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About Kuk Sool Programs Chief Instructor Instructors Class Schedule Location |
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Black
Belt
Syllabus
(864) 360 -0174
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A
BRIEF HISTORY of KUK SOOL WONTM
It was the combination of
these last two aspects of the Japanese occupation that would lead, many
years later, to the founding of one of the largest martial arts
organizations of its type in the world:
Kuk Sool WonTM.
With the dismantling of the
Korean royal court one of the last master instructors of traditional
Korean royal court martial arts, a venerated master and patriot named
Suh Myuhng Duk, found himself in a homeland controlled by a foreign
invader. Leaving the employ
of the royal family, he returned to his family home in the Taegu area of
Korea and privately set about the task of preserving the heritage of the
esoteric and secret martial arts of the Korean royal family. Because of severe penalties that he would suffer should he be
found out, Master Suh taught in secret and later chose from among all of
his family a young grandchild, Suh In Hyuk, to be the repository of his
vast martial arts knowledge.
From an early age, and
under the watchful eye of his grandfather, young Suh trained
relentlessly to master the intricacies and the secret skills handed down
by his grandfather and tirelessly trained in every aspect of Korean
martial arts as though he recognized even at so early an age what the
future would hold for him and his place in the martial arts community.
Unfortunately, while still
a young boy, his grandfather was killed during the Korean War and young
master Suh was left with the knowledge that had been passed on, but also
with letters of introduction that his grandfather had had the foresight
to prepare for him before his death – letters outlining his lineage
and qualifications that were to open many doors in the secretive martial
arts community. Armed with
these letters and a thirst for knowledge, young Suh traveled throughout
Korea studying with well over a hundred different masters of Korean
martial arts, gathering and collecting techniques and methods that would
form a treasure trove of nearly-forgotten knowledge.
Sometimes he might learn a particular form or weapons technique
from an aging master in a secluded mountain temple, sometimes a single
principle or theory that formed the foundation of some important art
from Korea’s past, sometimes a single facet of some obscure method
that was important only as a footnote of history – but slowly and
methodically Suh In Hyuk was building a collective history of Korea’s
traditional martial arts systems.
Acutely aware of the
history of Korea’s rich martial culture, young Suh began to organize
his collected arts into a system that reflected the background of Korean
martial arts, derived from elements of each of the three important
sub-groups of traditional Korean martial arts. SADO
MUSOOL: Tribal, or Family,
Martial Arts
Arising from the dimness of Korea’s past, Sado Musool is comprised of traditional techniques and methods as old as the first time a Korean raised his hand in defense of himself and his family, and including systems such as grappling which would evolve over time
into the modern
Korean sport of ssirum (a type of wrestling that is still
extremely popular in Korean culture today), and kang shi (the bow
and arrow) that would develop into kung sool (archery) — a
martial art and popular sport in which Koreans have traditionally
excelled. Some of the
weapons of these early tribal martial arts include the suk gum
(stone knife), suk chang (stone spear) and the suk boo (stone
axe), as well as outwardly primitive – but
highly-developed—techniques such as too suk sool (stone
throwing) and sa lahk sool (techniques for spreading sand).
Of course as these techniques developed and the tools improved,
they had a significant impact on the developing martial arts of the
times. In fact,
during several important periods in Korean history (especially during
earlier invasions by Japan) tribal armies and village militias played an
important role in helping to defend the country and repel foreign
invaders. Also, as with the
wrestling mentioned above, many of these traditional arts were adapted
in various ways into the popular culture, often in the form of
traditional dances or games and activities important in the celebrations
of a number of local festivals. BULKYO
MUSOOL: Buddhist Temple
Martial Arts
When many
people today think of martial arts, they often picture the fighting
monks of the Shaolin Temple in China – but what most people are
unaware of is that Korea has a tradition of fighting monks, as well.
However, while many of the Shaolin “monks” were monks in name
only (being, in fact, rebels or military men using the cover of Shaolin
to hide out from the Manchu), the Korean Buddhists were actually monks
trained within the temple system as part of their heritage.
Like the village militias mentioned above, the temple system in
Korea during various periods of history actually fielded great armies of
fighting monks whose contribution was so important that they were often
referred to as “defenders of the nation” (the arts of Bulkyo Musool,
in fact, are often referred to as Ho Kuk Moo Yea, or “arts used
to defend the nation”).
Like
Buddhists in other parts of the world, the Korean Buddhist monks were
peace-loving and admonished against the taking of human life.
Therefore many of the techniques and tools of Bulkyo Musool
emphasize striking or trapping rather than cutting, restraining and
controlling rather than killing. In
addition to martial arts techniques, the Buddhists also contributed
meditation and breathing exercises used to develop an internal power,
know as ki. This is
a concept of power and energy common to many Asian martial arts systems,
and is tied in closely with visualization and breath control.
Many of these techniques of “energy breathing” have been
handed down and are practiced in Kuk Sool today. Some of the
important weapons of the Buddhist martial arts include the bong
(pole or staff), the dan bong (short stick) and techniques such
as ji pang ee sool (techniques using a hooked walking cane).
These weapons and techniques developed originally out of a desire
for protection from wild animals, thieves and brigands as the beggar
monks wandered the Korean countryside begging alms from the people for
the support and maintenance of the temples, but they became so developed
and refined that they were later to prove important components in the
development of the martial arts of the royal palace.
