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We’ll be volunteering at Feed My Starving Children this Saturday, July 10 from 4:30 to 6:30 at their Chanhassen location. We still have a few spaces, so sign up today.Click here for directions and more information about Feed My Starving Children.
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Our third annual Kuk Sool Olympics (the event formally known as “In-School Tournament”) is coming up. Students, please turn in your registration forms and fees as soon as possible. Parents, grandparents, friends, neighbors — you’re all invited to come and see our students, youngest to oldest, beginners to experienced, enjoy a day of friendly competition, great community, and outstanding martial arts. Please join us Saturday, February 27 from 11 AM to about 5 PM.
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Kuk Sool Won of St. Paul is hosting its annual Open House this Saturday, September 26 from 11am to 3pm. We’ll be offering free mini-classes, playing games, and showing off some of the best martial arts in the Twin Cities. Come meet our instructors and current students, try out some new moves, and get your questions answered about our school and the martial arts system of Kuk Sool Won.
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I love open houses. I love the idea that we open our homes (or businesses) to the public, invite folks in, let them look around, share a snack or a meal together, and share a little bit about who we are and what we do.Here at Kuk Sool Won of St. Paul, we’re having an open house on Saturday, September 26 from 11am to 3pm. Yes, anyone is welcome. Yes, you can look around, yes, there will be treats and snacks. And the best part is you can come in and not just see what we do, but try it out yourself. Already a student? Come in and play a game with us, maybe try a mini-class and review an old skill or learn a new one. And watch a demonstration by our most advanced students and instructors and get an idea of the amazing things that can be done by any student who puts in the time and training. Not yet a student? Come and tour our school, meet our instructors and current students, learn a little bit, play a little bit, and get all your questions answered in person about our school and the system of martial arts called Kuk Sool Won. Everyone is welcome. Our “house” will be open, so come see for yourself some of the best martial arts in the Twin Cities.
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Have you noticed a young woman in classes taking pictures recently? Julia has been visiting Kuk Sool Won of St. Paul taking pictures for the University Avenue Project. Photographer Wing Young Huie, in collaboration with Public Art St. Paul and with funding from the Joyce Foundation, is creating a six-mile gallery of 360 photographs in 2010 along University Ave. The photographs, including those taken at our dojang of our students and facility, will be projected on store windows and building surfaces along University Ave. at night, and large photographs will be displayed on building and windows that can be seen by day.
If you’re curious about the project, check out Wing Young Huie’s website at http://www.wingyounghuie.com/. Or check out a Minnesota Public Radio article on the project here.
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Yeah, I’m talkin’ about roller derby. But it’s not what you think. I went to my first bout not really knowing what to expect, and what I saw was a fast-paced, hard-driving sport that owed as much of its appeal to truly gifted athleticism as to the admittedly fun dramatics. Yes, the girls throw around some ‘tude, and yes, the uniforms lean toward short skirts and fishnets, but the skating is, in some cases, world class, and the game is played with strategy and skill, not just shoulder checks and cat fights. What does roller derby have to do with Kuk Sool? Well, Kuk Sool Won of St. Paul will be the opening entertainment for the MN Rollergirls on Saturday, March 21, 2009. We’re thrilled to be asked — it’s a chance for us to show off what we do in front of 2000+ people who really like seeing athletic women do impressive aggressive stuff. If only Steffen Pu Sa Bum Nim would let me wear a skirt…. Want to know more about the MN Rollergirls? Check out their website at www.mnrollergirls.com.
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Steffen PSBN and I were talking business the other day — an activity that we call a “meeting” and that usually involves large quantities of bubble tea. We were talking about demographics: who is our market? what are they like? what DO they like? how do we reach them most efficiently? And we stumbled upon a great truth: martial artists read. Looking at our current student population, former students and instructors, we determined that Kuk Sool apparently appeals to bookish word nerds, ourselves included. (Yes. It’s a fact. Any conclusion reached under the influence of a strawberry kumquat black tea with pearls is an idea of great wisdom and undoubtedly true.) So we decided to make our upcoming Open House that much more fun by sharing some of our favorite martial arts books with our students and guests. We’re going through the bookshelves and hauling out, among others, The Art of War, The Art of Peace, Varjak Paw, and The Miracle of Mindfulness. We’ll set them out on tables, give folks a chance to see some of our recommendations for good martial arts reads, and, we hope, learn about some new titles to go check out ourselves. Do you have recommendations? Throw your comments out there — we’d love to hear what you think of as a good book about or relating to martial arts. And if you’re in the area, come by and visit: Saturday, September 13 from 11am to 3pm. In addition to the books, you’ll find us playing games, teaching mini-classes, and eating treats. Nothing like books, martial arts, and cookies for a good time.
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Thanks to Scott Wood Hohng Di for forwarding a link to this site. Here are some fun facts about Mr. Norris.
Oh, there’s more. Go to the site and read. I must confess that my personal current fantasy about the Republican National Convention coming to town does involve “accidentally” meeting Chuck Norris. Is he coming to Saint Paul, MN for the convention — who knows? Would he actually ask me to dinner to discuss our differing political views and mutual love of martial arts? Well, duh. So if you see me hanging around Rice Park in my do-bahk looking cute and approachable, yet with that indefinable air of “I have a black belt and I know how to use it,” please don’t come over and ruin it by jumping out at me and making me scream like a girl. Mr. Norris might be watching.
