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

Kuk Sool Won of Timberhill Master, Kwan Jang Nim Daniel Jolly, is known for his great sparring ability. Also, he is a giant. If you see a really tall Master walking around at a tournament you will know who he is. He is also very nice and talented.
Say Hi and Remember to bow.

Here is his schools website where you can learn more about Kwan Jang Nim and his history: Kuk Sool Won of Timberhill - Texas Martial Arts

“Functional conditioning” is THE buzzword in the fitness industry right now, though, like most ideas, it isn’t exactly new, just newly repackaged and marketed.  It seems that the billion dollars worth of exercise machines filling fitness centers across the country really don’t do all that much for our health.  Machines (as any fourth grader who has studied basic physics can tell you) do work for you, making your workout easier and, therefore, less of an actual workout.  Add in the potential for real injury even from using the machines correctly, and you’ve got a bunch of expensive, gleaming, and fairly useless pieces of equipment.  Oh sure, you might be able to do 45 minutes on the stair machine, but can you actually climb that many stairs in real life?  Go ahead and try — I did, and (once I stopped wheezing in agony) that was when I stopped using the Continue Reading…

So I am sitting in Houston Airport waiting for my flight (we’ve been delayed three hours so far), and I’m trying not to let the frustration ruin what has been an outstanding weekend.

I have spent the last three days with my fellow instructors at the Kuk Sool Won annual instructor training. There were instructors there from all over. One even came from as far away as Japan. We were trained, helped, and coached by Kwan Jahng Nims Barry Harmon, Choon Ok Harmon, Alex Suh, and Sun Jin Suh. It was, once again, a wonderful opportunity to get ideas, learn, and correct a wide array of martial arts and business techniques. But the high point had to be Kuk Sa Nim’s speech.

Every once in a while I catch a glimpse of just how truly awesome Suh In Hyuk, Kuk Sa Nim really is. Of course, I have always known that Continue Reading…

Kuk Sool uniforms come in all shapes in sizes, but people new to Kuk Sool sometimes don’t get to see that higher level uniforms are segmented and earned through rank. In this post we will go through all the uniforms and ranks (with awesome pictures) from our Comprehensive Korea Style of Kuk Sool Won.

Regular Training Uniform

This uniform is worn by everyone that practices Kuk Sool no matter your rank. It is a plain black that has Korean writing on the back that reads “Kuk Sool Won” or something of the like. This uniform also requires you to have a patch of the Korean Flag and the Association Logo. You may also have your countries flag on the sleeve. There are some differences depending on what country you are in. In America you are not allowed to have a patch that signifies what Dojang you are form but in Korea Continue Reading…

Video of the Two Instructors at Kuk Sool Won of Walzem down there in San Antonio, Texas. Sa Bum Nim Lawson and Kyo Sa Nim Jen doing some great demos.

I’ll also pass on a little link love to help them rank a little higher in Google.

Here is there Web Page: San Antonio Martial Arts - Kuk Sool Won

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 Continue Reading…

Now any Kuk Sooler can enjoy our favorite Korean specialty in space thanks to the new Korean Astronaut and the country’s research.

Here is an excerpt from the article about the space food breakthrough:
… when South Korea’s first astronaut Ko San boards the International Space Station this April he’ll be bringing along a hefty supply of kimchi, the national dish of his native country.

While bringing a cherished food on a long journey might seem like a simple act, taking kimchi into space required millions of dollars in research and years of work. Canning kimchi is simple, that’s been done for decades. Earthbound kimchi doesn’t have to deal with things like cosmic rays.

In your average comic book, being exposed to cosmic rays is generally a good thing. If this space mission were a comic book, Ko gobbling some space ray infected kimchi would probably turn him into a superhero while his Continue Reading…

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 Continue Reading…

I’ll join in and give my thanks to Max Jo Kyo Nim for getting us started with a great website and blog, plus his helpful instructions and suggestions for keeping it going without his daily, hands-on administration.

I’m Nicki Dahn Bo Nim, a student and assistant instructor at Kuk Sool Won of St. Paul, mother to a Dahn Bo Nim and a perpetual Red Belt (he’s six, so I guess I should cut him some slack), and the office meddler here at the school. Apparently, I’m also a blogger, so I’ll steal Steffen PSBN’s idea and interview myself.

When did you start taking Kuk Sool?

October 2005, when Steffen PSBN opened the dojang. I had known Steffen PSBN and his family through our homeschooling group for a couple of years, and I was just being nice and signing up to help out. Two and half years later, I think I can officially Continue Reading…

This post will be for all of you who know or have ever been taught some grappling. Here in Minnesota we have grappling seminars once every two months or so.

I just got done traveling to my Alma Mater, Purdue University, and taught a grappling seminar there, so I thought I would write on how to practice what we teach. * In the coming days I will post a list of what was taught at the seminar with some videos

Positional Practice

1. Position Change

You both start in a given position (Mount, in-the-guard, etc…). Start grappling and when one or both has changed position start over. This practice is to help you learn skills, escapes, and counters in a certain position. You can still get someone to tap out. It just has to be from your starting position.

2. Tap Out

Same as Positional Change but instead of stopping if positions have changed you Continue Reading…