# Kuk Sool Won



## KukSool-Alex (May 12, 2003)

How many people here practice Kuk Sool?


----------



## jwreck (Jun 3, 2003)

I do. I know there is at least one other person here. I see you're in TX, where do you train.


----------



## KukSool-Alex (Jun 3, 2003)

I am in the Dallas Area, we dont have a school just yet there are three of us, two black belts Mark JKN and Jason JKN and then me (just started the form a month ago)  I have learned alot and its alot of fun.  what school do you attend? who is your teacher?


----------



## jwreck (Jun 4, 2003)

I attend Kuk Sool Won of Clear Lake under Masters Barry and Choon Ok Harmon. I should get my second black stripe next month.


----------



## KukSool-Alex (Jun 4, 2003)

I have heard of Master Harmon, i have some videos of harmon, sims, lee, and kuk sa nim doing a workout in Houston.  Pretty cool video. how long have you been in it?  like i said only one month here but i have already learned alot i am at the ke bon soo (sorry if i misspelled it) #5, and i have learned the first 4 of the white belt form pretty much all kicks including roundhouse and sidekick, all punches, i am being told if we were at a school i would be white with yellow strip. i think thats pretty good for only being in it one month.  I enjoy it alot, i am going to do this for a year and then move into Muai Tai along with Kuk Sool but Kuk Sool as my main art


----------



## arnisador (Jun 4, 2003)

KSW has a great many techniques and a great many weapons, as I understand it--it must take a long time to master!


----------



## KukSool-Alex (Jun 4, 2003)

lets put it this way regarding how long it takes to master, if you have achieved black belt (1st degree) in under 8-10 years then you have missed something, also one of the sayings in Kuk Sool is the first year is a warm up the 1st degree is practice after that get ready to learn the good stuff


----------



## jwreck (Jun 5, 2003)

I have been training a little over two years. Yes, the Harmon's are awesome to watch during demos. They are even more awesome to learn from in class. I'm glad you enjoy it. Kuk Sool is a very extensive sytem, this is the main reason I chose it. However, you overshot a little on the time to black belt. I fully expect to have my black in about another year. From what I understand, 4-5 years is about average. There are many weapons, but you don't really start dealing with those until your a brown belt. Anyway, I'm kinda rambling. Point is, I love Kuk Sool and I would encourage anyone to take it up and stick with it. It only gets better the more you learn. Wait till you see the clothing techniques, those are really cool.  Hit me up if your ever in the Houston area.


----------



## jwreck (Jun 5, 2003)

One more thing, since you're in Dallas, you should check out this artShen Chuan . I've recently started studying it as well, and I must tell you its very impressive and effective. Its much more self-defence oriented than Kuk Sool, not near as pretty, no forms etc. but highly effective. I'm currently driving my but to Nagadoches once a month just for the chance to study with Prof Lansdale. I think there is a school in Dallas. Anyway, just something you might be interested in.


----------



## KukSool-Alex (Jun 5, 2003)

well actually i was told that 8-10 years is the norm for the black belt, but then again i bet it all has to do with the teacher.  My teacher on the other hand studied at Purdue, and it took him a good time to get a black belt, me other teacher it took im i think 7 years before he got his and he said that he worked his butt off to get there in only 7 years.  But we will see, i do enjoy kuk sool, but the art i am going to start taking after kuk sool, rather at the same time as kuk sool is muai tai, very good art, lots of fun.  and i have aquestion.  In the wrist techniques, i have probles when doing the move holding the wrist in the lock, as in in number two when you go behind the back its pretty easy for them to pull away from me no matter how fast i do it (and this is also my roomate which has no ma background) HELP!


----------



## jwreck (Jun 6, 2003)

Keep practicing and it'll come. Right now you should mainly be practicing on the gross movements and then add the finer points later. In #2 (as in all Kuk Sool techniques) correct application of pressure points, body position, and angle of attack are very important. Feel free to pm me if you want to discuus the details. Oh, I also recomend you order the textbook. Its good to be able to look over between classes to keep it fresh in your mind.


----------



## KukSool-Alex (Jun 6, 2003)

got the text book its great, yesterday i learned a heal kick, where you doa  round house but snap back with the heal. yea dont like that kick, out of all of the things you have learned what do you feel is the most affective?


----------



## jwreck (Jun 7, 2003)

Well, that depends on what you consider effective. My favorites are the clothing techniques, mostly because i like the creative way the clothing is incorporated into the locks. The  four directional kicking exercises (I forget the Korean term) are great at building balance and stamina. The pressure point striking sets (maek chigi and maek chagi) are very effective. Of all the techniques I've learned, only a few would I say would be difficult to apply effectively in a real world situation. I'm learning Kwan Jul Ki now, and its really cool. The only complaint I have right now about Kuk Sool is how long it takes to begin practicing at any where near full speed. At least at my school, you don't go full speed until you reach brown belt. Also, I wish the sparring was more encompassin, including the locking and throwing techniques more. I will tell you that even the lowest level techniques will gain the respect of your training partners if you employ it properly.


----------



## arnisador (Jun 7, 2003)

> _Originally posted by jwreck _
> *My favorites are the clothing techniques, mostly because i like the creative way the clothing is incorporated into the locks. *



Can you say more about this for those of us who don't practice KSW?


