Our Kuk Sool Blog about life, events, and activities at Kuk Sool Won of St Paul. We practice a Korean style of Martial Arts in the Minneapolis and St Paul Area. For more info and a free intro lesson call (651)645-1455, email us at stpaulksw@gmail.com , or visit our school homepage at the link below:
Once again I have gone to St. Louis for the midwest Kuk Sool Won Tournament. I have only missed this tournament once, and I truly enjoy it. KJN and SBN Harvey do an amazing job of organizing, and St. Louis is a great city. Also, this year I got the pleasure of seeing my own instructor promote to Master. Congratulations, KJN Seitz! Of course, for me the capstone is always the Master’s Demonstration. This year, I especially enjoyed watching SBN Ben Mitchell do a cat roll higher than his own head, and then proceed to do a flip over a stack of people. Also of note was Sun Jin Suh Kwan Jahng Nim’s Crane on the Cloud form. He performed it slow and low. It was absolutely gorgeous. So while the St. Louis Demo form is not up yet, I thought you might enjoy an older video of Sun Jin Suh KJN doing Crane on the Cloud!
This is definitely my favorite video, of my favorite form, from one of my favorite Kuk Sool Websites. Enjoy the beauty that is this form. Crane Over Cloud.
Most people get really nervous and never feel like they are ready for their belt test. Here are some easy ways to get over that feeling and Ace your next Belt Test while impressing your friends and Instructor.
For the 2 weeks before your belt test work on Random Techniques with your in class partner. Instead of practicing in order forwards or backwards have your partner say a random technique and then quickly do it. You should be able to do each technique within 3 seconds of your partner saying the technique start to finish.
2. 20 Wall Kicks a Day
Wall kicks are an extremely effective way of improving your kicks while working on the proper mechanics of each kick. Find a spot on a wall and put one hand on the wall. Practice 20 front kicks, 20 round kicks, 20 side kicks, and 20 hook kicks. If you do that for a couple weeks before your test you will notice a lot of improvement on your kicking mechanics.
Hyung are hard to do. Practice and proper breathing will make it easier but it will still physically challenging if you do it right. Cho Geup Hyung is no exception. It is a from that goes in a basic straight line from one spot to another.
* Below is a Video for refence of the Hyung, I am not picking on Tony, especially since he got a very good score.
Here some tips that I notice people need to improve on when I am grading or judging at a tournament for Cho Geup Hyung. They may even help some of you win Gold.
1. Your Long Stance should be Longer
Too many people shorten up their long stances which doesn’t allow them to have deep, 90 degree knee bend stances. It’s obvious when your stances are not long enough and a huge improvement when they are long enough.
2. Turn that Foot
This is one of the most common problems with long stance. People like to leave their back foot turned out 90 degrees. Turn that foot towards your target at least 45 degrees. One big help will be turning your upper body and hip toward the target as well, this will make it easier to get that foot right.
3. Ki Hap Louder
You know you should. Not a blood curtling scream, but enough to let everyone know you mean business.
4. Breathe
This is a problem I have sometimes. Everyone needs to breathe during their form. It makes it easier and allows you to fully concentrate on stances and hand movement.
5. Get a Good High Sidekick In
When it’s time for the sidekick make sure and kick head level or a little higher.
6. Work on Your Dragon Stance
Every form has “make or break” movements. Meaning, as a judge or grader there are certain elements in a form that either indicate you have a full grasp of the form or whether you need more practice. The Dragon Stance is a god indicator for the quality of your form. If you have a good Dragon Stance it usually correlates to a better form overall.
7. Punch from the Hip
Every punch you do should come from a fist that is TOUCHING your hip. Not hovering in imaginary space, but physically touching your hip. If are doing multiple punches you hands need to touch your hip before they punch again.
8. Ride that Horse
Work on your horse stances. They should be low and strong. Work on them everyday and you will see a lot of improvement.
9. Don’t hit the Ground with your Fist
At the end of the 3 step forward sequence you will do a rolling back fist as you sit down and back. Don’t hit the ground. It’s not good for you and it looks bad.
10. Precision
Make sure all your strikes are precise. Punches are punches and chops are chops. Get the full range of motion from each block and strike.
The Korean Kuk Sool Championships just finished and my good friend Stuart, who I trained with in Seoul, was kind enough to release some awesome videos. The top 5 videos (according to yours truly) include fan techniques, sword sparring, sword cutting, breaking, Hyung (a.k.a. Form), and Korean Monk Techniques. My only advice to Stuart would be to get a new Video Camera because he needs one.
Korean Kuk Sool Monk Techniques Video
- This is the first time I have ever seen any Monk techniques. Pretty awesome.
Each belt we are required to not only memorize but to also learn how to do each movement. But how much do you know? How much of the curriculum do you posses in your brain right now? I think you will be surprised on how much there is to learn when you are going for your black belt.
Here is everything broken down by technique set, forms, and weapons. Take the final number you have learned and divide it by the total and that is a percentage of how close you are to black belt. The numbers below are very conservative because I made forms only worth 1 point, but I did add some extra sets to maybe compensate for it a little but.
