Founded by Suh In-hyuk in 1958, kuk sool (translation: “National Martial Arts”) is a style of martial arts that attempts to incorporate the mental, physical, body conditioning and weaponry of all traditional Korean martial arts. Most kuk sool schools currently belong to a single governing body, the Kuk Sool Won.
What sets kuk sool apart from other Korean arts is its lower stances, circularly graceful movements, emphasis on striking the body’s vital points, and its integration of the joint-locking skills of Chinese chin-na. It also emphasizes healing skills, breathing techniques and meditation.
Kuk sool’s philosophical tenet is reflected by three words: water, circle and harmony. Water teaches one to go with the flow. Not only can water be soft and powerful, but it also always adapts to its environment. The circle is an acknowledgment that one is surrounded by a personal circle and must actively defend or redirect any aggression that enters that circle. Harmony is about unifying the mind and body as one.
– June 15, 2011
I found several kumdo schools (kendo in Japanese), countless taekwondo, hapkido and kuk sool academies, and a boxing gym within 100 yards of the apartment I occupied in Pusan, Korea. On the same block as my building, there stood a school that taught the rare art of tae kyon, and
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– March 21, 2011
You’re walking down the street when someone rushes up from behind and grabs your wrists. Which self-defense technique do you use? In a moment of panic, you realize that you cannot see your assailant well enough to figure out how to fend him off. If you were Jackie Chan, you
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