swooshfinn

Gosh I have been dragged to so many bad movies by my best friend, lets see there was Battlefield Earth, Kiss of the Dragon, Gangs of New York...dare I continue?

Supposedly brown belt testing is tougher than black belt testing, although, I must be a fluke, because I think that I got off way too easy for my brown belt test. The night I tested for my brown belt, there were only two of us testing, a girl going for her yellow and me for my brown. That is why my brown belt testing was so easy, I only had to spar her for a few minutes, not the usual 8-10 minutes that is typical for a brown belt testing. So I know I will have a much harder black belt testing than brown belt testing.

Plainwhite, not sure where you are located, but you might want to look into Kuk Sool Won. As a brown belt I can say that our hyungs up to the brown belt level are a very good mix of skill and athletism. Also the techniques that you will learn are very comprehensive and incorporate arm bars, pressure points, and joint locks. You can look for schools on the website: http://www.kuksoolwon.com or there might be a club that is not listed on the website, in that case you can contact Association HQ in Houston.

Hey looks like I break the tie and make the twenty-somethings proud, I am 25!

Good Idea, I had to sit and read through the whole thread to make sure I've added to the conversation. I've FINALLY found a decent job!!! I've accepted a management in training program position with a Menard's, a home store similiar to Lowe's and Home Depot (just not nearly as big), up in Moline, Illinois. Starting out at $30K/yr, with potiential to get to 6 figures in 5-7 yrs, and lots of opportunities.

Knoxville, Illinois' seminar is complete, Kuk Sa Nym and the masters are heading over to Galesburg as I am typing this. Seminar run down is this: Break down by rank and working on forms and techniques. (Most of it was Ki Cho Hyung and Ki Bohn Soo, but I did notice that the red belts were working on Goh Guep Hyung, could have been the Puh Sah Bym Nym leading the red belts) Then with the aid of a Korean Buhddist monk, you work on meditation. After the meditation, the monk will create some impressive artwork with traditional painting techiniques. Each school will have a "lottery", with two winners, the winners will get one of the paintings. No weapons training this year. I purposely didn't post a lot of information because I wasn't able to get all the instruction on some of these topics as a spectator, but it was interesting nonetheless to make an effort to show up to seminar and give some moral support to the black belt candidates and the black belt promotion candidates. And if anyone is ever in West-Central Illinois or Eastern Iowa, please check out the Knoxville, IL; Peoria, IL; Clinton, IA; and the Dewitt, IA studios. Or if you are in the Saint Louis area, stop by the Saint Louis school located in Saint Charles, MO

Yes, I love that saying. And, basic physics supports it. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. If the board doesn't break, all the force you put into it is projected back into your hand or foot. I really hate that part. Oh is THAT why I haven't taken physics before, cause I don't want to have to learn it that way!?

You'll have a heads up from Sunday's stop in Knoxville, Illinois, as soon as I get back home and type it up. Its too bad I couldn't get a job earlier so that I can actually participate this year. Have an interview Monday afternoon (WISH ME LUCK)! I remember two years ago, I made a KFC run for the masters, and that the seminar covered ki breathing, short staff, and mid staff.

Axe (or hatchet) kicks are a lot harder to break with than one thinks. So far I haven't even broke with a hatchet kick. In Kuk Sool Won, the principle of the kick is the same, but instead of just bringing the knee straight up, we bring it up on the side almost like a cresent kick. You are correct in that you will be breaking with the heel. You have to remember to get enough speed. Alot of people think that breaking is all power, they are wrong however. Breaking is more speed than power in my opinion. Another major factor on how effective the axe/hatchet is, is how high the target is. One of the first things we teach our lower belts when doing kicking practice is that if someone has a stronger hatchet kick, try raising the target a bit, that effectively reduces the power of the kick. Hope that helps!

Overall at this point in time I am going to give myself a 5, I have some strengths and some major weaknesses that I have to address pretty soon, as I close in on my black belt

$50 a month We have four classes a week, you are encouraged to come to as many classes as you can

The Pu Sah Buh Nym from my school in Kuk Sool Won is going to Austin this fall to start his Master's degree program in Oriential Medicine. I can't remember right of hand which school he liked down there, but he was impressed with both schools.

I usually train about 4 hours a week, although I am thinking about upping the ante and increasing my training by at least a couple of hours.

There might be some clubs in the LA area that are not listed on the site, if you were to make the move, you might consider contacting one of the instructors from those schools and see if they have a suggestion.

Kuk Sool Won: WHITE YELLOW STRIPE YELLOW BLUE STRIPE BLUE RED STRIPE RED BROWN STRIPE BROWN BROWN BLACK (Depending on school, you will get 6-9 stripes on your brown belt signifying you are a Black belt candidate) BLACK BELT (10 Degrees of Black belt)

Black - traditional uniform of the Kuk Sool Won student Come to think of it, I have only seen two non-black uniforms for Kuk Sool.... 1.) Kuk Sam Nim's Grandmaster Uniform - Yellow with purple trim 2.) Master's Monk uniforms - Gray or Green (hard to be certain with colorblindness) with red trim (either way, I love the monk uniform!)

