KUK SOOL WONTM of Tomball, Texas
Traditional Korean Martial Arts
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KUK SOOL WONTM of Tomball, Texas Traditional Korean Martial Arts |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Magazine ArticleLooking Back, Looking AheadLooking Back, Looking Ahead In what is considered a relatively new martial art, the Korean art kuk sool won is making history among today’s martial styles. Unlike most associations and systems, kuk sool won contains no instructors with their own political agenda. No one argues whether or not any technique or group of techniques should be included in the teaching curriculum. For that matter, every kuk sool school teaches the same standardized program – and no one complains. With thousands of students in schools located throughout North America, South America, Korea and Europe, kuk sool won is probably the largest martial art system and organization headed by just one man. That man, kuk sool’s founder, In Hyuk Suh, is respectfully known as Kuk Sa Nim (national martial art teacher) by kuk sool students and instructors. A Well-Rounded Art Te begin, it’s important to know what kuk sool won means. Kuk translates to "nation," "state" or "country." Sool means "martial art technique." However, sool’s implied meaning goes deeper to include the mental, spiritual, cultural and philosophical heritage of Korean martial arts. Won translates to "institution" or "association." Unlike many traditional Asian martial arts that specializes in one or two types of techniques, kuk sool contains all facets of martial arts. To be sure, one primary principle of kuk sool won is the development and use of ki (internal power), thereby classifying kuk sool as an internal martial art. However, lumping kuk sool won under any one classification is misleading, since the art contains kicking, punching, throwing, joint and pressure point manipulation, ki training, weapons training and special martial art healing techniques. It is definitely a well-rounded art. Rooted in History It’s also important to know a little about history. The roots of kuk sool won date back to the very beginnings of martial arts in Korea with sado mu sool, which means "family" or "tribal martial arts." According to legend, in 2330 B.C., Dan Koon Wang Kum, the first ruler of the lands later named Korea, brought the many; scattered tribes into one kingdom – called Ko Chosun (Old Korea). The tribes migrated into what is now Korea, taking advantage of its good climate, fertile farm lands, plentiful fishing and excellent hunting in the mountains. Many tribes inhabited a small peninsula of land; therefore, it became necessary for each tribe to maintain well-trained warriors to protect their people. Each warlord and his village had its own private army, utilizing sado mu sool techniques. Even as late as the Koryo Kingdom (A.D., 918-1393) special village military guards called doo rai used their sado mu sool skills to form small, private armies for feudal warlords. The next important root of kuk sool won is Bulkyo mu sool or Buddhist martial arts. Bulkyo mu sool was first recorded during the Korguryo Kingdom about A.D. 347. It was originally developed to provide better health for the sedentary mediation-oriented Buddhist monks. Since the monks spent much of their time meditating on cold wooden floors, they often developed digestive and circulatory problems. To avoid these maladies, monks used special lower abdomen breathing patterns and internal (ki) developments. The warriors also used staffs and canes to protect the peaceful monks as they traveled the countryside. In fact, many staff and cane techniques used in modern kuk sool won are taken from the teachings of Bulkyo mu sool monks and from the needs of the so-called beggar monks. In addition to the cane and staff defensive techniques, the warriors also used special joint locking pressure point manipulation techniques against the criminal elements who often attacked helpless people as they walked along the roads between villages. The third major influence in kuk sool won was koong joong mu sool, which translates to "royal court martial arts." This segment of Korean martial art history had its beginnings during the Three Kingdom era (18 B.C.-A.D. 918). The sun bi (brave warriors) of the Koguryo Kingdom were koong joong mu sool military fighters, similar to our present-day special forces. To be a sun bi warrior, a fighter was required tobe an expert with the bow and arrow and long sword, as well as be a master of horsemanship, knife throwing, hand-to-hand combat, hunting, fishing, politics, music and literature. The rank of sun bi came only after a warrior passed tests in all of these disciplines. Many of kuk sool won’s weapons techniques came from royal court martial arts. Although kuk sool weapons’ techniques date back to the time when man threw stones and sand for self defense, other types of weapons evolved. There are 24 different traditional weapons in kuk sool won, many of them coming directly from koong joong mu sool. Koong joong mu sool dominated Korean martial arts until 1910, when the Japanese occupied Korea and banned all martial arts practices. These are the three segments of ancient Korean martial arts from which the techniques of kuk sool evolved. Unlike tae kwon do, which is recognized in Korea as a sport, kuk sool won was organized as and still is a martial art, recognized as such by the Korean government. There are more than 200 kuk sool schools in Korea and about 200 in the rest of the world, including the United States. In keeping with the traditional aspects of sado mu sool, Bulkyo mu sool and koong joong mu sool, all kuk sool won schools teach the same standardized curriculum, insuring those traditional techniques are kept pure and unchanged.