One important reason for this influence can be seen in the person
of Won Kwong Bopsa, a Korean Buddhist monk who would prove to be
extremely influential in the creation and training of the most famous
Korean warriors in that nation’s history, the Hwarang. KOONG JOONG
MUSOOL: Korean Royal
Palace Martial Arts
Although
martial arts systems and techniques developed in each of the three
historical Korean kingdoms – Silla, Paekche and Koguryo, it is the
kingdom of Silla and its organization of nobles known as the Hwarang
(“Flowering Youth”) that have most influenced the Korean martial
culture. Precursors to the
Japanese samurai, the closest western equivalent to these
nearly-legendary Korean warriors would be the Arthurian “Knights of
the Round Table” – highly skilled in both fighting and literary
arts, these Hwarang warriors held to a strict code of ethics (known as
the “Hwarang-Do Oh-Gae”) and practiced a high level of moral
virtue. This was due
primarily to the influence of the Buddhist monk, Won Kwong Bopsa, who
was instrumental in the creation of this group. The weapons and techniques of Koong Joong Musool reflect the utility of lessons learned on the field of battle (Korea has been
invaded over 1,000 times
in its long history), as well as conventions of the royal court itself. From the
battlefield comes a wide variety of weapons and empty hand skills –
sword techniques of many types, spear techniques, striking and grappling
techniques of a high and deadly quality.
From the influence of the royal court, we derive techniques such
as poh bohk sool (rope techniques) and boo chae sool (techniques
using a folding bamboo fan) which were developed to subdue and control
attackers within the royal palace where the shedding of blood was
forbidden, as well as the techniques of ssahng dan guhm (double
short swords) which were a favored technique of the female bodyguards of
the ladies of the court because of the ease that these deadly weapons
might be concealed in the folds of their garments. Because of
the influence of both tribal and Buddhist martial arts on the arts of
the royal palace, there is necessarily some overlap in technique –
although the techniques of Koong Joong Musool proper were jealously
guarded by the royal family for their esoteric qualities and high degree
of effectiveness. v v
v
v
v
It was through the
influence of his grandfather, then, that young master Suh was introduced
to this rich and comprehensive martial arts tradition – a tradition
that had remained hidden from the Korean people for generations (in
fact, many Koreans, unable to practice martial arts under the occupation
other than those imported from Japan — such as Judo, Karate and Kendo
— were largely unaware that such arts even existed).
Disturbed by this situation and infused with a patriotic fervor
in the post-war atmosphere of Korea in the late 1950s, master Suh
decided to remedy this problem by reintroducing the martial heritage of
Korea back to its people.
He began a single-minded
study and classification of all that he had learned from his
grandfather, as well as from many different teachers throughout Korea
– including his second most influential teacher, Hai Dong Seu Nym
(lit. “the Great Monk of the Eastern Sunrise”) – and began the
arduous process of arranging his encyclopedic knowledge into a
comprehensive system of martial arts that could be taught in an
organized and comprehensive manner while still maintaining and
reflecting the wealth of his accumulated knowledge.
The result of this great
work he named Kuk Sool (lit. “National Art,” but generally
translated as “Korean National Martial Art”) and, both by virtue of
his creation and by the legitimacy bestowed on his work by five secret
books passed down to him from his grandfather, Suh In Hyuk became the
grandmaster of this new martial arts system (now comprised of over 3600
techniques in 270 different categories).
Through his efforts, the Korean people from all walks of life
were now able to practice the traditional and secret arts of their
ancestors for the first time in history.
In 1962, Grandmaster Suh
further organized his system under the name Kuk Sool WonTM
(“Korean National Martial Arts Association”) and was honored by the
Korean government for his efforts with the title of Kuk Sa Nym
(“National Martial Arts Teacher”) – at the time the only 10th
degree black belt in the Korean martial arts.
After achieving popularity
in his native Korea, Kuk Sa Nym then made the critical decision to
introduce the art of Kuk Sool to the world, and began this journey by
relocating his headquarters to the United States with the help of his
first American student, Ken Duncan, who had already established a school
there prior to his arrival. The
first official Kuk Sool WonTM
seminar in the United States was held in New
Orleans, Louisiana in 1974, after which Kuk Sa Nym toured the country
briefly before settling in San Francisco to begin his great work.
Kuk Sool WonTM has now grown
into the largest martial arts organization of its type in the world
today with over 100 schools in the United States alone, as well as
additional schools throughout the world (in Korea, Japan, Great Britain,
South America, Canada, Europe and the Middle East) – schools linked by
a common philosophy, lesson plan, organization and commitment to the
spread of Kuk Sool as the most comprehensive Korean martial art
available today.
From his humble beginnings
as a small Korean boy chosen by his grandfather to receive the
family’s martial arts tradition which had stretched back over 16
generations, Kuk Sa Nym grew to travel and received honors and accolades
from around the world, but perhaps the most telling description of him
comes from an American martial arts magazine which, in one of the many
articles featuring Kuk Sool WonTM and Kuk Sa Nym, accurately described
Grandmaster Suh In Hyuk as “a living history of the Korean martial
arts.”
As a man who has dedicated
his life’s work to bringing the rich and previously hidden martial
arts history of the Korean nation to the world, we feel certain that he
could wish for no higher praise. NOTE: This is, by necessity, only a very brief overview of the background and history of Kuk Sool and students are encouraged to learn more about the history, philosophy and techniques of Kuk Sool in the 2-volume set of Kuk Sool WonTM textbooks available from your instructor.
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The year 1911 was a sad time for
Korea.
