From The Martial Arts Encyclopedia

Contents 1 Brief History 2 System Overview 3 Training In Depth 4 Progressing Through The System 5 Author's Opinion 6 Footnotes

Brief History

As with most martial arts from the Korean peninsula, Kuk Sool’s history is clouded by fierce national pride. Its true history is a hotly contested topic among Korean martial arts historians. Consequently, most of the information that can be found is little more than conjecture. It should be noted though, that given that native Korean martial arts were almost completely wiped out for a number of reasons, the most recent being the Japanese occupation of 1910-1945, the given "official history" of Kuk Sool is very suspect indeed. (1)

Kuk Sool, literally translates as National Martial Art. It was begun in 1958 by Suh, In-Hyuk and his brother Seo, In-Sun (the surname is pronounced the same, they just choose different Romanization). It was officially founded as Kuk Sool Won™ (literally National Martial Arts Organization) in 1961. Though there are supposed to be many different influences in the system, the only easily verifiable influences are the instruction of Choi, Yong-Sul (2) to one of the brothers (3) and Suh’s study of southern Chinese arts. Because of these influences Kuk Sool is generally regarded as a contemporary of modern Hapkido with a Chinese flare.

Kuk Sool grew throughout the 1960’s and in 1974 Suh moved the headquarters to San Francisco and in 1975 founded the World Kuk Sool Association (WKSA). Then the headquarters was once again moved to Tomball, Texas in 1991. Since this latter date it has grown world-wide with schools in 13 different countries. (4)

The WKSA’s Kuk Sool Won remains the largest single Kuk Sool organization, but it is not the only one. A number of masters have split from the WKSA (including Seo, In-Sun) to form their own organizations as well.

System Overview

Belt Progression:

• White
• Yellow
• Blue
• Red
• Brown
• Black

Kuk Sool is a very traditional and etiquette oriented system. Students are encouraged to show respect towards all, and especially to those of higher rank, with a lot of importance placed on titles. This includes learning a variety of bowing styles as well as the proper times to use them. Learning the Korean terms for everything is considered important as well.

Concerning empty-handed combat Kuk Sool deals with all ranges in one way or another, though certain ranges do get more attention than others. The empty-handed side of Kuk Sool contains the following components:

• Hyung (forms)
• Stance training
• A very wide array of striking techniques
• Break-falling and acrobatics
• Joint locking and throwing techniques
• Groundfighting techniques
• Pressure point study
• Animal techniques

In addition Kuk Sool students are exposed to a number of traditional Asian weapons. In fact there are too many to list here. Instead those most prominently taught include:

• Jul Bong (nunchaku)
• Staff
• Long Sword (straight, inverted, and double)
• Short Sword (also called butterfly sword)
• Rope
• Cane
• Fan
• Throwing Knives
• Archery
• Spear

The last major component of Kuk Sool training is the internal aspect. This includes study in:

• Meditation
• Ki Breathing

Training In Depth

While exact training methods vary slightly from school to school, training is pretty standard. Firstly, Hyung or Forms are considered an integral part to any students training. There are 6 belts before reaching black. There is one form for each of these 6 levels. It should be noted that the forms in Kuk Sool are very different from those in just about any other Korean style. Instead of the hard rigid forms usually seen, Kuk Sool’s forms are soft and fluid, with constant attention to low stances, which seems much more akin to the Chinese styles.

The second important part of training is the study of striking techniques. Throughout their study students learn to use almost every part of their body as a striking weapon. This includes fists, open hands, fingers, elbows, knees, feet and one's head. These strikes can be as simple as a straight punch or kick or as complex a 540 degree jumping spin kick. Training of these strikes generally includes solitary practice in the air, striking targets and bags, board breaking and sparring. Though the type of sparring taught, once again, varies from school to school, the most prevalent form is light/no contact, point-stop sparring, which is what is used in the WKSA hosted tournaments.

The next parts of training go hand-in-hand. Students must learn an incredible number of joint locking and throwing techniques. In addition, in order to be able to properly protect themselves when training these techniques with someone, the student must learn an array of break-falling techniques and some acrobatics. Students focus on learning escapes from, and counters to, being grabbed in many different manners.

Additionally pressure point theory is taught in order to compliment both striking and joint-locking and throwing. It is generally taught as a means to aid in the completion of a technique and not as a means of finishing an opponent with one strike to a vital point.

One of the unique aspects of Kuk Sool when compared to other Korean martial arts is that many of the techniques learned are animal based. The most prominent of these is a number of praying mantis techniques, including both offensive and defensive techniques. Additionally techniques are based on crane, tiger, eagle, bear, and dragon.

As mentioned above, groundfighting is also taught, however this is not nearly as prominent. The approved syllabus contains only a few small sets of techniques that are not taught until black belt is reached.

As for weapon training, most of what is taught is strictly form based. Officially, weapons are not on the curriculum until brown belt, however many schools teach the Jul Bong and sometimes the staff before this point. Students learn a wide variety of weapon based forms, but rarely if ever practice any live sparring with their weapons.

Lastly the internal aspect of Kuk Sool is also very important. Students learn an array of meditative positions and are encouraged to meditate daily. In addition a number of Ki breathing techniques are taught in an effort to center the student's focus before practice.

Progressing Through The System

There is a lot of content for students to learn on their way to black belt. Once a student reaches black belt, it does not stop either. In order to obtain black belt a student is expected to learn 226 joint-locking/throwing techniques, 6 forms and basic staff spinning techniques. This is merely a drop in bucket compared to what the total curriculum entails when all techniques, forms and weapons are considered. The general amount of time it takes to learn all of the above and receive a black belt is four years. From there it takes an additional four years to receive 2nd degree. After that a good rule of thumb is to take the degree that one is trying for and add 1. That gives you the number of years before your next promotion.

Author's Opinion

Kuk Sool has its strengths and weaknesses. If trained in an alive manner it has the potential to be a very solid system. The biggest problem is that very few schools do train in this manner. Additionally, the sheer number of techniques is extremely daunting. Many are very unpractical for today's world. The system would do well to pare down its curriculum so that the retention of practical techniques is easier for the student. This system is best suited to those with an interest in the cultural aspect of martial arts as well as a sense of tradition. In order to truly learn proper self defense through Kuk Sool will, most likely, require much training outside the dojang. Ultimately it all comes down to the instructor. The best advice I can give is to ask questions of your instructor on practical application on everything.

Footnotes

1. Official ancient history of Kuk Sool: www.kuksoolwon.com/history01.html
2. Founder of Hapkido
3. Most reports state that Seo, In-Sun was the student of Choi, and that he taught his brother what he learned.
4. Source- History of Kuk Sool – Modern: www.kuksoolwon.com/history02.html