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From guest blogger, Mel JKN:
There are times in Kuk Sool when we’re not part of what’s going on. We may be waiting for the class before ours to finish, we may be waiting while our instructor teaches a technique to our partner, we may be watching a tournament, or we may be sidelined due to an injury. What do we do with that downtime? Turn our brains off and drift into La La Land? Of course not. All of those scenarios are important learning opportunities. We can learn a great deal from actively watching our fellow students. Things that my instructor has told me time after time suddenly become clear when I see someone else making the same mistake. When I listen to him explain a technique, I always hear something new that I missed when I learned it the first time around. Every time I watch my peers do a form or practice their weapons, I find myself learning from watching. I see the things they do well and desire to emulate them, and I see my own flaws mirrored back at me and am reminded of where I need to work. Every moment spent in the dojang is an opportunity for learning, whether we’re actively involved or simply sitting on the sidelines.
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At our school, Steffen PSBN, our head instructor, uses both the Korean and English names of kicks, hand strikes, forms, etc. in nearly every class. Yes, if there is a preponderance of white belts, he will certainly use much more English than Korean. But at some point every student (whether he noticed or not) has been exposed to the Korean names for nearly everything we do.
We also provide an extensive Korean vocabulary list in our Introductory Packet. And, now, I am slowly getting everything on the blog, so that when that day comes, our students are ready.
What do I mean by tbat day? I mean that day when you, flush with your shiny new red belt, stare at PSBN’s smiling face as he asks you to show him Ba Kkat Da Ri Cha Gi, and you have absolutely no idea what on earth he is talking about. And then there are push-ups.
Before red belt (or “Hohng Dee”), PSBN may quiz your Korean, but he doesn’t hand out push-ups when you don’t know. Those carefree days end at red belt. Are you sufficiently motivated yet? Fabulous. Let’s talk kicks.
The first seven:
Straight leg kick: Ap Cha Ol Ri Gi Cha Gi
Inside crescent kick: An Da Ri Cha Gi
Outside crescent kick: Ba Kkat Da Ri Gi Cha Gi
Low kick: An Kkum Chi Dol Ri Gi Cha Gi
Knee kick: Mu Reup Cha Gi
Back kick: Dwi Cha Gi
Front kick: Ap Cha Gi
The big three:
Roundhouse kick: Bal Deung Cha Gi
Side kick: Yeop Cha Gi
Hook kick: Bal Kkum Chi Cha Gi
And some spins:
Spin kick: Dol-A Cha Gi
Low spin kick: Ha Dan Dol-A Cha Gi
High spin kick: Sang Dan Dol-A Cha Gi
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In continuing adventures of Not A Linguist Or Korean Expert, I’m going to keep heading down the road of getting all the Korean that is contained within our Introductory Packet (remember that folder I gave you your first day of class?) up on the blog. Today’s lesson, boys and girls, is the name of your rank and your form.
Just starting out? You probably have a white belt. Been here a while? Check the color of that purty sash-thingie at your waist. It’s your belt, and it’s not just flair. Your belt represents how long you’ve been training and corresponds to a rank. What’s your rank in Korean? Read on:
White belt – Hin dee
Yellow belt - Noh rahng dee
Blue belt – Chohng dee
Red belt – Hohng dee
Brown belt – Jah dee
Brown/Black belt – Dahn bo nim
If you have a black belt, well, I expect you know your rank in Korean (if not, I suggest learning it quickly). So, we’ll stick with the colored belts for today. So, what is your form called? First of all, learn the word “hyung.” It means form, and Steffen PSBN will tell you collectively to “Go practice hyung.” Or you might hear, “Hyung joon bee,” or “Forms, ready (or first) position.” Either way, impress him by knowing that he’s telling you it’s time to do forms. For your particular rank’s form, see below.
White belt – Ki Cho Hyung
Yellow belt – Choh Geup Hyung
Blue belt – Joong Geup Hyung
Red belt – Goh Geup Hyung
Brown belt – Dae Geup Hyung
Brown/Black belt – Goh Muh Hyung
Homework this week for students at Kuk Sool Won of St. Paul: learn your rank and form in Korean. I guarantee it will be asked on a quiz sometime in your future.
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I’m lying. You can’t learn Korean in 5 easy steps, unless being born in Korea is the first step. But I do want to help everyone get past that blank, deer-in-headlights look when your instructor asks you to do “bahl koom chi cha ki” (all right, commentators — tell me what it is!).
