Kumdo is a modern martial art of fencing, the Korean equivalent of Japanese kendo. The name means "the way of the sword," and is a cognate with the Japanese term. Kendo was introduced to Korea from Japan in 1896 as a form of police and military training. After Japan outlawed many Korean martial arts, they introduced Japanese martial arts such as judo and kendo to schools. Its popularity in Korea spread quickly as part of Korea's first national physical education system. Up until end of the occupation in 1945, kumdo developed in parallel with kendo.

After the occupation ended, kumdo restructured itself, and the Korean Kumdo Association was formed in 1947. When the Korean National Sports Festival was reinstituted in South Korea in 1956, Kumdo was included as an official event.