----------



## jwreck (Jun 7, 2003)

> _Originally posted by arnisador _
> *Can you say more about this for those of us who don't practice KSW? *


 Sure. Basically, if someone grabs your clothing (generally sleeve) you move in such a way that their hand gets caught in the fabric, locking their wrist without ever having to grab them. Its basicall like a standard wrist lock, but you use the fabric as your base to secure the lock instead of needing your other hand. I don't know if that made any sense to you. Their pretty cool and much more effective than I thought they would be when I first started learning them.


----------



## arnisador (Jun 7, 2003)

I think I get it, yes--thanks!


----------



## arnisador (Aug 8, 2003)

The current (Sept. 2003) issue of Tae Kwon Do Times has an article with many pictures on the KSW Championships in Korea.


----------



## KukSool-Alex (Sep 26, 2003)

yea i caught that article very good one...there is a competition in Houston,Texas the 12th of October..I am going to be competing in Sparring for the White belt group over 18

Going to be alot of fun...


----------



## arnisador (Sep 27, 2003)

The current (Oct. 2003) issue of Martial Art has an article on KSW approaches to blocking kicks.


----------



## Kroy (Oct 2, 2003)

> _Originally posted by KukSool-Alex _
> *How many people here practice Kuk Sool? *



I would love to study Kuk Sool Won but where I live it's not offered.


----------



## KukSool-Alex (Oct 2, 2003)

yea kuk sool doesnt have alot of schools around north america
the only ones in canada are Sault Ste. Marie....Routn-Noranda...Calgary...and Vancouver


----------



## Kroy (Oct 2, 2003)

> _Originally posted by KukSool-Alex _
> *yea kuk sool doesnt have alot of schools around north america
> the only ones in canada are Sault Ste. Marie....Routn-Noranda...Calgary...and Vancouver *



Maybe they will make it down to Eastern Canada some day (one can only hope):idunno:


----------



## KukSool-Alex (Oct 2, 2003)

what you might want to think about doing is seeing if you can find about 10 people that are interested in doing it...go to www.kuksool.com and send a email in and tell them your information that you have 10 people that are interested and see if soembody can come up and do a demonstration and maybe open a school


----------



## Kroy (Oct 2, 2003)

> _Originally posted by KukSool-Alex _
> *what you might want to think about doing is seeing if you can find about 10 people that are interested in doing it...go to www.kuksool.com and send a email in and tell them your information that you have 10 people that are interested and see if soembody can come up and do a demonstration and maybe open a school *



I'm going to check that out, thanks Alex. I'll let you know how it works out.


----------



## KukSool-Alex (Oct 2, 2003)

no prob and if you have any questions for me post it up or pm me


----------



## Kroy (Oct 2, 2003)

You got it:asian: Thanks again.


----------



## kuksoolsteve (Aug 12, 2008)

yes thats basically it, i remember when master darren hart demanstrated a clothing technique on me, once he had my hand tied up in his uniform he just let go and started walking off, nearly breaking my wrist and dragging me round the dojang while he was talking! it was controlled and was funny to everyone watching


----------



## Aefibird (Jan 17, 2009)

Kroy said:


> I would love to study Kuk Sool Won but where I live it's not offered.




Same here. 

I've looked into studying it before and found where my nearest KSW school is but sadly it's still too far away. 

There's not that many KSW schools in the UK and most of them are on the south coast or up in Scotland - too far away from me! Even my nearest Kuk Sool Won school (in Boston, Lincolnshire) is a good 2 hour drive away, something that's just not practical for me to be able to get to for regular training.


----------



## IslandCrow (May 23, 2009)

Hello, Alex.  I've studied Kuk Sool for awhile.  I was surprised to hear there's no school in Dallas.  Would Abilene be too far to go from time to time?  SBN Phil Sage has a school out there.  He's an amazing instructor.  As a matter of fact, I'm going to be heading out there for a few months, and I'm really psyched about getting to study with him again.  Here's a link to his school's website.  Even if you're not interested in training there, it's a pretty cool website:  http://www.abilenemartialartcenter.com/AMAC/Home.html




KukSool-Alex said:


> well actually i was told that 8-10 years is the norm for the black belt, but then again i bet it all has to do with the teacher.  My teacher on the other hand studied at Purdue, and it took him a good time to get a black belt, me other teacher it took im i think 7 years before he got his and he said that he worked his butt off to get there in only 7 years.  But we will see, i do enjoy kuk sool, but the art i am going to start taking after kuk sool, rather at the same time as kuk sool is muai tai, very good art, lots of fun.  and i have aquestion.  In the wrist techniques, i have probles when doing the move holding the wrist in the lock, as in in number two when you go behind the back its pretty easy for them to pull away from me no matter how fast i do it (and this is also my roomate which has no ma background) HELP!



As for the wrist techniques, the lock is often times the key.  Sometimes (like in Ki Bon Soo #2 & 4), it's not just the wrist you're concerned about locking, but the other parts of or the entire arm.  It's always much tougher to explain than show, but for KBS #2, get a good hold of the meaty part of the palm by the pinky with your four fingers, and get your thumb in the V between your opponent's thumb and forefinger.  Be sure not to grab the your opponents wrist, or you won't be able to bend it enough to get a good lock.  If you get a good grab on the hand and keep a good wrist lock, your opponent will lose most of his mobility in that arm and can't fight back much at all.  If your opponents hand is a lot bigger than yours, try just grabbing his four fingers and crush them together in your hand.  It's not quite as effective, but it can work if you have smaller hands.  

Or, put more simply. . .it takes practice.


----------

