Deungpae

Deungpae
Korean name
Hangul	등패
Hanja	藤牌
Revised Romanization	Deungpae
McCune–Reischauer	Dŭngpae

The Deungpae is a shield made of wisteria and bamboo which was used by the military of the Joseon Dynasty. The earliest Korean description can be found in the Muyejebo.

Use

In the classic Korean martial art manuals the use of the deungpae is explained in combination with both the spear and the sword. Often a soldier would hold the deungpae and sword in the right hand, while holding a spear in his other hand. The spear would be thrown at the opponent, after which the soldier would attack with his sword.

A soldier with a nangseon would back up the soldier fighting with deungpae and sword. They would be part of a so called Mandarin duck formation which was invented by the Chinese general Qi Jiguang and is described in his book titled Ji Xiao Xin Shu.

Shield specialists trained in how to advance and retreat but were not allowed to retreat in combat situation because their withdrawal would leave their whole squad exposed, leading to its possible collapse.^[1]

References

1. ^ Ehwa University Press 2008, Sippalgi: Traditional Korean Martial Arts, Dr. B.K. Choi