Kuk Sool Won Practice Schedule

[SBN Doug]

...Down here in the Woodlands Texas...

 

You're UP THERE in the Woodlands for me.

 

I remember having to hold horse stance "down in the valley of pain", for KJN Sims quite often, while still training up North. He would usually start off the tests with 5 minutes of that, for warm ups .

 

I won't be able to make the Korea trip. I hope to at some point in the future.

[taiji fajin]

Don't forget KJN Sims making people do "one push-up" as well.

 

To get more on topic, though, what do you guys feel about a lot of low stance training, especially for the lower belts? Such low stances have been shown to cause knee problems in many people, especially later in life. This can be helped some by slowly working into it (but do we do that with lower belts?), but even then you are still at a much higher risk to have bad knees. Do you think of doing low stances for building leg strength (in which case, how much time should we spend doing it, especially if it puts the knees at risk), or do you think of it as a stable structure that allows you to strike hard, or even better, release (or negate) energy?

 

Interesting side note #1 - who has seen Kuk Sa Nim do low stances? In all the videos I have seen of him, whether instructional videos or at demonstrations, plus just what I have seen in person, I have never seen him get into a low stance.

 

Interesting side note #2 - I've noticed none of you have mentioned meditation in your schedules. How much emphasis do your schools put on the "internal" part of Kuk Sool, as Kuk Sa Nim has repeatedly said that Kuk Sool is both an "internal" and "external" martial art.

[KSWDanMan]

good point about the stances.. I guess we think about it from the standpoint that if you are strong in a low stance, you should be equally if not stronger in a higher one.

 

I do agree about the knee problems, so, not really sure how you handle that... We were told when coming up that the first 6months or so will tell how your Kuk Sool training will proceed....

 

Anyway, I do think it builds leg strength. I used to be a gym rat, and did all the squats, leg press etc... I did get results, but all that to say, I see more strength in areas that I could not target unless I used 5 machines.

 

never seen Kuk Sa Sym in a low stance, but I have seen almost all the other masters, down in the "valley of pain" ( I like that term!)... One last note Sa Bum Nym Foster, still uses the "one push-up", he'll even, somehow make it last a minute.... man that burns!

[SBN Doug]

Yeah, I only got it with the "one push-up" at one test. It hurt.

 

Anyway, the knee issue is a real one. Just ask ZR440. That's why he had to change arts. At KJN Harmon's dojang, we do not have students start working on low stances until DBN. Even then it is occational. It really doesn't become a focus until JKN.

 

The meditation for under black belt comes at the end of every single class. However, while in CT, the dojang I trained at almost never did meditations.

 

I've seen JSN in a low stance, but only in pictures, and not all the way to 90 degrees.

[ZR440]

I had to change because there wasn't enough people participating for my instructor to keep teaching. But I inverted my ankle during a jumping spin exercise he had us try a few weeks before the club closed down. I've also sprained ribs and my shoulder twice, usually caused during falling techniques. My knees feel better than they ever have since I've been gone from KSW. I don't do as much exercise being in the Filipino arts now, but I feel a lot better the next day.

[SBN Doug]

Ooops, that was your ankle. My mistake.

[ZR440]

I did have an MRI done on the knee once, but it just turned out being sublexation of the patella. Man, that really drove me nuts when we had to kneel on the floor.

 

I'm surprised AFLAC never denied my injury claims.

[KSWDanMan]

KSN Doug, You train under Harmon? Thats Awesome! Sa Bum Nym Foster speaks really highly of him, apparently he and Harmon are pretty close.. When Kuk Sa Nym did seminar last year, he came to the Woodlands, and that was cool, I got to spend the majority of my time with Master Harmon. He was drilling us on Forms and the technique behind forms(proper foot positioning, strength in stance etc...)

[SBN Doug]

Yeah, he's awsome. I started with him years ago, and now am back since I moved back.

 

Mrs. Harmon KJN is a great instructor as well.

 

Master Sims will just plain work you into the ground.

 

The most phyically challenging training I've ever had has been under Master Sims.

[KSWDanMan]

Thats what I've heard, but that made you better right?