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

Jason and I have been in contact for a couple months now but we have never actually met in person. He has been awesome and given us some sweet Kuk Sool Photo Wallpapers and this Interview. Jason also met my UK friend Stuart at the Korean Championships this year. He is currently teaching English in South Korea, training in Kuk Sool, and getting ready to return to his home.

Q: Tell us a little about yourself

A: I am from Brandon, Manitoba Canada which is a small town in the Prairies. I came to Korea 4 years ago, after completing University, to pay off my massive student debt.

Q: What is your Rank and What School are you Currently Training At?

A: Currently, I have my first dahn but will be testing for my second in December if all goes well. I am just awaiting the notification from the head office here in my city. I am currently training at Moorung 6 Dojang in Ulsan Korea. I have been training at this dojang for my entire time in Kuk Sool.

Q: What do you Like About Kuk Sool?

A: What I love about Kuk Sool is the people. When I first started out, I thought that martial arts would be all about stone-face masters who were hard-core and difficult to please, like what you see in the movies. What I noticed when I started Kuk Sool was how nice everyone was, especially the masters. Maybe it was because I was one of the few foreigners training in my area or something but everyone made me me feel extremely welcome. In fact one of the first words I learned in Korean was from Kuk Sool and that was “kah-jok” which means “family.”

It was told to me by my original Master Kwan Jang Lee Young Suk, Who trained me for about 2 years. He kept saying to me “this is your family, this is your kuk sool family” I never forgot that.

Q: How Did you Start Kuk Sool?

A: I started Kuk Sool by complete accident. I had wanted to practice Martial Arts when I first came to Korea but wasn’t sure where to go. I received directions from some friends but mistakenly went to the wrong dojang. I ended up walking into my first Kuk Sool class which was very close to my home at that time. It was very difficult at first but slowly I learned what everyone was saying. It was also difficult after my first year when I waited for my black belt. All of my fellow classmates were promoted but being a foreigner I had to wait. A year later, I received my black and was extremely happy. Now, I am hoping that before I leave Korea I can test again for my second dahn.

Q: How Did you Get Interested in Photography and Martial Arts?

A: I got interested in photography with Martial Arts because I didn’t see a lot of shots that I really liked when it came to any sort of Martial Art. There seemed to be a lot of what I would call “Uncle Clem’s yellow belt test” type shots or studio shots of shirtless dudes doing high kicks. There just wasn’t anything that seems to capture the true essence of what I practiced every day. So I started trying to get the shots that I wanted and found that it wasn’t easy.

After years of trying, I have ended up with only a few shots I really think capture the essence of Kuk Sool Won, but I am sure that in the years to come I will have the opportunity to get more.

Q: Anything Else You Would Like to Say?

A: Other than that, all I have to say is that I have never been happier to have stumbled into the the “wrong” dojang. Kuk Sool has been like my Korean family for years now and it is going to be extremely hard to leave them in December.

Thanks for the Interview Jason

If you would like to contact Jason Teale about his photography or some other interest you can find his website here: Jason Teale Photography

If you would like some of the images Jason has taken in this blog post you can download for yourself here: Kuk Sool Wallpapers

I am very happy to feature this video from Kuk Sool Won of Meyerland here on the Blog because Sa Bum Nim Mike Nebgen has been helping us out a lot up here in Minnesota and it’s nice to see both him and his students doing so well. This video was just released this week and features these Kuk Sool celebs:

• Chong Kwan Jang Nim Lee
• Kwan Jang Nim Choon ok Harmon
• Kwan Jang Nim Alex Suh
• Kwan Jang Nim Jolly
•  Sa bum Nim Mike & Kaori Nebgen
• Pu Sa Bum Nim David Aue

This video features Sword Sparring Techniques, Cane Techniques, Breaking, Palm Strike Techniques, Long vs. Short Sword Sparring Form, Staff Sparring Form (Bong Dae Ryun), Fan Techniques, and more.

I asked Photographer Jason Teale for some of his amazing images for our blog readers and he thankfully said yes. Jason is currently teaching English in South Korea and is also currently testing for Kyo Sa Nim. He took these beautiful images of Knife Defense (Dahn Do Maki), Fan Techniques (Bu Chae Sool), and Monk Techniques that we have turned into Desktop Wallpapers at the Kuk Sool Korean Championships.