We’ll start simple. How to count to 10 in Korean:
1 han nah
2 dul
3 set
4 net
5 dah set
6 yah set
7 il gohp
8 yuh duhl
9 ah hohp
10 yuhl
Okay, start saying that over and over. My kids learned it over lunch in one day, just counting again and again. Come back when you’ve got that, and we’ll talk about forms.
(Special thanks to Ken Pu Sa Bum Nim for promoting my screen name!)
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The second Ki trick is useful in educating students on the benefits of relaxation and intent.
First have a student place their hand palm up on your shoulder. The crook of their elbow should be facing upward at this point. Now tell them to keep their arm straight while you pull down at the crook of their elbow. The arm should bend fairly easily.
Now have your student do the same thing, but this time have them relax their whole body. Now have them envision their arm as a hose with water flowing through it. Make them aim that water at the wall behind you. Their arm should be very solid at this point. It should take you considerably more effort to bend their arm, if you can at all.
The explanation for this trick is that Ki follows intent. As you relax and let your energy flow, your intent (the mental image of a fire hose) brings our Ki into your arm and lets you “resist” without resisting.
This second Ki trick is much more difficult then the first. I would recommend practicing it until you can do it easily. Then use yourself as the example to the students. Remember to relax your whole body as much as possible. I find that the biggest impediment to understanding this technique is random tightening of muscles. It is really hard to let go and trust yourself.
Once your students have the idea, make sure you tie the ideas back to our techniques. Probably the easiest way to relate these ideas is to the three technique principles: Soft-Circle-Harmony. Another satisfying way to illustrate the use of relaxation and intent is to apply it to a palm strike. You should be able see noticeable results within minutes.
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Practicing shiatsu and teaching Kuk Sool Won, I have come across a lot of skepticism concerning the concept of Ki (or Chi). So I would like to share some tricks I have learned that help demonstrate the concept of Ki.
For the first trick we will disrupt the flow of Ki in one part of the body to weaken another part of the body. First have your skeptic stick out their hand directly in front of their body and make a fist. Push down on the fist. This is just to give you and your skeptic a baseline.
Now on the opposite wrist, rub up from Lung7 (Maek Chiggi 1) along the lung meridian for a short distance (about 3 or 4 inches). Do this a few times. Now have them stick out their original hand in a fist, and push down. It should take considerably less force to push their fist down. I usually use just two fingertips.
The skeptic at this point is usually strongly resisting but completely unable to muster any strength. Now to convince them further rub the lung meridian on their wrist the opposite way (toward the hand) and try to push down again. You should find that they have most of their strength back.
So what are we doing here? We are showing two things, one is the interconnectedness of the body, the other is the flow of Ki throughout the body. We are pushing against the flow of the lung meridian to disrupt Ki in the body, then we are smoothing the flow of Ki in the lung meridian to give some strength back. Just imagine the effect of the strong shot to Lung7 in our technique sets.
Want to really make your skeptic a believer? Try the same trick with a chain of people. Have a small group of people hold hands, Push down on the hand of the person at one end of the chain. Now use the wrist of the person at the other end of the chain for the disruption portion. You should get the same effect. I generally find that the smaller the chain is the greater the effect.
Once you get people past their skepticism there is another useful trick you can do to educate your classes. Instead of disrupting their Ki with your fingers, use a packet of sugar. Have one of your students ingest a sugar packet, and you will see the same weakening. (Make sure you ask the parents if you are using a child). This is a great segue into talking about the nutrition and the body.
Finally, you will find people with some immunity to this weakening process. These tend to be the people with the most Ki training experience. So if you get a chance and a patient instructor, see what the effect is on high level Black belts.
Have fun with this. Next week I will elucidate a more difficult Ki trick you can try.
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This post will be for all of you who know or have ever been taught some grappling. Here in Minnesota we have grappling seminars once every two months or so.
I just got done traveling to my Alma Mater, Purdue University, and taught a grappling seminar there, so I thought I would write on how to practice what we teach. * In the coming days I will post a list of what was taught at the seminar with some videos
Positional Practice
1. Position Change
You both start in a given position (Mount, in-the-guard, etc…). Start grappling and when one or both has changed position start over. This practice is to help you learn skills, escapes, and counters in a certain position. You can still get someone to tap out. It just has to be from your starting position.
2. Tap Out
Same as Positional Change but instead of stopping if positions have changed you go until someone taps out due to a choke, lock, or technique.
