Ki Cho Hyung is the foundational form learned in Kuk Sool. It is learned at the white belt level. It is not an easy form, it is not a beginner form. It is a foundational form. All things in Kuk Sool build upon it. It remains one of my favorite forms.
I wrote an article about Ki Cho Hyung and included this video:
Ki Cho Hyung is being performed by Master Sung Jin Suh (oldest son of founder/Grandmaster In Hyuk Suh, and heir apparent to the throne). It’s very slow and stylized, to point out the ideal technique and performance of the form.
Compare now to this performance of the form:
That performance was done by In Hyuk Suh, and I believe is the original version of Ki Cho Hyung. Anyone that says Kuk Sool hasn’t changed or evolved doesn’t know their history.
While the form remains fundamentally the same, some differences are:
- Hand motion and placement in part 1 (e.g. where’s the initial block, cover, punch?)
- Part 4′s slightly different hand motions in the middle section.
- Where is part 5?
- I was told that part 5 was a later addition. Furthermore, I was told the only “developed” part of part 5 was the first half of it. Ever notice that the second half of part 5 is just like part 4? Well, they apparently needed a way to finish out and so there we go… just add that in so there’s some sort of “finish” to that part.
- Hand movements and motions are much more flowery (e.g. end of part 1, all of part 6… well, part 5 in the video).
What other subtle differences can you pick up?
Posted in Martial Arts Tagged: Kuk Sool, Martial Arts Image may be NSFW.
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