Dominant in the Sand, Ssireum | Masters of Martial Arts
Channel: Cultural Heritage in KOREA
Date: 2022-08-04

Dominant in the Sand, Ssireum | Masters of Martial Arts

Ssireum started
from the need to protect oneself
from wild animals
or other tribes.

Used to train soldiers
or boost morale, 
you must come in contact
with your opponent’s body.

so it requires a lot of strength
and technique. 

Your opponent
can take a great fall.

Dominant in the Sand
Ssireum

Jeungpyeong-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do Province 

Ha Gwan-su / Jeungpyeong County Office Ssireum Team

The game lasts one minute.

The game could end
in a second.

Lower weight divisions
uses technique than strength,
so in most cases, 
games end quickly. 

If there is no winner after a minute,
you go into a 30-second overtime.

If no warnings have been issued, 
the player in the lower weight division wins.

The weights are named
after Korean mountains.

*Ssireum weight classes

Taebaek Under 80kg
Geumgang Under 90kg
Halla Under 105kg
Baekdu Under 140kg

There are many techniques
using your waist, legs and hands.

*Waist techniques 

In waist techniques, 
there’s the body twist or flip.

*Leg techniques 

In leg techniques, there’s are several
ways to trip your opponent. 

*Hand techniques 

As for hand techniques, 
there’s the pull or front knee kick.

Tall players mostly use
the body twist or leg techniques.

Small players use the flip
or hand techniques. 

You have to make your opponent
lose balance and fall.

Even if you’re not as strong, 
if you move faster than your opponent, 

and use your skills quickly,
you can make your opponent fall.

*November 26, 2018
Ssireum listed as a UNESCO
Intangible Cultural Heritage

If you learn ssireum, 
you don’t need a satba (belt).

You can just grab their clothes
or trousers

and put them off balance;
it’s a martial arts sport.

People may wonder why
it’s a martial art,

but if you come
and see a game for yourself,

you’ll understand why
it’s a martial art.