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* True Account by Head Instructor Steffen Kellogg from Kuk Sool Won of St Paul, Minnesota
I have always loved stories of Kuk Sool being successfully used in self-defense. But until recently I had not been in an altercation that went to the extreme of actual physical confrontation. I had always been able to talk my way out of confrontation or just project enough of an aura of confidence to deter attackers. Last night that all changed…
First a little back ground on the philosophy of self-defense that I teach. Seth Hicks Pu Sa Bum Nim (Kuk Sool Won of Urbana-Champaign and Purdue University) and I were once discussing how we teach self-defense. We were both in agreement but he had the better presentation; so I stole his presentation idea. Since then I’ve taught the three pillars of self-defense: Etiquette, self-control, and lastly, the physical techniques of self-defense.
- Etiquette
- Self-Control
- Physical Techniques
I tell my students that 90% of possible confrontations can be avoided with good etiquette. And that of that 10% left over, another 90% can be avoided simply by being able to control our body, breathing, and emotions. Projecting confidence, being assertive, and not letting your anger get the best of you are all parts of self-control. Each one helps to deter potential aggressors. Finally, the physical techniques are used in the last extreme to protect ourselves or others when we have tried everything else and getting away without risk is not an option.
The True Self-Defense Story
I have been apartment caretaking for about 5 and half years. In that time I’ve handled countless complaints, noise disturbances, and belligerents. So last night at 3AM when I was woken by pounding on a door and bellowing in the hall, I was more annoyed than surprised. I quickly put on my dobak pants and went out in the hall to calm things down. What I found was a man trying to kick down the door of one of my tenants. Another of the tenants had already called the police and was trying to get the belligerent to leave from a safe distance away. I could smell the alcohol on this guy from 20 feet away. I quickly interposed myself between the drunk and the door. At this point it had gone beyond caring what the drunk wanted, I was worried for the lady behind the door. I didn’t want this guy getting to her.
So I took up a conciliatory natural stance. I had both hands up feet set beneath me with my knees slightly bent. He backed off from the door, and started making odd squaring off gestures like he wanted to be in a fighting stance but had only seen one in a Bruce Lee movie. That didn’t bother me as long as he was out range and not armed. I started trying to calm him. Calling him sir, trying to tell him the police were on the way (he thought they would help him), telling him that he needed to either leave or calm down, that there was no way he was going into that apartment. Normally this is all it takes. The guy had nothing to lose, he didn’t have friends watching, there was no face to lose, but he still wouldn’t leave.
His next tactic was to mock me. Self-control was the name of the day. I don’t lose anything by accepting mocking (Especially by someone that drunk). He started to advance on me and I dropped my left foot back enough to be in a more defensive stance. Still at this point I did not want to hurt him. I just wanted to stall him until the police could get there. Unfortunately, for me he decided to play with the fire alarm. I pulled his hand away from the alarm, and that is when techniques came into play.
One of the things I especially love about Kuk Sool is the wide range of options we have. We can go for real damage, strict defense, or restraint. I went for restraint.
Kuk Sool Techniques and Armbars
As soon as I removed his hand from the fire alarm he went for me with a wild overhand flail. I blocked his arm and drove him back a couple of steps. I quickly swept his feet (Ki Bon Soo 9), and slid on top. While he was flailing away I slid my leg around his arm and pulled him into an arm bar using my whole body as a fulcrum (a black belt ground sparring technique) I now had him pinned the ground with one leg holding his head down, and the other holding his body down. His elbow was mine to break or not. Still he struggled. Two light heal kicks to the ribs (warning shots), and a verbal threat to increase the kicks until his ribs broke and I was able to completely restrain him until the police arrived.
The whole physical episode had taken less then thirty seconds. When he was properly subdued and in custody, I took stock. My tenant was safe. My heart was pounding but my breathing was completely under control. I could feel the adrenaline rush, but never did the adrenaline control me. I had successfully used what I had learned in Kuk Sool over the years without seriously injuring the belligerent. He was bleeding from a ripped open suture in his hand (he had apparently had an operation on his hand the previous week), and I only had some minor scratches on my calf from his fingernails. And I had managed to do everything within the confines of a 4 foot wide hallway. The mental and physical techniques, that I have practiced for so long in Kuk Sool worked beautifully.
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Where can you go Online to find other Kuk Soolers talking Kuk Sool? Well, obviously this blog is a good choice but there are numerous others around. Here is a list of some popular places we Kuk Soolers tend to Congregate:
There are are a couple different ways to join the Kuk Sool Facebook community. One is to join a group and one is to become a Fan. You will either have to login to Facebook or create an account to join.
To Join a group click this link to join Kuk Sool University (192 Members)
Yesterday Facebook also opened up the ability to make Fan pages. So I made one for the World Kuk Sool Association as well as for this school here in Minnesota. After you click on the links below, on the upper right of the group profile will be a tiny little text link that reads something like “add to my stores” or “add to my services” which are just fancy ways of saying “Make me a Fan.”
So if you are a Fan of the World Kuk Sool Association Click Here
If you are a Fan of Kuk Sool Won of St Paul Click Here
* You will have to log in or register to join these groups too. To create a Fan page for your school, click on the “Advertisers” Link on the bottom of Facebook, and the link to create one will be on the right side of the page
Flickr is also a great place to find some Kuk Sool Members posting photos. So if you take a lot of Kuk Sool photography, join up and share your photos.
Click here to visit the Flickr Kuk Sool Won Group
MySpace doesn’t seem to have a single group for Kuk Sool but if you search for “Kuk Sool” on MySpace a lot of videos and user stuff does come up. You can click here to visit MySpace
One of the most active Kuk Sool communities is the forum on Martial Arts Planet. A lot of Kuk Sool people meet here and discuss. You will have to register to put in your 2-cents but you can read all the posts and discussions without registering
Click Here to Visit the Kuk Sool Online Forum at Martial Arts Planet
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