Kuk Sool Won of St Paul | Twin Cities Martial Arts with Classes for Kids, Adults, Families, and Workouts

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.

Once again, our guest blogger, Mel Martin Jo Kyo Nim: 

Two weeks after surgery I finally returned to Kuk Sool classes. It was great to be back in the dojang and to see everyone, but at the same time it was very frustrating. For the next five months I am prohibited from running, jumping, bending, or twisting. So I took a deep breath and told myself that this is the perfect time to work on my weapons skills. When I got home I started doing the math and I figured out that I only have to worry about being benched for about 50-60 classes, and really that’s not that bad. I smiled and thought to myself, “Now that’s the right attitude to have.” And that phrase, right attitude, brought me up short. I thought about it for a moment and I realized that I am back on the path that initially led me to black belt. The first week of my recovery was about fitness. Not in the way we normally think of fitness, pushing our bodies to make them stronger, but rather resting and getting out of my body’s way so it could work and heal itself. Once I was off crutches it was on to concentration. I had to focus on relocating my sense of balance, relearning my limits, listening very carefully to my body when it told me what it could and could not do. And now here I am, once again, at right attitude.

Once we reach black belt we tend to forget about the path the colored belts follow. We are more than happy to shepherd others along their way, but we forget how the path continues to apply to us. But then, like in the childhood game of Chutes and Ladders, something unexpected can happen that will knock us back to an earlier place on the path. So we stand up, dust ourselves off, and start moving forward again, learning even more than we did the first time we walked the road. I don’t think any of us, black belts or not, ever truly reach the end of the path. There are always setbacks, physical or mental, that send us back to an earlier place. The key is to never stop when that happens. Don’t stop learning and don’t stop moving. Each journey along the path is different. It may take a few moments or a few months but if we follow the route we know the end result is the same, we end up better than we were when we started.

I find great comfort in knowing the road that is before me. In my case, it’s going to be a long one. And that’s ok. My jool bong needs work anyway.

A very special welcome to a guest blogger, Mel Martin Jo Kyo Nim.  Some of you may remember Mel JKN as the woman who beat the snot out of her would-be mugger a couple of Thanksgivings ago.  Well, she is currently recovering from knee surgery, and, given her history, my money is on Mel JKN — that gimpy knee doesn’t stand a chance.  Take it away, ma’am!

Mel JKN writes:  On Tuesday I had knee surgery to repair my left ACL which I completely blew out a couple of weeks ago doing an off-the-wall jump roundhouse. And while I intend to write more later about having a major injury and staying with Kuk Sool, I wanted to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Kuk Sool and all it has given me to help me get through this time in my life.

Dear Kuk Sool,

I am lying on my couch as I write this. My leg is strapped into an immobilizing brace and I can’t get around without the use of crutches. And while you are the cause of this injury and the reason why I am trapped here, I wanted to thank you for a few small things that you have given me that make this experience bearable.

Thank you for giving me a high pain tolerance.

Thank you for teaching me how to balance and use my hands while standing on only on one leg.

Thank you for giving me flexibility so I can still do things like put on socks and paint my toenails.

Thank you for bringing me friends who set me up with entertaining DVDs and who keep me connected with the world through amusing emails and internet chats.

Thank you for giving me a strong body that heals quickly.

Thank you for teaching me that worthwhile things often take longer than we want them too and you can’t rush the process.

Thank you for giving me 350+ techniques to go over in my head when I get bored.

Thank you for teaching me patience.

Those are just a few of the things that I have learned during our 7 years together that I am drawing on now. And don’t worry, I’m healing quickly and we’ll be seeing each other soon.

Your friend,

Mel JKN