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

No classes or Dahn Bo Nim testing today.

Diet is everything you put into your body.  Have you ever tried keeping a written record of that?  It comes as a surprise to almost everyone — we seem to be peculiarly ill-suited to keeping track of what we have eaten and drunk during the day.  Here at Kuk Sool Won of St. Paul, we recommend a whole food, plant-based diet.  ”Whole food” means that the food is unprocessed or only minimally processed.  Even if you are eating whole grain bread, the wheat has been highly processed (into flour) and mixed with, well, check the label.  If it’s more than water, yeast and salt, I’d hesitate to call it bread.  ”Plant-based” means that most, if not all, of your diet comes from whole plants.  Leaves, stems, roots, and some fruits and seeds.  It’s a delicious and incredibly healthy way to eat.

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.

I’m thankful that I co-own a martial arts school and don’t have to have a real job.

I’m thankful for every student who walks through those doors. 

I’m thankful for a family that loves and supports me, even if they can’t remember the name of whatever it is that I do all the time.

I’m thankful to work with other instructors who share a love of Kuk Sool and who make me laugh, inspire me, and add to the enjoyment of what I do every day.

I’m thankful to work under an instructor whose talent, energy, and ambition have made this school so successful in so many ways.

I’m thankful that what I wear to work is so darn comfy.

I’m thankful that I get to wear other, more flattering clothes too sometimes.

I’m thankful to have so many friends that I love and am loved by. 

I’m thankful for every day I live without pain.

I’m thankful that I get to spend my days with my children.  I’m thankful that I get a break from them sometimes, too.

I’m thankful that I live a life of abundance, without fear, surrounded by love, and full of joy.  I hope the same for all of you. 

This post is part of the Tutorial Writing Blog Contest hosted by Daily Blog Tips. So if you have your own Blog please vote for it and support our Kuk Sool Martial Arts Blog!Almost every month I get a comment or outright asked in our Martial Arts Studio, “But will this work on a Big man?” or “How do I take someone down that is bigger than me?” This tutorial will deal specifically on How to Take Someone down that is MUCH bigger than you.Regularly, tutorials are a step-by-step process leading to an end goal. However, when defending yourself, if you perform one of these steps well, the scuffle could end very shortly and you have just taken down someone that is MUCH bigger than you. * This tutorial is only for self-defense and in a situation you have already tried to leave and talked your way out of. This tutorial is used as a last resort.In my mind there are two ways to approach this:

1. I have never had any experience in any sort of combat and just want to take this Behemoth down and get out of here.
2. I have a reputation to uphold and will use my combative skills to slay this beast.

So lets go both routes. We’ll start the tutorial with someone who has never had any Martial Arts or combat experience and is being attacked. When you take them down, get out of there to safety.I have no Combat Experience and Need this Giant Slain (5 Steps)Step 1: Strike the Soft Spots on this GiantHit those vulnerable spots with your fists, palm strikes, kicks, fingers, nails, and anything else you can get to the soft spots that hurt a lot.

1. Eyes
2. Groin
3. Floating Ribs (bottom two ribs)
4. Ears
5. Nose
6. Temples
7. etc…

Step 2: Find a WeaponSometimes it is easy to find a weapon in the general area, sometimes it is impossible, sometimes it takes a little imagination. Here are some ideas for you to end this fight.

1. Club (table leg, metal bar, thick branch)
2. Staff/Bo (Sign Post, Fence Rail)
3. Knife
4. Mace
5. etc…

Step 3: Use your Speed!If you are smaller than this Mammoth I hope you may be quicker. If you don’t think you are you may want to skip this step, but if you are, use your speed.Run around and try to bring your opponent down and out with quickness. Strike and circle. Strike and take down. Do what is takes with your speed to end this skirmish.Step 4: Use all your available Bodily WeaponsYour body is a weapon. Use it well:

1. Punch
2. Kick (make sure you have enough time and enough distance)
3. Palm-Strike
4. Scratch
5. Rip

Step 6: They’re Down! Call for a Ref and Count Them Out!They should be down by now. You have down four different, high-pain, maneuvers. If they are not down, this is the time to start yelling for “HELP!” Maybe someone that can bring this Monster down will come to your help? You need it.I have Combat or Martial Arts Experience and I have a Reputation to Uphold (2 steps)Step 1: Use your SkillsUse your combat or Martial Arts Skills:

• Joint-Locks
• Striking (Kicks and Punches)
• Weapons
• Grappling
• Throws
• or whatever you do…

If you are doing this part of the tutorial you should be good enough and confident enough in your skillset to take this person down.Step 2: The Earth ShakesYour opponent is down. Did you expect anything different? You are a skilled musician of combat.* If you wish to use the second part of this tutorial and are a resident of the Twin Cities, Minnesota you may want to check us out: Twin Cities Martial Arts - Kuk Sool Won of St Paul

Kwan Jang Nim Dickson Kunz sent me an email today kindly correcting me on my Sept.7 Blog post Kuk Sool Won Weapons - Complete with Pictures with regards to what was posted about Straight Swords and Curved Swords. The email from Master Kunz was too good not to share so below is Kwan Jang Nim Kunz explaining the difference between a Straight Bladed and Curve Bladed Sword.

The reason you only see curved blades in cutting demos is because the tempering process changes the crystalline structure of the metal, causing it to ‘bend.’ Only double edged swords are straight (the curve on one side ‘cancels out’ the curve on the other). In olden times, practice swords were only made of wood due to the expense of metalworking. Nowadays, it’s still considerably cheaper to own a metal practice sword than one that is tempered for cutting, just as a wooden practice sword is far cheaper than one made of metal.

Metal practice swords are typically made of a blank bar of steel (or aluminum), merely having a sharp edge ground into one side, so the shape is still that of a ’straight’ bar of steel. Only recently have I seen practice swords made with the curved shape resembling an actual tempered blade. As a result of the extra shaping involved, these newer versions of a practice sword are more expensive than the previously available generic type. The bottom line of all this is that you will never find a single-edged quality cutting sword that is straight instead of curved.

So there you have it. Thank You Kwan Jang Nim for clearing that up for us. As with anybody who contributes to this Blog I happily pass along a little Link Love. Master Kunz currently is instructing at Kuk Sool Won of Costa Rica.

As you know Kuk Sool is founded with Buddhist Martial Arts. Here is a video from the Korean National Government on Korean Martial Arts connection with Buddhism. Kuk Sool Won members are featured training at a Korean Temple.