 | |
| Focus | Hybrid |
|---|---|
| Country of origin |  South Korea |
| Creator | Suh In-Hyuk |
| Official website | http://www.kuksoolwon.com |
| Kuk Sool Won | |
| Hangul | 국술원 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 國術院 |
| Revised Romanization | Guk Sul Won |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kuk Sul Wǒn |
Kuk Sool Won (Korean: 국술원; Hanja: 國術院) means Korean martial arts. It was founded in 1958 by Suh In-Hyuk (서인혁), who also carries the formal titles of Kuk Sa Nim (i.e. "national martial arts teacher") and Grandmaster.[1]
This Korean martial art is known for its comprehensive collection of combat techniques, in particular, it teaches an extensive set of offensive and defensive moves designed to take advantage of the human body's many pressure points.[2]
Kuk Sool Won is practiced in various countries, with its biggest bases other than the South Korea and the United States being Western Europe (Germany, France, Italy and Spain) and Iran. However there is a strong following in South America as well.
History
Suh In-Hyuk and foundations of Kuk Sool Won
As a youth, Suh In-Hyuk was trained by his grandfather, Suh Myung-Deuk, a supposed master-instructor to the Korean Royal Court, as well as following a family tradition of martial arts that stretched back sixteen generations. After the death of his grandfather during the Korean War, Suh In-Hyuk travelled throughout the Far East visiting various Buddhist monasteries and other esteemed martial arts masters, as research for developing his own system. He even had his younger brother, Seo In-Sun, take lessons from the founder of Hapkido, Choi Yong-sool, since there was a significant discount offered to younger students and Seo In-Sun would later show what he was taught to his 2 older brothers, Seo In-Suk & Suh In-Hyuk.[3] A barebones curriculum for the system was developed in 1958 and later, the Kuk Sool Won was founded in 1961 (the initial syllabus continuing to be fleshed out and modified as the years went by). Suh fled South Korea in 1974 due to political troubles and decided to introduce his system to the United States in 1975.[4]
Spread
In 1991, Kuk Sool Won was selected as an extra curricular activity for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and in 1992, Suh In-Hyuk was presented with the Commander's Sword at West Point.[5][6][7]
In the Netherlands, Kuk Sool Won is practiced in six schools. The highest rank instructor in the Netherlands is Robbin Baly (6th dan), who teaches a group of approximately 200 students in Amsterdam and elsewhere.[8]
Kuk Sool Won was imported to Iran in 1980 by engineer Dariush Ghaffari, who lived in the United States prior. He first started teaching the art at the "Tehran Fire Club".[9]
Technique
Kuk Sool Won relies on a historical perspective of traditional Korean martial arts when outlining its contents, which breaks things down into three main branches:
- Tribal martial arts (사도무술; Sah Doh Mu Sool)
- Buddhist Temple martial arts (불교무술; Bul Kyo Mu Sool)
- Royal Court martial arts (궁중무술; Koong Joong Mu Sool).[10]
Techniques from these three segments were carefully selected and organized into a cohesive curriculum in order to form the basis of Kuk Sool Won.[11] This martial arts knowledge was said to be passed down to Suh In-Hyuk by his grandfather, Suh Myung-deuk, who began teaching him at the age of five.[12] A more simplistic way to describe the contents of Kuk Sool Won would be to acknowledge that it is a successful combination or conglomeration of Hapkido (a derivative of Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu), Kung Fu (particularly Mantis style, although whether from the Southern or Northern variety isn't clear), and certain indigenous Korean martial arts (such as Taekkyeon). Note that combining disparate martial skills often yields inconsistencies that are difficult to overcome, yet this is not the case for the resulting foundation of elements found in the art of Kuk Sool.
Kuk Sool Won is a systematic study of all of the conventional fighting arts, which together comprise the martial arts history of Korea. As a martial arts system, Kuk Sool Won is extremely well-organized and seeks to integrate and explore the entire spectrum of established Asian fighting arts, along with body conditioning, mental development, and traditional weapons training. The following list represents a short summary regarding the most common elements found in the system:
- hand strikes and blocking / parrying
- kicks and leg sweeps
- body throws and grappling
- joint-locking techniques
- safe falling (i.e. break-falls) and acrobatics
- various types of body conditioning
- animal style techniques
- traditional Korean weaponry
- martial arts healing methods
- meditation and specialty breathing techniques [13]
The technique is often practiced in class and tournament by utilizing 6 kata-like “Hyung” and 221 "techniques" learned at the colored belt, and black belt candidate level. The fighting style is brutal and quick to damage joints beyond repair; practitioners are taught early to only use the arts in controlled settings or in true self defense. There are also types of forms consisting of weapons. Examples include short sword, knife, sword, short staff, middle staff, cane, fan, axe, bow and arrow, jointed staff, rope and spear.
In Kuk Sool Won there are four basic sword forms that are taught (each with its own underlying set of principles, or gum bup 검법):[14]
- jung gum hyung - straight [grip] sword form - 정검형
- yuk gum hyung - inverted [grip] sword form - 역검형
- ssang jang gum hyung - twin long sword form - 쌍장검형
- ssang dan gum hyung - twin short sword form - 쌍단검형
Both long and short twin sword forms include techniques where the weapons are held in either the straight or inverted fashion.
