tessone

Personally, I want my kids to study Kuk Sool (as long as they enjoy it). The important thing is that the kids know when to use their knowledge and when not to. I wouldn't hold my child back from getting a black belt for fear of him or her hurting someone, because I'd also be teaching etiquette, respect, and pacifism (except in the face of real danger).

The two things our master told our tournament team before they went down to a competition this weekend was: a) if the other person wants to spar hard, spar hard right back, and b) you get one warning and a point deduction before you're disqualified. Don't go in and kill the other guy, but you have a buffer--don't be too cautious, it may cost you points.

Very true. I think it's often taken that the art is its own best motivation, so instructors may not feel they need to be harping on students to work and fix things. I would suggest that if you think your forms look just as good as your masters', you might be missing something. Remember that you may be making mistakes you can't see, even if they're small ones. The devil is in the details, so just because you feel like you have a form down, there's probably still work to be done. I watched a video of Ki Chyo Hyung (the KSW white belt form) performed by a master (I think 6th dan) tonight and was absolutely blown away. Even though I have a lot of the picky little details down, there's still a long way to go. And I bet that when another master watches that performance, he or she might have a suggestion or two on how to improve it, even though the master performing it may have learned it 25 years ago.

If there's a school near you, you could try Kuk Sool Won. We do a lot of legwork, but your upper body won't be neglected either. I've found the art is very nicely balanced.

I just bought Elementary Korean by Ross King, Lee Insun, and Jae-Hoon Lee. It seems to be a pretty good text, and even comes with a CD to give you an idea of what the language really sounds like. Apparently you have to start learning Korean when you reach the level of Master in KSW. I figure, I'm getting a head start.

I just watched the Kuk Sool Won 40th anniversary tape. Has anyone else seen it? The demonstrations were awesome! Tons of cool weapons forms and demonstrations, breaking, and even Master Byung In Lee's young daughter (4 years old, maybe?) performing the Ki Bon Soo techniques (white belt). For whomever was saying they weren't impressed with the KSW demos they saw, check out this video.

I think a lot of Christians who haven't spent much time with Scripture over-react to things that really aren't dangerous--holistic medicine, Harry Potter, the whole DisneyWorld boycott... I see nothing wrong with practicing internal arts, and if you see improvement specifically as a result of those arts, I wouldn't suspect anything evil in it.

This was a KSW master? Do you happen to remember his name?

Thanks for the article, Yoda. I think that goes not just for sports, but for life in general.

Welcome to the forums! I can't say I've been in a tourney yet, but I'm glad you enjoy 'em.

I'll keep that in mind at my belt test. "This one's for TIMMY!!! Hi-yah!"

Welcome!

I'm not sure I follow what you're trying to say. Anyhow, I train four days a week at the dojang, and I have more than enough to keep me busy. Crosstraining would not just cut my drive in KSW in half, it'd totally break it. So wait til you've got a lot of a style down before crosstraining, I'd say. I take it sort of like languages. I didn't start any new languages until I was conversationally fluent in Russian. Now I'm steady in my knowledge of Russian and can learn the next language faster.

For the record, dan testing in KSW is $300 for 1st dan (or $350, I forget), $500 for 2nd dan, and $700 for 3rd. Master (5th dan) is something like $1500. Just because a testing is expensive doesn't mean you're dealing with a McDojo. At least in our organization, becoming an advanced student (a black belt) means you have the right to teach, which is a big deal, and it also means you have to help build up the organization. So especially in a smaller art, expensive promotions aren't so odd. The way I look at it is, I'm already getting a lot from KSW as it is. By then, it's about time to pay back the art for what it's given me.

Welcome. Aren't there any CORVETTE fans in the forums? '69 Stingray, anyone?

Lots of theatre warmups: The big black bug bit the big brown bear, made the big brown bear bleed blood. Red leather, yellow leather, good blood, bad blood. To sit in solemn silence in a deep, dark dock In a pestilential prison with a lifelong lock Awaiting the sensation of a short sharp shock From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block. And my favorite: What a to-do to die today at a minute or two to two--a thing distinctly hard to say, but harder still to do. For they'll beat a tattoo at twenty to two, a-rat-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-too, and the dragon will come when he hears the drum at a minute or two to two today, at a minute or two to two.

This is the way our Master teaches, and honestly, it's the best way for me. A lot of it ties in with the KSW motto, too: "We Need More Practice". There are always going to be little things he can correct. And every correction will move you closer to perfecting that kata or technique. The perfection of a simple technique or component of a kata leads to quicker acquisition and honing of a more complex one. As for not providing positive feedback, the workouts themselves make me feel good. If Kwang Jang Nim is going on and on about how great my katas were, I'm not learning anything, and I'm probably standing still not working out.

Well, I think that line of reasoning has its dangers, too. Paul writes a great deal (especially in 1 Corinthians) about the possibility of evil entering into even the teaching of the Gospel. So just because something has positive benefits doesn't mean it can't be sinful. That said, I don't think internal arts are something to be avoided. Just go about them with sound faith.

What kinds of low-intensity exercise would you recommend? (The only thing I can think of is walking, really... )

Exactly. You should be all the better for the low stances. The thing to watch out for is kicking full force without something to stop your foot. This causes detereoration of the joints and is the main reason many TKD masters end up giving up their practice early in life.

These would be the general's uniforms, which I think are one of the coolest things about the art. The belt is still black, but for 1st-3rd dan, there is silver trim on the uniform, for 4th dan it is silver with a red stripe, for 5th and 6th dan (master) it is red, 7th and 8th dan has red and gold, and only Kuk Sa Nim and In Joo Suh (his son and highest ranking practicing master) are authorized to wear gold trim.

Oh, the temptation to play... I have my issues with Microsoft, but it's hard to turn down AOE...

If the problem is just someplace to train, think about perhaps using someone else's studio who teaches another art for a while. If you help out some with the rent a little, they may let you use it. There's a Kung Fu group that uses our KSW studio twice a week or so. If you need people, try the nearest college or university and day care centers. We students are always looking for things to do, and day care center recruiting (targetted at parents, obviously) will get families involved. If day care is a bit young, maybe try other venues (Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts) that get families.

You may want to take a look at this post about controlling the fighting range over in General Martial Arts.

One can certainly gain a great deal of flexibility through training, though. Sure, when you join as a white belt you might not be able to do the kicks associated with higher belts, but increasing your flexibility at a sufficient rate should be part of getting promoted.