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Kuk Sool Won™ (National Martial Arts Association) is a systematic study of all of the traditional fighting systems, which together comprise the martial arts history of the Korean Peninusla. As such, Kuk Sool Won™ is very well organized and seeks to integrate and explore all aspects of the traditional Korean martial arts.
As a martial arts system, Kuk Sool Won™ covers the entire spectrum of established Asian fighting systems and body conditioning techniques, as well as mental development and traditional weapons training.
The three branches of traditional Korean martial arts are Sah Doh Mu Sool, Bool Kyo Mu Sool, and Koong Joong Mu Sool. Sah Doh Mu Sool (Tribal Martial Arts) is older than Korean Culture itself, having been practiced on the Korean peninsula well before the first Korean kingdom was established in 2333 B.C. .
Bool Kyo Mu Sool (Buddhist Martial Arts) has been practiced by Buddhist monks throughout Asia. In China, the famous Shaolin Monks developed techniques and forms based on their observations of animals. In Korea, Monks practiced Bool Kyo Mu Sool for defense purposes and meditation. Today, the tenants of Bool Kyo Mu Sool are prevalent in Kuk Sool as they help teach practitioners meditation skills and the philosophies of non-violence and compassion for all living things.
Koong Joong Mu Sool (Royal Court Arts) is unique to Kuk Sool Won™. Some of the weapons used in Kuk Sool Won™ were a part of the traditional daily court life. The rope or sash, cane, fan, and short sword were all used among members of the Korean Royal court. There were also many unique open handed and joint locking principles of Koong Joong Mu Sool that are used extensively in Kuk Sool Won™.
Kuk Sool's history can be indirectly traced to the dissolution of the Korean Royal Court and the Japanese occupation in 1910. Many leading martial arts instructors were forced into hiding. Among them was Myung Duk Suh, In Hyuk Suh's grandfather. Before Japan took over, the elder Suh taught three types of Korean martial arts; kwan sool, a kicking and hard punching style, yu sool, a soft style with emphasis on locking and throwing techniques and yu-kwan, a combination which could be either hard or soft, but never used for force against force. During this period of Japanese rule the practice of any sort of Korean martial art was strictly forbidden. Any Korean caught practicing them (or even worse, teaching them) would be severely punished. Because of the severity and harshness of the punishment levied by the Japanese to practitioners of Korean marital arts, only a very small number of people carried on the legacy of traditional Korean martial arts. Despite the Japanese invasion, the Suh family continued its 16 generation tradition of practicing and teaching martial arts. In Hyuk Suh, was chosen by his grandfather to carry on this family legacy. By the time he was 20 years old, In Hyuk Suh had traveled to hundreds of Buddhist temples and private martial arts teachers, studying many aspects of Korean martial arts. During this intensive training-period Suh learned special breathing skills, mediation techniques and internal power (ki) knowledge, which is taught extensively in Kuk Sool schools across the globe.
In the late 1950's In Hyuk Suh began to integrate the many scattered martial art techniques of Korea into a single martial art, Kuk Sool Won™. Suh officially founded Kuk Sool Won™ in 1961. In 1974, when Kuk Sool Won™ in Korea was becoming well known by the public, In Hyuk Suh brought his martial art to the United States. Currently the World Kuk Sool Association® headquarters is located in Houston, Texas.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Kuk Sool Won" |
