Kuk Sool Won

Kuk Sool Won™ (Korean: 국술원; Hanja: 國術院) is a type of Korean martial arts. It was founded in 1958 by In-Hyuk Suh, who also carries the formal titles of, Kuk Sa Nim (i.e. "national teacher") and Grandmaster.[1]

Kuk Sool Won™ relies on the perspective of three main branches of traditional Korean martial arts for outlining its contents. The three segments are:

  1. Tribal martial arts (사도무술; Sado Mu Sool)
  2. Buddhist Temple martial arts (불교무술; Bulgyo Mu Sool)
  3. Royal Court martial arts (궁중무술; Koong Joong Mu Sool).[2]

Techniques from these three historical divisions were carefully selected and organised into a cohesive curriculum by Grandmaster In Hyuk Suh, to form Kuk Sool Won™.[3] This martial arts knowledge was passed down to him by his grandfather, Myung-duk Suh, who began teaching him at the tender age of five.[4]

Kuk Sool Won™ is a systematic study of all of the conventional fighting arts, which together comprise the martial arts history of Korea. As a martial arts system, Kuk Sool Won™ is extremely well-organized and seeks to integrate and explore the entire spectrum of established Asian fighting arts, along with body conditioning, mental development, and traditional weapons training. The following list represents a short summary regarding the most common elements found in Kuk Sool Won™:

  • hand strikes and blocking / parrying
  • kicks and leg sweeps
  • body throws and grappling
  • joint-locking techniques
  • safe falling (i.e. break-falls) and acrobatics
  • various types of body conditioning
  • animal style techniques
  • traditional Korean weaponry
  • martial arts healing methods
  • meditation and specialty breathing techniques

[5]

It is an excellent form of self-defense which includes strikes, kicks, grappling, joint locks, as well as traditional weapons training and healing techniques.

In 1991, Kuk Sool Won™ was selected as an extra curricular activity for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and in 1992, Grandmaster In Hyuk Suh was presented with the Commander's Sword at West Point.[6][7][8]


Attire

Kuk Sool Won™ practitioners don uniforms or dobok (도복). Although white being a common colour for the dobok in other styles, supposedly representing "purity," all the uniforms in Kuk Sool Won™ are black in colour, which according to Korean culture is used to represent wisdom (note: white is also well known to be the colour for mourning).[9]

There are three types of uniforms for the members of Kuk Sool Won™. The first type is referred to as a training uniform and consists of a jacket styled top, loose fitting drawstring pants, and a long cloth belt that wraps around twice and is secured with a square knot. Patches that identify the system of Kuk Sool Won™, the country where the practitioner lives, and other similar insignia, may also adorn this uniform. Regulations state that any clothing worn underneath, such as a T-shirt, leotard, or sports bra, should be black in colour as well. This training uniform can be worn by all members, whereas the other two uniforms are reserved only for those who have attained the rank of black belt. The first of the remaining two types of uniforms is essentially identical to the "training uniform" detailed above, but has a gold coloured fringe sewn along the bottom edge of the jacket. It is known as a Black Belt uniform. The last type of uniform is typically used for formal occasions, such as promotion ceremonies, test review gradings, demonstrations, exhibitions, etc. It is called a General's uniform (장군도복; Jang Goon Dobok) as it was styled after the armour worn by military commanders in ancient times. Similar patches to previously mentioned uniforms are utilised and pants are similar as well. The top has fuller sleeves with bloused closures at the wrists and longish skirt-like panels extending towards the knees from the bottom of the torso; no belt is worn but this uniform is tighter fitting at the waist than the other uniforms listed, with the contrasting trim forming the outline of a belt. A military ascot or dickey is an additional item that is worn around the neck. While the General's Uniform is primarily black, there are various colour schemes with regard to trim striping and the neck kerchief, which identify the dan rank held by the wearer. Regardless of the colour, the kerchief sports either a logo motif insignia (3rd dan and higher) or a South Korean flag (1st and 2nd dan).