We will be posting an interview with Jason down the road but ifyou would like to see some more of his amazing photography just visit his website at: www.jasonteale.com

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• 800 x 600 Resolution
• 1024 x 768 Resolution
• 1152 x 720 Resolution (wide)
• 1280 x 800 Resolution (wide)
• 1440 x 900 Resolution (wide)

• 800 x 600 Resolution
• 1024 x 768 Resolution
• 1152 x 720 Resolution (wide)
• 1280 x 800 Resolution (wide)
• 1440 x 900 Resolution (wide)

Today we’re gonna go through some of the upgrades I have done to the blog today and the last couple weeks.

1. You can now Email a Post to a Friend

I am so happy to announce I have finally added this functionality to this blog. I think you will all enjoy it as well.

To Email a Friend the post you like, just click on the post title from the Blog Homepage, and when you the Blog post is loaded you will see a little icon and text appear underneath the title of the Blog Post that says “Email this Post to a Friend”

So now if you think your friend or an instructor will like a post, feel free to click and email them. You do not leave the page at all, you just click and send right from the post. Go try it yourself!

2. What is RSS?

One of the options to subscribe to this Blog is via the Kuk Sool Blog RSS feed. Now, I know many of you have yet to learn how easy RSS is and so I have added a “What is RSS?” page to this site. You can learn what RSS is by clicking this link: What is RSS? or by clicking on the “What is RSS?” link at the top of the sidebar under the big orange RSS icon.

3. Subscribe via Email

Yes, this feature has been on the Blog for a while, but just to let you know that if you don’t like the whole RSS thing you can still subscribe via email. Just enter in you email at the top of the sidebar and you will receive the posts via email.

Does your school have a commercial? I have found three different schools who have recorded and produced commercials for their school. In todays world of social media and the video craze online, why not have a commercial? It’s cheap and fun. Here are 3 examples of commercials from Kuk Sool.

The St.Louis commercial is a little shorter, which if I was airing on TV, I would probably go with because of the appropriate length. But the other two are very nice for if you are only going the online promotion route. Enjoy.

Leavenworth Kuk Sool Won (they call it more of a promo video)

Kuk Sool Won of St.Louis

- Sorry for the poor quality, if you go to their website it is much better. There is a link on one of the pop-ups for the video.

Kuk Sool Won of Kingwood

This one was too long for YouTube so click here to watch it: Click Here to Watch this Commercial

It may not surprise you that the two kicks that give people the most trouble in the Kuk Sool under Black Belt Curriculum are Low and Jump Spin Kick. My good friend Andy over at the BlueMoonBlog has been having some trouble with Jump Spin Kick and asked for some input.

I generally teach Jump Spin Kick in 3 steps. However, as with anything else the real way to get good at a kick is to practice it every time you are doing Kuk Sool. Even a couple times a day will help you significantly. These 3 tips will definitely get you started and over that wall that is starting this kick.

* Demo pictures were performed by my Assistant Instructor Brandon JKN here at Purdue.

Step 1

Start in a relaxed Kong Kyuk Jah Seh (Basic fighting stance) and jump up in the air 360 degrees and land exactly as you started. The trick to this part is to bring your knees up and jump as high as you can. Most people jump the 360 degrees no problem but once they try to kick in Step 3 they are not bringing their knees high enough to give them hangtime in the air to kick. Bring your knees up and you will succeed at Step 1.

Do this 10 times

Step 2

Perform Step 1 again by jumping 360 degrees bringing your knees up. But this time focus on whipping your head around to the front to see your target as soon as both your feet have left the ground. This will give you more control in the air, view your target, and a way to lead your body. THIS STEP IS VERY IMPORTANT. As with anything your body follows your head. In ANY spin kick you should start your motion by turning your head and looking at your target. You will notice your spin get faster but you have not decreased your hangtime, which is what we want.

Do this 10 times

Step 3

This is where we add the kick. Only kick after you are in the air and have whipped your head around to see your target. Most people try to start kicking too early. Wait till your body is ready and balanced and then release the kick. You have plenty of time in the air at this point not to panic. Remember you should be pushing your hips out so you kick with your heel and not the side of your foot.

Power Tip: After you master steps 1 - 3 pull with your Glutes (a.k.a. butt) and pull your leg across. This will generate the power you need for breaking.

Today is Blog Action Day

Today is Blog Action Day for the Environment. We are so participating in this Going Green event. 15,000 and 1 Bloggers are posting and 20,000,000 readers are reading about ways to help the environment today. So if you have a blog get to it. Help the Earth.