I study Kuk Sool, but am thinking that if a job leads me to an area without Kuk Sool, I think I am leaning towards Japanese arts, most likely Aikido

Good Luck with the test... I am just a couple months behind you in testing for Brown-Black belt!

Well lets say forms and techniques could have been a little crisper and cleaner, and some of the kicks and hand techniques could use quite a bit of improvement, and Kwan Jahng Nim is looking at their ability to break, looking at a complete picture of everything, since he has been out recovering from cancer.

heck no! she could barely stand on her own halfway through it

Last night in my KSW studio we had two red belts test for brown belt. (FOR THEIR PROTECTION, AS WELL AS MINE, I WILL ONLY IDENTIFY THESE RED BELTS BY THEIR FIRST INITIAL AND THEIR GENDER) Towards the end of the testing (about an hour and forty minutes into a two hour testing), they sparred 5-6 opponents for a minute each. Most of the opponents were black belts, but I was thrown into the mix just to see what I could do as a brown belt. By this time, all the students testing were exhausted, including the red belts. First up was A. (Male), I sparred him as his second opponent. Everything went really well, I did a good mix of punches and kicks and kept him on his toes moving him in different directions. As well did the black belts that were sparring him. Then came K. (Female). It was decided that I was first up against her. We started ok, a couple of light hits, I was mainly going with punches, she was mainly doing kicks. I really dont know where the first "hard" (well it was harder than anything we were throwing up to that point came from), but she threw a hard punch in towards my left eye, catching the bridge of my nose and the eyebrow. I returned the favor with a good jad inside on the torso, and she returned that with a quick jab to the other side of my face. Kwan Jahng Nim seperated us for a minute to make sure we were alright, and then we went right back to the sparring, staying light for the rest of my minute. K. then goes against the Junior Jyo Ko Nim Champion from the Saint Louis Tournament, my studio's best chance for Adult division Jyo Ko Nim champion that we had for the Saint Louis Tournament, another very good Jyo Ko Nim/ EMT, and finally our Pu Sa Bum Nim, one of my best friends and the one person I have to thank for getting my involved with KSW. By this point K. was completely worn down and looked like she was about to give up. Most of the class, a close knit group made up of liberal art college kids were strongly encouraging her on. The rest of the class followed suit and tried to keep her spirits up and going. All of the sudden, she losses it, and starts chasing Pu Sa Bum Nim around in a frenzy. In retrospect it was a pretty good little tantrum off the adrenaline rush she was getting. But she was so worked up, she couldn't breathe! We spent the next minute or so trying to get her to control her breathing and relax so she could continue. Personally, I had never seen anything quite like that in the studio, and will be surprised if she gets a promotion, because I have to say I wasn't impressed with her determination and performance throughout the testing. I know being the last thing that everyone saw, especially in front of everyone that was testing, and being the only thing going on at that point, this incident will leave a lasting impression on all the black belts and Kwan Jahng Nim. This just leaves me with the impression that she isn't ready for brown belt, and if it was up to me (which it isnt, thankfully) I would leave her at red belt.

No real experience whatsoever.... just a little non-competitive sports leagues such as volleyball and softball. Nothing too serious, I have been using martial arts as a way to get in a better physical condition.

Pretty effective and rather unusual way to hold a class, but it worked and all it requires in addition to your class is a deck of standard playing cards. Here is how it works: (at least from a Kuk Sool Won perspective) Jokers - 1 minute of punching exercises in horse stance Heart Face Cards - Forms (start with Ki Cho Hyong, and work your way up through forms, keep progressing up to your current form) Diamond Face Cards - Forms (start with Ki Cho Hyong, and work your way up through forms, keep progressing up to your current form) Spade Face Cards - Kicks (10x a side, both sides) Club Face Cards - Kicks (10x a side, both sides) # Heart Cards - # Free Squats # Diamond Cards - # of Sit-Ups # Spade Cards - # of Crunches # Club Cards - # of Push-ups Ace of Hearts - 50 Free Squats Ace of Diamonds - 50 Sit-Ups Ace of Spades - 50 Crunches Ace of Clubs - 50 Push-Ups Shuffle the deck, pick a card, finish with whatever the card stands for and keep moving through the deck..... We had it last about 40 minutes last night.... I was dead about 20 minutes into it.... but am looking forward this exercise again.

Hey DLopez, did you make it to the St Louis tournament last weekend?

Let's see, ... ...Master Harmon, Master Simms, and Master Harvey (That's the ones I can name right off the top of my mind.). I also thought I noticed some of Master Harvey's students in some of those pictures. Congrats to all the black belt promotions at last weekend's St Louis Tournament! Congrats to the Chicago; Knoxville (IL); Lawrence, KS ( I believe); Davenport; and (of course) St. Louis schools for their top scoring standings.