A Kuk Sool kind of day

Today was a good day. Interesting day. Educational day.

I had the good fortune of having lunch with a particular gentleman. This man studied Kuk Sool for many many many years. He’s well versed, Master level, skilled. He’s also very friendly and talkative. He loves the art, and that was evident in his teaching today.

We met at a local BBQ joint, ate some fine Texas beef brisket, then went out to the picnic area behind the restaurant and did some technique work. It’s no secret I love cane as a weapon, and we went over the Kuk Sool cane techniques, and a bit more. While picking up the cane techniques was certainly the main focus of the session, there was so much put into the details that I dare say I got more from that than anything else. Little things, little details. For instance, the Praying Mantis block or Sa Ma Gui Mak-Gi (사마귀막기). I recall some discussion on the hand position within my old dojang. In the form Gum Moo Hyung there is a series of mantis blocks (watch this video, about 0:50 into it, and he’s NOT doing proper mantis blocks): which way should the hand be pointed? parallel to your body or perpendicular? I originally thought perpendicular, because if you’re trying to inside grab/trap a hand in the block you need to start with the hand parallel to make the grab but then turn your hand away from you so it traps the punch. However, I recall some time in the past being told no, that’s not right, it’s just parallel and so that’s what I did. Well, that was properly corrected today, not just because “that’s how it is” but through demonstration of proper mechanics. Another example was a discussion of Yahng Sohn Mohk Soo #10, which is the technique I always put forth as a sample of impractical techniques. I was taught the proper application of the technique, from how you place your hands for entry (which made the turn to back-to-back just a natural and easy thing) to the fact you’re not really flipping your partner over but instead the extension of your hands to actually put the stress on the shoulders then you move and viola… massive amounts of pain. YSMS #10 may not be #1 technique in my book, but now seeing proper application it’s no longer the bottom of my list.

All the little things I picked up today demonstrates a big problem with Kuk Sool Won today: the teaching is lacking. The art is a beautiful art. It is a comprehensive art. It can be an effective fighting art. There’s much within the art that is excellent. But if you don’t have a good teacher, it’s just not going to come through I think same can be said for anything in life: you need good teachers. Getting instruction from an old-school guy like I did today was so eye-opening. Certainly any time this gentleman passes through Austin, I’d love to meet up with him for some further private instruction… and just shooting the breeze.

That was another fantastic thing about today: talking. Hearing old school stories, hearing his personal story, hearing stories about what’s going on today in WKSA (e.g. franchise stuff). There was much insight provided, and I know there’s far more to be told. I only had limited time today, and frankly spent more time there than I should have (I really needed to get back to work), but it was such a fantastic opportunity that I couldn’t leave. It was a joy and a pleasure to have the conversations we did, and if we both didn’t have places to be I’m sure we could have closed down the restaurant just talking well into the night.

I can’t really share the specifics of the day… it’s just not things to air here. Suffice it to say, my respect for this gentleman has grown and it’s certainly a pleasure to get to know him better; I look forward to future meetings (and hopefully we’ll have more time!). From hearing the old school stories, my respect for this man’s teacher and training partners has also grown. My respect for In Hyuk Suh has grown and been corrected a bit too, because I can see In Hyuk Suh is more about the art and less about the business… all the business stuff in WKSA, that’s another matter and it’s better to just separate the two things (the art, the business).

I don’t regret the change I made in my life, to leave World Kuk Sool Association. I still don’t think this “franchise agreement” stuff is truly good business. I will say today’s session invigorated me to keep up with my Kuk Kuk “>Kuk “>Sool training, and I hope that other “free spirits” in Kuk Sool can continue to gather together to share and grow and train in this art that we’ve given parts or all of our lives to. Twas a good day. I learned a lot, and not just the obvious things.