Wang Sa Dobok – the wangsa dobok (왕사, literally: King's Teacher, but was assigned to educate all members of the royal family) is to be worn solely by Kuk Sa Nim. It is gold in colour with purple trim and belt. The shoulders and back are adorned with large embroidered patches displaying one of 3 mystical beast motifs: a) twin dragons, b) twin phoenix, c) paired dragon & phoenix. In the chart below, each black belt rank will list its color scheme for the General's uniform, where the first instance cited will denote the trim colour, with the second instance denoting the kerchief colour.

The wording KUK SOOL can also appear on uniforms on those other than KUK SOOL WON. Kuk Sool translates as nation technique, these prefixes could be used for a vast array of martial arts that are not linked to the association and have no resemblance in their techniques. Being the national martial art of Korea, a lot of various techniques used throughout a nations history have been unofficially trademarked by an association (company) now known as WKSA (World Kuk Sool Association). In 2010 in the United Kingdom a Kuk Sool Won 6th Degree Black Belt Master, John Watson, departed from the association and re branded his classes as TKMA - Traditional Korean Martial Arts -. Master John Watson's departure from the association was a nationwide shock for WKSA UK as John Watson was a pioneer of Kuk Sool Won effectiveness in the United Kingdom who taught throughout his Kuk Sool Won career in the Liverpool area of UK, who is still know to this day (2020) for his 'freakish' skills and ability to 'produce champions' throughout a densely populated city. A number of high level WKSA masters including ; Marlin Sims, Jay Lee and Rudy Timmerman whom have not had the selective progressive tuition from Grand Master Suh, have become disillusioned with the WKSA and decided to depart and teach under the names of their own martial arts associations to avoid trademark issues. A result of these circumstances masters have had to resource information and tuition from other elite sources and have used the same uniform style and colors, as this is traditional uniform and not trademarked by any association.

Ranking System[10]
Title Meaning / Rank / Colour Scheme
Kuk Sa Nim Grandmaster (10th degree Black Belt) - wangsa dobok
Su Suhk Kwang Jang Nim Senior Executive Master (9th degree Black Belt) - gold / gold
Suhn Im Kwang Jahng Nim Executive Master (8th degree Black Belt) - red & gold / gold
Ji Do Kwang Jahng Nim Senior Master (7th degree Black Belt) - red & gold / red
Joo Im Kwang Jahng Nim Head Master (6th degree Black Belt) - red / red
Pyung Kwan Jahng Nim Master (5th degree Black Belt) - red / white
Sa Bum Nim Instructor (4th degree Black Belt) - red & silver / white (KSW–logo)
Pu Sa Bum Nim Deputy Instructor (3rd degree Black Belt) - silver / white (KSW–logo)
Kyo Sa Nim Assistant Instructor (2nd degree Black Belt) - silver / white (flag)
Jo Kyo Nim Instructor-in-Training (1st degree Black Belt) - silver / white (flag)
Dahn Boh Nim Black-Brown Belt

-or-   { Black Belt Candidate }

Ja Di Brown Belt
Hohng Di Red Belt
Chuhng Di Blue Belt
Noh Rahng Di Yellow Belt
Hin Di White Belt

References
  1. "Traditional Korean Martial Arts - Kuk Sool Won". www.kuksoolwon.com. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  2. Suh, In Hyuk (1993). Kuk Sool Won Traditional Korean Martial Art Textbook Volume 1. Magnolia, Texas: World Kuk Sool Association®. p. 14.CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  3. Viljoen, Andries (12 April 2018). "국술원 Kuk Sool Won: A Comprehensive Martial Arts System". Medium. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  4. "Founder Of Kuk Sool Won™". Martial Arts Bexhill. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  5. "A Comprehensive Martial Arts System". Kuk Sool Won. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  6. "Founder of Kuk Sool Won™". Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  7. Hallander, Jane (March 1993). "Martial Arts Training at West Point: Kuk Sool Gives Army Cadets Realistic Combat Techniques". Black Belt. Valencia. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  8. "Kuk Sool Won™ at West Point". Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  9. "General - Hanyang University". www.hanyang.ac.kr. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  10. "Korean Terminology". Kuk Sool Won NY. 5 September 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2019.

Further reading
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