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Tournaments make for a very long day… For the judges. As members of a traditional martial art that focuses so heavily on etiquette we should really do our best to thank the judges. Unfortunately, I always hear a lot of complaints. I even remember doing some complaining myself. So, in the spirit of contrition, I am going to thank some judges right now. I’d like to thank Master Seitz, and Master Simms for giving me contact warnings during sparring. I’d like to thank Master Jeff Green for not being fooled by flashy techniques, and I’d like to thank Master Kunz for making me do above the head spin-kicks without jumping. For all of you who are not judges I’d like to give you a peak at the judges world. I’ve heard many different systems by which judges do their judging. But the main thing I see is consistency. Remember, even if you do not understand what they are looking for, the judges are doing their best to be consistent. So without further ado, and in no particular order, here is my list of the top ten things you can do to impress the judges:
- Etiquette, Every judge I know will give higher points to better ettiquette or down grade you for bad etiquette.
- You Won Hwa - remember that Kuk Sool is a softer style, so if you do everything hard and jerky you will not score as high as someone who flows.
- Do your techniques - The judges are looking at your techniques; a poor technique ending in a magnificent fall reflects more on your partners falling ability then your technique ability
- Do the techniques in the book!
- Ettiquette: Formal bow (unless injury prevents), speak clearly, use a title, smile, do not turn your back on the judges, thank the judges for your score.
- When doing form - look at your target! not your hands and feet.
- Hyung By-Whats?
- Control, Control, Control - I see too many students who want to spar hard at tournaments. Remember, if you want to spar harder, do it at your home school.
- Weapons: If you only practice the form and ignore the basic spinnings and meditations, your forms will show it
- Etiquette: Did I mention etiquette?
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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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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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Staff Form is the first weapons form we all learn in Kuk Sool Won. We will all practice it countless times throughout our career. Here is a quick video of myself doing Joong Bong Il Hyung at the St.Louis Tournament and some quick tips below:
1. Balance
Especially at the beginning you need to demonstrate good balance with all the spinning techniques. If you do not show proper balance, especially at a tournament, it is immediately known to everyone watching that you have not practiced the form enough.
2. Good Stances
Just because you have a staff in your hands does not mean you get to neglect your stances. Stances will not be as low as empty hand forms because you need some clearance to spin your staff but they should still be proper and low enough to show you actually are a Martial Artist.
3. Power and Precision
This form must be controlled, powerful, and precise. Each movement and strike with the staff must be made with purpose and direction. Practice, Practice, Practice. Especially practice the spins on your own. Don’t just do the form over and over again do the set of 15 spins to get the basics down and sharpened from time to time.
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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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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.
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 When people first start learning Ssang Jool Bong they commit a couple basic Jool Bong Sins. Of course, practice, practice, practice when it comes to Ssang Jool Bong and this can rid you of those sins. However, these tips and tricks can help you on your way.
If you haven’t seen the way we do Ssang Jool Bong here, check this post: Ssang Jool Bong like you Have Never Seen it Before
1. Let the Chain Wrap
Too many people just hit the “stick” part of the Jool Bong off their shoulders, legs, and hips. You need to hold the tip of the Jool Bong right next to your body to let the chain wrap around the body part you are bouncing it off of. This way you will not get a bunch of bruises and you can have a longer, happier life without the pain of whacking yourself day in and day out.
2. Don’t Stop the Motion
Ssang Jool Bong is a weapon where you must continue the motion in a circular manner constantly. If you try to stop the motion in the middle of the air you may have some undesired consequences flying toward you face. Always try to let the motion be smooth and circular letting the chain wrap by bouncing or going around your body to change directions.
3. Use Two Hands
No, this is not baseball. But you need to practice with both hands. When you first learn Jool Bong you will only use one hand at a time. So make sure you practice with both hands, because in the near future you will be doing double and using both hands at the same time. Which can be pretty mind boggling for someone who has only practiced with one hand.
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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.
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