Take Down *more advanced/dangerous
1. Start from the Wrestlers Clinch
Start from a Wrestlers Clinch and go till tap out.
2. Start from Sparring
This is the most advanced way of starting and involves starting from sparring. If you watch Mixed Martial Arts on TV that is what I am talking about. Obviously, very dangerous. Only do this way of practice when you are an advanced student practicing with another advanced student.
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Getting better at Martial Arts is something that is easy for instructors to express but yet so hard for students to grasp. Obviously going to practice is the number one way to get better. If you don’t practice you will not get better. However, somebody that practices everyday will not necessarily be great.
So here I will give ways that I strive to get better with examples so everyone has something easy they can work on every practice.
Do a Little Every Practice
- Stretch a little further than last time in warm-ups
- Kick a little higher
- Jump a little higher
- Cartwheel a little faster
- Do your techniques from Memory a little faster
- Lower your stances just a little bit
- Do one more push-up
- Punch the pad a little harder
- Do a combo every time you attack during sparring
Get in Shape
- Do four way forms with low stances
- Do every kick
- Do every push-up, crunch, sit-up that everyone else is doing
- Fast staff spinning with drops meaning push-ups
- Do extra special workouts outside class (weight lifting, bike,swimming)
Above your Ability
- Try a special kick that you have never tried (Helicopter kicks or 540’s are always a good start)
- Do a handspring, conquer that, then a back handspring, then a backflip, etc… push yourself
- Spar someone who is better than you, but learn from it (better foot movement, “I need to use more combos”, “I need faster kicks”)
- Watch your instructor or Kuk Sool Videos and emulate their abilities
- Meet someone from another school and learn from what they know (a.k.a. Kuk Sool Networking)
- Ask for help, we all need it
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When I first meet people interested in joining Martial Arts, especially in a city, they usually ask whether or not we teach Self Defense. Here in Minnesota Pu Sa Bum Nim Steffen (3rd Degree Black Belt) will do a Self Defense type class from time to time focusing on Self Defense moves, strikes, or kicks that would be efficient in Self Defense.
Our style, Kuk Sool, teaches defense for any number of situations from being choked, to having your clothing grabbed, to being bear hugged. Here are some pointers on what you should think about in regards to Self Defense with Kuk Sool or any Martial Arts style:
1. Efficient Striking
You are most likely in close with a Self Defense situation. So try and stick to using your close strikes likes elbows, knees, and quick kicks. They hurt and are very fast. Remember, if one strike does not work throw another. * Do not try and back up to strike if you are already close, you will waste your energy and time when you could have already thrown a number of strikes to free yourself and escape
2. Fight Dirty
Yeah, I said it. Your life may be at risk. There might be a very large man attacking you. If you are new to Martial Arts or defending yourself you should not even think twice, you should fight dirty. Gouge the eyes, Kick the Groin, Rake the face with your nails, kick the knees, bite the ear (be careful of blood, you may want to bite and tear). Anything you can think of that would help you escape till you are safe.
3. Don’t Freeze
This is probably the biggest worry of anyone, that they will freeze when confronted with a Self Defense situation. While this could obviously happen to most people, you should be aware and realize you need to act. Everyone will have a moment of realization and “Freeze” per se, but I believe everyone that reads this blog can realize they need to un-freeze and do what needs to be done to defend and escape.
4. Combos Combos Combos
Don’t stop by trying to kick them in the groin and it not working. Immediately try to poke their eyes or palm strike their nose. Always do more than one strike. Don’t trap yourself in the mindset of only doing one strike.
5. Worries & Confidence
If you are still worried do some common situations and practice like a bear hug, getting choked (lightly at first), being grabbed by the shirt, pulling your purse, or something of the like. This will help build some confidence. The more confident you look and act the less likely you are of being attacked. Sometimes life is tough and you are just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but a lot of the time someone will not mess with a really confident person.
+ Bonus
There are so many techniques in our Martial Art Kuk Sool Won, once you get to a high enough belt you know techniques for almost every Self Defense situation. If you are that high of rank make sure to practice effectively. Don’t just walk through the motion. Lock the joint, hit the pressure point, throw, and finish.
[+] Videos
We have also produced three quick videos to get your mind going:
- Defense of Being Grabbed from behind in a Bear Hug
- Defense Against a Strike
- Defense Against Some Unwelcome Friendliness
* Feel free to email this article to anyone who might benefit from reading it by going to the top of this post and clicking the “Email a Friend” link underneath the title of the post. Be safe and I hope this blog post helps.
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