.460 --> 00:15:00.980 swords with a single edge for slashing, combined 00:15:00.980 --> 00:15:03.690 with double edged maneuvers for stabbing. The 00:15:03.690 --> 00:15:06.129 Korean manual preserves this foreign influence 00:15:06.129 --> 00:15:09.549 meticulously, dedicating 14 specific stances 00:15:09.549 --> 00:15:11.909 entirely to this Chinese discipline. They didn't 00:15:11.909 --> 00:15:14.110 let pride get in the way of what worked. They 00:15:14.110 --> 00:15:16.330 watched a foreign admiral win battles on their 00:15:16.330 --> 00:15:18.750 soil, so they copy -pasted his exact stances 00:15:18.750 --> 00:15:21.509 into their national playbook. They did. But immediately 00:15:21.509 --> 00:15:23.909 alongside the Admiral's sword, Prince Susato 00:15:23.909 --> 00:15:26.990 makes a point to include the Bongguk Geom. which 00:15:26.990 --> 00:15:29.350 translates directly to the national sword. Balancing 00:15:29.350 --> 00:15:32.830 it out. Exactly. The manual explicitly stresses 00:15:32.830 --> 00:15:35.990 the ancient traditional Korean origins of the 00:15:35.990 --> 00:15:39.750 Bonggukjeom. It deliberately contrasts the deep 00:15:39.750 --> 00:15:42.529 native roots of this system against the more 00:15:42.529 --> 00:15:44.950 recently adopted foreign techniques of the Admiral's 00:15:44.950 --> 00:15:47.029 Horde. It's the ultimate psychological balancing 00:15:47.029 --> 00:15:50.090 act. They are fiercely protecting their sovereign 00:15:50.090 --> 00:15:52.850 identity while simultaneously holding the very 00:15:52.850 --> 00:15:54.889 foreign weapons they need to guarantee that sovereignty. 00:15:54.909 --> 00:15:57.110 Well said. We should also mention that the 18 00:15:57.110 --> 00:16:00.149 methods weren't purely weapons based. Prince 00:16:00.149 --> 00:16:03.110 Sato significantly expanded their unarmed combat 00:16:03.110 --> 00:16:05.950 systems, the Guanbup. He did. He returned to 00:16:05.950 --> 00:16:08.940 the foundation by the 16th century Chinese general, 00:16:09.320 --> 00:16:12.480 Qi Jiguang, who originally documented 32 unarmed 00:16:12.480 --> 00:16:15.240 methods. Princeda's curriculum identifies and 00:16:15.240 --> 00:16:17.519 refines about 19 of those original Chinese methods, 00:16:17.779 --> 00:16:20.879 but then integrates 14 entirely original methods 00:16:20.879 --> 00:16:23.379 of his own. This yielded a highly sophisticated 00:16:23.379 --> 00:16:26.659 33 method unarmed combat system. And to complete 00:16:26.659 --> 00:16:29.259 the 12 editions, the manual includes the Pyongan, 00:16:29.419 --> 00:16:32.200 a jointed flail paralleling the Chinese two section 00:16:32.200 --> 00:16:35.080 staff. The mechanics of a flail are terrifying 00:16:35.080 --> 00:16:37.779 on a battlefield. I mean, it relies on angular 00:16:37.779 --> 00:16:41.039 momentum to generate massive force. And the jointed 00:16:41.039 --> 00:16:43.929 chain allows the striking end to literally bend 00:16:43.929 --> 00:16:46.769 around an enemy shield to crush the person holding 00:16:46.769 --> 00:16:48.909 it. Right. It completely defeats the very purpose 00:16:48.909 --> 00:16:51.129 of the shield we discussed in the 1610 manual. 00:16:51.289 --> 00:16:53.669 Oh, wow. Yeah, it does. It just shows the continuous 00:16:53.669 --> 00:16:55.789 arms race of military evolution. So that gives 00:16:55.789 --> 00:16:58.470 us the full picture of the phantom manual, the 00:16:58.470 --> 00:17:03.809 Seppelgi. 