Here are my 5 Kuk Sool Going Green Recommendations:

1. Don’t use any paper today (pretty easy - use email or a laptop instead)
2. Run or Walk to Practice instead of Drive
3. Recycle that Water Bottle you use tonight
4. Talk to your Family and Friends about Environment Issues
5. Wash your Uniform on Cold (uses less energy)

Here are some other Kuk Sool Blogs I am pinging to get in on the issue:

1. BabyPowderBoy Blog
2. Blue Moon Blog
3. Sa Bum Nim Mike Nebgen’s Blog

If you have a blog and want to be added to the list. Write a post about the environment and leave a link in the comments.

Vital Point Strikes: The Art and Science of Striking Vital Targets for Self-defense and Combat Sports


Learn how to better use Pressure Points in Self-Defense or Combat sports. This book is written by a Korean practitioner and has 4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon.

Pressure Points have always had a leading role in Martial Arts. It so happens that Kuk Sool Won has pressure point targeting in almost every set of techniques. Emphasis on Pressure Points comes in Blue Belt with Hand and Foot Pressure Point striking (Maek Chi Ki and Maek Cha Ki).

It will always be tough (until you are a Master) to locate every Pressure Point for every technique. However, there are diagrams and and lists to help you locate and name each pressure point. Kuk Sool Won of Burton (Flint, Michigan) has put up a guide to help us a bit. This is a nice guide for both of the Blue Belt Pressure Point Striking sets because the name of each pressure point is listed in Korean. They also supply the diagram of the Lung Meridian below.

Maek Chi Ki (Pressure Point Striking with the Hands)

1. Yuhl Gyuhl Hyul (lung 7)
2. Soo Sahm Ri Hyul (large intestine 10)
3. Chuhn Boo Hyul (lung 3)
4. Geuk Chuhn Hyul (heart 1)
5. Hohn Soo Hyul (not on a meridian)
6. Gaek Joo In (gall bladder 3)
7. Hohn Soo Hyul (not on a meridian)
8. Dae Po Hyul (spleen 21)
9. Um Kyo (conception 7) or Ki Hae (conception 8)
10. Goo Mi Hyul (conception 15)
11. Yuhm Chuhn Hyul (conception 23)
12. Jahng Moon Hyul (liver 13)
13. Ah Moon Hyul (governing 15)
14. Shin Juhn Hyul (governing 24)
15. Yoo Geun Hyul (stomach 18) or Chuhn Ji Hyul (pericardium 1)

Maek Cha Ki (Pressure Point Striking with the Feet and Kicks)

1. Sahm Um Kyo Hyul (spleen 6)
2. Dohk Bi Hyul (stomach 35)
3. Wee Joong Hyul (bladder 40)
4. Hyul Hae Hyul (spleen 10)
5. Jahng Moon Hyul (liver 13)
6. Geuk Chuhn Hyul (heart 1)
7. Ki Hae Hyul (conception 8)
8. Goo Mi Hyul (conception 15)
9. Yuhm Chuhn Hyul (conception 23)
10. Hohn Soo Hyul (not on a meridian)
11. Yon Geun Hyul (stomach 18)
12. Ah Moon Hyul (governing 15)
13. Gaek Joo In (gall bladder 3)
14. Dae Choo Hyul (governing 14)
15. Yahng Neung Chuhn Hyul (gall bladder 34)

* Click Image to Enlarge

Fresh release from the Great Lakes Tournament in Troy, MI. Master Gary Evarts does a pretty awesome breaking demo. Short but sweet. Breaking is something that takes a lot of concentration and proper technique to execute. You will hardly ever have a perfect breaking demo so always give it a second go if something messes up.

If you have never seen the website for his schools I think it is THE best Kuk Sool website out there right now and is worth checking out: Kuk Sool Won of Greater Rochester

Get your game face on and spread the word it was another great week on this Kuk Sool Blog.  I am also coming home to Minnesota today, so if you are a Minnesota Kuk Sooler I will see you on Saturday.

Video: The Master Harmon’s (Never before seen video)

- Two Videos. Two Masters Harmon. Same Technique Set. Different Days.

Quick Tip on How to Win at Sparring

- Believe it or not. Small things can help you win at sparring and this is how.

Wrap Your Hands the Muay Thai Way

- Purdue KSW just got hand wraps for our Kickboxing, Pad-Striking Workout and this is how we wrap.

Sa Bum Nim Mike Nebgen and Meyerland Kuk Sool

- Arguably the best Kuk Sool School in the U.S.

Where is this Kuk Sool Boat Going?

- Preview of what is coming up in the coming weeks on this blog. Keep reading and spread the word.

Video: Kuk Sool Sparring Set - Gun Dae Ryun

- Fresh this week from the UK. A demonstration of the Kuk Sool set Gun Dae Ryun