Modern Kuk Sool The history of modern kuk sool won begins in 1910 with the occupation of Korea by the Japanese army and the dissolution of the Korean Royal Court army. Many master instructors of the royal court were forced to go into hiding. Among them was master instructor Myung Duk Suh. Upon returning to his home in Taegu, Korea, Duk Suh continued to practice martial arts in secret, teaching his techniques in strictest privacy only to immediate family members. During this time, the practice of martial arts was outlawed in Korea. Anyone caught teaching or practicing Korean martial arts was punished severely. Myung Duk Suh’s family had practiced martial arts for 16 generations. At this point, he knew it was time to forward the knowledge of past generations to one of his family members if the family’s tradition was to continue. From among his children and grandchildren, he carefully selected one child to whom he would teach the entire scope of his martial art knowledge. That child was In Hyuk Suh, who began his formal training at five. Young Suh’s training continued uninterrupted until the middle of the Korean Conflict, in the 1950s when his grandfather was fatally wounded by North Korean solders. Although his grandfather’s death was a tragic blow to Suh, his training continued, arranged through his grandfather’s foresight. Founder of the Art Letters of introduction from his grandfather and his grandfather’s fine reputation as a master instructor for the Korean Royal Court army opened many doors to young Suh. At this time, In Hyuk Suh began to visit with and absorb the knowledge of many different traditional Korean martial arts teachers. By the time he was 20, Suh had traveled to hundreds of Buddhist temples and private martial arts instructors, from whom he studied the many varied aspects of Korean Martial arts. One story in particular illustrates the type of training Suh received during these years. One of his teachers taught him a particular striking technique and the way to control the power in his strike. The teacher told Suh to strike a nearby tree hard enough to knock the leaves from the tree’s branches. Suk struck the tree and leaves fell like rain around him. The teacher told him to strike the tree in such a way that only one leaf would fall. Suh spent months perfecting this one technique. During this time he met an old Buddhist monk named Hai Dong Seu Nim, whose name translates to "Great Monk on the Eastern Sunrise." The old monk became Suh’s second most influential teacher, passing on special breathing skills, meditation techniques and internal power (ki) skills. In the late 1950s, Suh began to organize the many scattered martial arts techniques of ancient Korea to produce a single, complete Korean martial art – kuk sool won. In 1961, kuk sool won was officially founded by In Hyuk Suh. At this time, he revealed the inheritance from his grandfather of five rare books of Korean martial arts techniques. It was during this time that kuk sool won became known, not as a single style, but a systematic study of Korea’s martial arts from ancient times to the present. In 1974, Suh came to the United States. After a short stay in Los Angeles, he moved to New Orleans, where the first official kuk sool won school in the United States was established. In 1975, Suh moved to San Francisco, where he operated kuk sool’s headquarters school until he moved to Houston in 1991. Suh chose Texas for his kuk sool won headquarters because of the rapid growth of kuk sool schools throughout the United States required a more central location for kuk sool instructors and students to train. He spends a great amount of his time traveling throughout the United States, Canada and Europe conducting lectures, seminars, tournaments and testing black belt candidates. Suh’s kuk sool won logo and name spelling is a licensed trademark in the United States and abroad, preventing imposters from calling themselves kuk sool schools to take advantage of kuk sool’s popularity. The Future of Kuk Sool Where does kuk sool won go from here? What happens when In Hyuk Suh retires? Martial arts runs in the Suh family. Three of Suh’s brothers hold high ranks in kuk sool. Furthermore, all of his sons train. Suh’s eldest son, Sung Jin, heads kuk sool’s San Francisco school. Suh’s second son, Alex, is a chiropractor who also teaches at the Texas Chiropractic College in Pasadena, Texas. Like his brothers, Alex is also a high-ranking kuk sool instructor. Sung Woo, the third son, has a master’s degree in engineering and resides in Los Angeles. Finally, George the youngest son, is still in school in Houston. When In Hyuk Suh does retire, the art is in capable hands. And the future of the art itself? "One of the purposes of kuk sool won is to keep Korean traditional martial arts alive," says Barry Harmon, one of the highest-ranking master level instructors in kuk sool. "So much emphasis, nowadays, is placed on sport and movie martial arts, and hey are all style and little substance. The future of kuk sool won is that it’s going to grow very large – even larger than it is now. One of the major goals is to maintain the highest possible quality control by using set standards and association control." Promotions are one example of the high standards. "In some arts, practitioners reach master level simply by politics," he says. "In kuk sool, however, there are technical requirements for sixth-, seventh- and eight-degree black belt levels. Harmon also believes that kuk sol won is setting other standards. "The art feature a comprehensiveness that other martial arts are trying to follow," he says. "In the past, a school might offer only kicking and punching. Now, however, they see what is offered in kuk sool won. As a result, they add falling or joint locking techniques to their own curriculum – thus producing more well-rounded martial artists." Suh’s second son, Alex, agrees with Harmon, adding that more and more people are becoming aware of kuk sool won as a well-organized and unique martial art. He also sees kuk sool won as an educating force in martial arts. "Now people in martial arts realize that traditional Korean martial arts contained a variety of weapons, and was as comprehensive as the traditional martial arts of other Asian countries," says Alex. In Hyuk Suh also sees a bright future for the art. "There is no question that the distinctive black uniforms of kuk sool won are destined to make their imprint on martial arts in years to come," Suh says.
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