18 skills, 6 old, 12 new, forged from 00:17:03.809 --> 00:17:06.950 the trauma of invasion, formalized by a brilliant 00:17:06.950 --> 00:17:09.910 but violent prince, executed for his madness, 00:17:10.069 --> 00:17:12.430 and then reverse engineered centuries later by 00:17:12.430 --> 00:17:14.589 historians. It's an unbelievable journey. But 00:17:14.589 --> 00:17:17.690 this 1759 blending of cultures didn't just stay 00:17:17.690 --> 00:17:20.549 trapped in the 18th century, did it? It directly 00:17:20.549 --> 00:17:22.750 dictates how martial arts are understood today. 00:17:22.829 --> 00:17:25.470 It does. If you examine modern Korean martial 00:17:25.470 --> 00:17:27.970 arts, the term sip pal gi, those 18 fighting 00:17:27.970 --> 00:17:30.430 methods, has undergone a fascinating linguistic 00:17:30.430 --> 00:17:32.509 shift. For the general public, it has become 00:17:32.509 --> 00:17:35.809 a broad, generic catchall term. The sources equate 00:17:35.809 --> 00:17:39.150 it to how the term kung fu is often used in the 00:17:39.150 --> 00:17:41.569 West. People use it colloquially to just mean 00:17:41.569 --> 00:17:43.730 martial arts, completely unaware that they are 00:17:43.730 --> 00:17:48.509 referencing a highly specific 1759 military curriculum. 00:17:49.349 --> 00:17:51.589 However, while the terminology has broadened 00:17:51.589 --> 00:17:54.990 in popular culture, there are small, intensely 00:17:54.990 --> 00:17:57.950 dedicated groups of modern practitioners who 00:17:57.950 --> 00:18:01.559 use the term sipalji in its strict historical 00:18:01.559 --> 00:18:04.299 sense. Like historical reconstruction. Exactly. 00:18:04.480 --> 00:18:06.579 They're engaging in active historical reconstruction. 00:18:06.680 --> 00:18:09.500 So they are essentially doing what Western historical 00:18:09.500 --> 00:18:11.759 martial arts groups do with medieval broadsword 00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:14.400 manuals. They are reading the surviving texts, 00:18:14.559 --> 00:18:17.119 analyzing the stances, the footwork, the precise 00:18:17.119 --> 00:18:19.660 weapon dimensions, and trying to pull these movements 00:18:19.660 --> 00:18:21.779 off the page and back into the physical world. 00:18:21.880 --> 00:18:23.839 That's right. They're trying to breathe life 00:18:23.839 --> 00:18:25.799 back into the Phantom Manual. So what does this 00:18:25.799 --> 00:18:27.900 all mean? I have to ask a Ship of Theseus style 00:18:27.900 --> 00:18:30.900 question here. If the unbroken mass to student 00:18:30.900 --> 00:18:33.599 teaching lineage was shattered centuries ago, 00:18:33.920 --> 00:18:37.160 and the original 1759 physical manual itself 00:18:37.160 --> 00:18:40.680 was destroyed, is the modern reconstructed martial 00:18:40.680 --> 00:18:42.940 art truly the same martial art that Princess 00:18:42.940 --> 00:18:45.440 Otto designed? That is the defining question 00:18:45.440 --> 00:18:48.039 of any historical reconstruction. Does a modern 00:18:48.039 --> 00:18:50.420 practitioner execute a strike with the yetto 00:18:50.420 --> 00:18:53.059 down to the exact millimeter that an 18th century 00:18:53.059 --> 00:18:56.259 sailor would have? Right. Likely not. But knowledge 00:18:56.259 --> 00:18:59.259 is most valuable when it is applied. The underlying 00:18:59.259 --> 00:19:02.119 mechanics of the moon blade, the geometric leverage 00:19:02.119 --> 00:19:05.200 of the twin swords, the 14 stances of the admiral 00:19:05.200 --> 00:19:09.000 sword. Those concepts survived. The ideas survived. 