Attire
Kuk Sool Won practitioners don typical martial art uniforms or dobok (도복) for training. All the uniforms in Kuk Sool Won are black in colour, which according to Korean culture is used to represent wisdom.[15] For special occasions, there is a dress uniform for Black Belt ranks only, which was patterned after the armor worn by ancient Korean generals. In the following section, the table mentions a Wang Sa dobok, which is only worn by the grandmaster of Kuk Sool Won (wang sa translates as "king's teacher" which explains why the royal colours of gold and purple are utilised). Also in the table where colours are mentioned for the General's Uniform, the first colour refers to the trim on the collar, lapel, cuffs, and tails, of the uniform, while the second colour refers to that of the ascot (also mentioned is the type of emblem displayed on the ascot – ascots for all Master ranks sport the KSW logo).
Ranking system
For colored belts: A stripe on the center of belts or a taped stripe on the edge of belts can be added for slight accomplishment before the next belt.
| Title | Meaning / Rank / Colour Scheme |
|---|---|
| Kuk Sa Nym 국사 \ 님 | Grandmaster - wangsa dobok |
| Su Suhk Kwang Jang Nim
수석관장 \ 님 |
Senior Executive Master (9th degree Black Belt) - gold / gold |
| Suhn Im Kwang Jahng Nim
선임관장 \ 님 |
Executive Master (8th degree Black Belt) - red & gold / gold |
| Ji Do Kwang Jahng Nim
지도관장 \ 님 |
Senior Master (7th degree Black Belt) - red & gold / red |
| Joo Im Kwang Jahng Nim
주임관장 \ 님 |
Head Master (6th degree Black Belt) - red / red |
| Pyung Kwan Jahng Nim
평관장 \ 님 |
Master (5th degree Black Belt) - red / white |
| Sa Bum Nim 사범 \ 님 | Instructor (4th degree Black Belt) - red & silver / white (KSW–logo) |
| Pu Sa Bum Nim
부사범 \ 님 |
Deputy Instructor (3rd degree Black Belt) - silver / white (KSW–logo) |
| Kyo Sa Nim 교사 \ 님 | Assistant Instructor (2nd degree Black Belt) - silver / white (ROK flag) |
| Jo Kyo Nim 조교 \ 님 | Instructor-in-Training (1st degree Black Belt) - silver / white (ROK flag) |
| Dahn Boh Nim 단보 \ 님 | Black-Brown Belt
-or- { Black Belt Candidate } |
| Ja Ddi 자띠 | Brown Belt |
| Hohng Ddi 홍띠 | Red Belt |
| Chuhng Ddi 청띠 | Blue Belt |
| Noh Rahng Ddi 노랑띠 | Yellow Belt |
| Huin Ddi 흰띠 | White Belt |
See also
References
- ↑ Hill, Robert (2010). World of Martial Arts !. Lulu Enterprises Incorporated. pp. 65–69. ISBN 978-0-557-01663-1. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
- ↑ "Pressure Points Video From the April/May 2015 Black Belt Cover Story on Kuk Sool Won". blackbeltmag.com. Active Interest Media, Inc. 15 April 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
- ↑ Kuk Sool Won Official Website, kuksoolwon.com
- ↑ Black Belt Magazine - 2015
- ↑ "Founder of Kuk Sool Won". Retrieved 15 February 2020.
- ↑ Hallander, Jane (March 1993). "Martial Arts Training at West Point: Kuk Sool Gives Army Cadets Realistic Combat Techniques". Black Belt. Valencia: Active Interest Media, Inc. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
- ↑ Kuk Sool Won at West Point, NY. 24 September 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
- ↑ "Kuk Sool Won - Instructeurs". www.kuksool.nl. Archived from the original on 13 December 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ↑ Tavakol Shaar, Hamidreza, Martial Arts and Its Great Founders, Tehran: Mehr Publications, 2015, p. 110.
- ↑ Suh, In Hyuk (1993). Kuk Sool Won Traditional Korean Martial Art Textbook Volume 1. Magnolia, Texas: World Kuk Sool Association. p. 14.
- ↑ Viljoen, Andries (12 April 2018). "국술원 Kuk Sool Won: A Comprehensive Martial Arts System". Medium. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
- ↑ "Founder Of Kuk Sool Won". Martial Arts Bexhill. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
- ↑ "A Comprehensive Martial Arts System". Kuk Sool Won. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
- ↑ Hallander, Jane (November 1983). Black Belt Magazine. Active Interest Media, Inc. pp. 21–26. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
- ↑ "General - Hanyang University". www.hanyang.ac.kr. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
- ↑ "Korean Terminology". Kuk Sool Won NY. 5 September 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
Further reading
- Suh, In Hyuk (1991). Kuk Sool Won Staff Techniques. Pusa: World Kuk Sool Association.
- Suh, In Hyuk (1991). Kuk Sool Won Sword Techniques. Pusa: World Kuk Sool Association.
- Harmon, R. Barry (2007). 5,000 Years of Korean Martial Arts: The Heritage of the Hermit Kingdom Warriors. Indianapolis: Dog Ear Publishing. ISBN 9781598585636.
- Harmon, R. Barry (2016). The Power of Pressure Points. Indianapolis: Dog Ear Publishing. ISBN 9781457543418.
- Harmon, R. Barry (2017). Kuk Sool Goong: Korean Martial Art Archery. Indianapolis: Dog Ear Publishing. ISBN 9781457557552.