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

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…

First I’d like to Thank Max JKN for all the wonderful work he has done getting this blog up and running and keeping it interesting.
We are adding two new bloggers this week to give a broader scope to our writings. I’d like to acquaint the readers with who we are. I am Steffen Kellogg, a Pu Sa Bum Nim, and head instructor at Kuk Sool Won of St. Paul. The other is Nicki Jones, a Dahn Bo Nim and assistant instructor at Kuk Sool Won of St. Paul. This week we’ll both spend a little time introducing ourselves.
I’m going to use Max JKN’s interview as a basic template.
What is the name and location of your school?
Kuk Sool Won of St. Paul
How long has it been open?
This location opened up in October of 2005.
Where are you originally from?
I am originally from Northern Illinois (The Continue Reading…

Great Video of Kings Lynn Black Belt Demonstration at the Dojang. Nice job.

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 Continue Reading…

I have just found out, which a lot of you may already know about, but the Kuk Sool Won Great Lakes Tournament will not be in Michigan this year. It will now be in Cleveland, Ohio. As a former Purdue Kuk Sool Won Instructor that is definitely good news for them and anybody else in that area that doesn’t live too close to Michigan. Here are the full details of the tournament.

Great Lakes Tournament

April 5, 2008

Cleveland Heights Community Center

One Monticello Boulevard, Cleveland Heights, OH

Well, practice up and I may see you there or at the MidWest Tournament in St.Louis. Living in Minnesota makes it a little difficult to get to a tournament but I do it every year and so does Pu Sa Bum Nim Steffen. Make sure you get a picture with me and I will post it on the blog.

Within the last year Kuk Sool Headquarters has started to require every student to learn and verbally recite the Kuk Sool Won pledge at your Black Belt test. So read, learn, and recite the World Kuk Sool Won Association pledge.

Kuk Sool Won Pledge

1. As a member of the Kuk Sool Won, I pledge to obey the rules of the association and to conduct myself in accordance with the true spirit of martial arts.

나는 국술원 회원으로서 회칙을 준수하며 무사도 정신을 발휘할 것을 맹세 한다

2. I pledge to be loyal to my country and to promote the development of a better society.

나는 애국 애족하며 국제간의 친선 도모는 물론 많은 일에 성실 근면하고 내가 살고 있는 지역 사회의 번영과 발전을 위하여 헌신적으로 노력한다

3. I pledge to work together with all classes of people without regard to politics, race or religion.

나는 정치적인 문제에 관여 하지 않으며 종교나 파벌을 초월하여 신의와 우정으로 각계각층의 선량한 Continue Reading…