00:19:09.160 --> 00:19:12.140 Yes. The fact that a modern individual can read 00:19:12.140 --> 00:19:14.259 the surrounding literature, grasp the physics, 00:19:14.660 --> 00:19:16.599 and physically reconstruct the biomechanics of 00:19:16.599 --> 00:19:19.099 these strikes proves that the knowledge transcended 00:19:19.099 --> 00:19:21.400 the physical paper. The art is still breathing. 00:19:21.579 --> 00:19:23.839 The paper burned, but the mechanics survived 00:19:23.839 --> 00:19:26.400 the fire. Exactly. For you listening, let's briefly 00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:28.359 recap the incredible journey we've mapped out 00:19:28.359 --> 00:19:30.940 today. We began with a devastating systemic failure 00:19:30.940 --> 00:19:33.799 in the 1590s, forcing a traumatized military 00:19:33.799 --> 00:19:36.880 to adopt a six skill playbook to survive. A desperate 00:19:36.880 --> 00:19:39.519 measure. Right. And a century and a half later. 00:19:39.720 --> 00:19:42.940 An intellectually brilliant but dangerously unstable 00:19:42.940 --> 00:19:45.759 prince named Sato expands that playbook into 00:19:45.759 --> 00:19:49.380 18 distinct fighting methods. He pulls from Chinese 00:19:49.380 --> 00:19:52.039 and Japanese influences to compile a masterpiece 00:19:52.039 --> 00:19:55.480 of hybrid defense. Truly hybrid. The prince is 00:19:55.480 --> 00:19:59.079 executed, his manuscript manishes, and yet... 00:19:59.099 --> 00:20:01.400 Through the mathematical deduction of historians 00:20:01.400 --> 00:20:03.859 and the physical sweat of modern practitioners, 00:20:04.660 --> 00:20:07.019 those 18 ancient skills have been pulled back 00:20:07.019 --> 00:20:09.299 from the void. It is a profound testament to 00:20:09.299 --> 00:20:12.240 how interconnected and remarkably resilient human 00:20:12.240 --> 00:20:14.980 history is. It truly is. But before we let you 00:20:14.980 --> 00:20:17.460 go, I want to leave you with one final provocative 00:20:17.460 --> 00:20:19.960 thought to mull over on your own. Earlier, when 00:20:19.960 --> 00:20:22.279 we were discussing how historians reverse engineered 00:20:22.279 --> 00:20:25.480 the missing manual, we noted that the later 1795 00:20:25.480 --> 00:20:28.059 manual added horseback weapons to the curriculum. 00:20:28.180 --> 00:20:30.319 Right. They added the mounted use of the spear, 00:20:30.519 --> 00:20:32.779 the sabers, the moon knife and the flail. But 00:20:32.779 --> 00:20:35.039 they also officially added a polo -like game. 00:20:35.559 --> 00:20:37.660 A recreational sport was formally integrated 00:20:37.660 --> 00:20:40.299 into a lethal national defense curriculum. That's 00:20:40.299 --> 00:20:42.569 a great point. I want you to consider the implications 00:20:42.569 --> 00:20:45.950 of that. How much of what we view today as ancient, 00:20:46.269 --> 00:20:48.569 rigorous, life or death warrior training was 00:20:48.569 --> 00:20:50.950 actually just adapted from the elite sports and 00:20:50.950 --> 00:20:53.730 recreational games of the era? Where exactly 00:20:53.730 --> 00:20:56.269 is the line between a soldier's preparation for 00:20:56.269 --> 00:20:59.210 war and an athlete's pastime? Think about that 00:20:59.210 --> 00:21:01.309 the next time you watch a modern sporting event. 00:21:01.710 --> 00:21:03.630 Thank you for joining us on this deep dive. Stay 00:21:03.630 --> 00:21:05.710 endlessly curious and we'll catch you next time.