White Belt
Ki Cho Ja Ki
6
Sohn Bae Ki
8
Ki Bohn Soo
15
Yu Do Sool
8
Ki Cho Hyung
1
White Belt Total
38
Yellow Belt
Sohn Mohk Soo
11
Eui Bohk Soo
13
Ahn Sohn Mohk Soo
6
Cho Geup Hyung
1
Yellow Belt Total
31
Total So Far
69
Blue Belt
Maek Chi Ki
15
Maek Cha Ki
15
Joo Maek Maga Ki Bohn Soo
15
Bong Spins
15
Joong Geup Hyung
1
Blue Belt Total
61
Total So Far
130
Red Belt
Joong Geup Sohn Mohk Soo
7
Ahp Eui Bohk Soo
20
Joong Bong Il Hyung
1
Goh Geup Hyung
1
Red Belt Total
29
Total So Far
159
Brown Belt
Dee Eui Bohk Soo
23
Kwan Juhl Ki
13
Too Ki
13
Dae Geup Hyung
1
Brown Belt Total
50
Total So Far
209
Dahn Bo Nim
Mohk Joh Leu Ki
5
Bahng Too Ki
10
Yahng Sohn Mohk Soo
15
Ssang Soo
15
Dahn Doh Mahk Ki
15
Sword Cutting
5
Guhm Moo Hyung
1
Bong Dae Ryun
2
Dahn Bo Nim Total
68
Total So Far
277
Extras
Meditation Positions
12
Breathing Exercises
4
Nak Bub
15
Kick Defense
13
Ssang Jool Bong 1
14
Ssang Jool Bong 2
11
Ssang Jool Bong 3
16
Extras Total
88
Total
556
* If you have a comment or you think there is some discrepancy, feel free to leave them in the comments below
Great stuff this week, especially the videos, make sure to check it all out. * This Blog is updated Daily and you can subscribe on the right via Email or RSS
It is often an unrealistic vision that all your Kuk Sool forms will be crisp in relation to the 5-Hyung Bylaws every time you come to practice. A good way to practice is to focus on the Hyung By-Laws one at a time. First let me review for you what the Five Hyung Bylaws are:
Fast Hands
Low Stances
Deliberate Feet
Eyes Open
Mind Clear
A good way to practice all 5 Hyung Bylaws properly (especially for lower belts) is to do 4-directional Forms with each direction focusing on different Bylaws.
You might be able to count that there are only 4-directions we usually practice forms but there are 5 Hyung Bylaws? However, you do not need a direction to practice Eyes Open because your eyes should always be open looking at your target. You also do not need to practice keeping your mind clear, you just need to be aware that you are at Kuk Sool. Keep your mind clear by focusing on the now, not on what happend earlier today or what is going on tomorrow, you are at Kuk Sool and practicing your form. That is all you should be thinking about.
So here is the Drill:
Face the Front - For your first form focus on doing proper kicks and doing deliberate foot movements. Don’t just fling your leg in the air and make it look like a kick. Make sure you chamber and position your kicks properly.
Turn 90 degrees to Your Left- On your second form focus on doing fast, precise hand movements. All punches should come from your hip, all chops should have your thumb bent (No hitchiker’s thumbs), and you should be hitting the proper targets. There are more things to worry about when practicing fast,precise hands so make sure you do whatever is proper for the form you are doing.
Turn 90 degrees left again so you are facing back - Low Stances. This is probably the hardest direction because you have to focus on doing low stances the entire time. Low Stances is what transforms your Hyung from being good to great.
Turn 90 degrees left again- Finish with a direction of doing all the Bylaws together. For this final direction keep in mind all the previous directions in which you were practicing separate aspects of the form and put them all together to make the best form you can. This is the direction you should notice where your form is improving from practice to practice.
This drill is an easier way to get in some four-way form practice than just going all out and doing the best form you can for however many forms you know. Keep in mind that this workout is not a replacement but a variation. Of course you should do four-way forms having every form the way you would do it if Kuk Sa Nim was watching you. You should also do this workout every now and then for some variety and specifics practice. Remember, the best way to get better at Kuk Sool is doing more Kuk Sool.
Here is a video of three different Black Belt level forms in Kuk Sool Won ( we call them Hyung ). Demonstrated by myself, KSN Stuart from England, and our Master Instructor over in Korea. We were doing a demo for very high-ranking Masters which you can not see in the video as well as parents of all the students at the school.
Today we bring you 3 quick tips on how to make your form better today. These tips apply to any form in the Kuk Sool Won curriculum and while they will make your form better immediately you will still need to practice them every time you do your form so they become second nature and automatic.
1. Get Your Feet Right
It’s as easy as this.
(a) For Horse Stance (Ki Mah Jah Seh) and Long Stance (Jeon Gul Ja Se) try to make your feet point as forward as possible. Do not let your feet “Bow” out.
(b) For Offensive Basic Stance (Gong Kyeok Ja Se, Left side in front) and Defensive Basic Stance (Bang Eo Ja Se, Right side in front) Your front foot should be pointing forward and your back foot should be pointing 90 degrees to the right or left depending on which stance you are in.
2. Ki Hap
Yell / Ki Hap while doing your form.
One, it is what you are supposed to do every time you do your form and especially in tournaments.
Two, it focuses your energy and concentration.
Three, it helps you breathe which makes doing your form easier.
3. Chamber those Kicks
Make sure to “load” your kicks in a tight chamber every time. Front Kick (Ahp Cha Ki), Round Kick (Bal Deung Cha Gi), Side Kick (Yeop Cha Gi), Hook Kick (Bal Kkum Chi Cha Gi), and Back Kick (Dwi Cha Gi) have you start the kick right after you pick your foot up off the ground in a tight chamber, extend the kick out, and finish in a tight chamber.
If you do these 3 tips when you do your form tonight you will be better, and if you do them every day your form will be great.
Enjoy Kwan Jang Nim Sung Jin Suh perform Ki Cho Hyung. We Need More Practice!
