My son is lucky enough to take martial arts classes twice a week at Kuk Sool Won of St. Paul, a very family-oriented martial arts school right here in the Midway neighborhood.  It’s amazing how much he’s learned in the year and a half since he started.  He looks so grown-up and serious in his black uniform and white belt, standing at attention in the line-up of kids, bowing and saying, “Yes, sir!” to his teacher.  It is a very different culture than our home culture.  I’m glad that he is experiencing it.  I trust these teachers. I trust what they are offering their students

.Tonight in class, the kids were independently practicing the forms, a series of prescribed movements that are the basis of this style of martial arts.  They were supposed to do the forms as best as they could remember them without watching another student or teacher perform them.  At times, one of the young students would get stuck–they made a mistake, or they forgot what they were doing, and suddenly, they’d stop and stand there with a deer-in-the-headlights sort of expression, not sure what to do next.  Usually a teacher would jump in and help them get going again.

Afterwards, the head teacher asked the class, “What should you do if you make a mistake?”

“Start over,” one boy volunteered.

“No,” said the teacher.  ”You keep going.  You keep going.  And what if you forget or get stuck?  What do you do then?”

None of the kids responded.

“You ask for help,” said their teacher.  ”That’s what we’re here for.  That’s why we keep practicing–so eventually you won’t make that mistake any more.”

Such a simple exchange, but I found it so moving.  I’m so glad my son is getting these messages early from strong, compassionate teachers.  You can keep going after you make a mistake.  You can ask for help.  You just have to keep practicing.

It reminds me a little of a story I read once about a famous modern-dance choreographer–I can’t remember which one now.  Maybe Martha Graham?  One of her dancers fell flat on her butt during a rehearsal and sat there with a stunned expression on her face, not moving, not getting up.  The choreographer swooped over to the dancer and exhorted her, “Don’t stop now!  Make it into something beautiful!”  

Special thanks to Ken Schalk Pu Sa Bum Nim for forwarding this one!

Kuk Sool Won Practice Basics:

• Memory
• Strength
• Stretch
• Center Balance
• Stamina
• Power
• Connection
• Meditation
• Speed

Kuk Sool Won Practice Principles:

• Stop Leads the Hyung
• Low Stance
• Power Hands
• Look Straight Ahead or At Your Hands
• No Emotion
• No Expectation

Punch is always lower than shoulder. Thumb stays on the outside. Stance is always 90 degrees. Balance is always center. Eye contact is always straight ahead or at your hands.Keep your head level when you connect stance to stance. Your head should remain at the same height, or level.One who connects the stance fast without power looks sloppy, and will have poor results.Practicing with stops refines your power. One who goes fast, and the form still looks good, has been practicing correctly.Without thinking about the principles and technical details during practice, you may have a fun and a good workout, but you will never understand martial art.Stop longer is correct practice. Concentrate on every basic principle and technique and eventually get there fast.Trying not to waste time is trying hard. Concentrate hard so people can feel the beauty. Concentrate on your hands and absorb yourself in your art. Artist concentrate on giving their soul into their art.After your strikes and between each stance, let the connecting movement go. Like dropping a coin from your hand.Do not practice with emotion. People feel your emotion. Lead your hyung technically, following basic principles.Save your emotion for self-defense.Your opponents should feel your stance hard like a rock, and they should be afraid from your force.Because attacking offense has emotion and powerful preperation, if you wait until someone attacks you, you will be in trouble from the force against you. So if you want to defend yourself against that kind of power, you should prepare twice that strength against your opponent.Self-practice and self-motivation is difficult. Think light and try to begin easily without pressure. Then you can practice continuously and consistently. Begin lightly and get going as you sweat. Starting your practice is everything. Without starting, you go nowhere.Before practice, do not make too many plans. If you have too many expectations, you will burn out before you even start. Just think about every stop. Think about principles and techniques. Then you will enjoy practice and time goes fast.Everyone should practice a lot. It is difficult to learn correctly as a white belt because there is not enough muscle memory and mental experience. If you have been practicing for a while in regular class, then Kwan Jang Nim can correct easily.Once you practice over and over again you will feel the difference. Even if you do not have abilities at first, you will find out you do have confidence. As long as you practice with proper techniques and quality principles, you will reach your goals. Everybody has the same chance. As long as you practice correctly, you could be the best.Hard practice surpasses the need to work on patience. You pass patience and are able to forgive anything. You can pass through anything that stresses you. Because you can taste dying, you can forgive anything.With hard practice, you will have a positive, kind mind. You can solve problems. If you have negative mind, practice harder. Practice for dying.

There are times in Kuk Sool when we’re not part of what’s going on.  We may be waiting for the class before ours to finish, we may be waiting while our instructor teaches a technique to our partner, we may be watching a tournament, or we may be sidelined due to an injury.  What do we do with that downtime?  Turn our brains off and drift into La La Land?  Of course not.  All of those scenarios are important learning opportunities.  We can learn a great deal from actively watching our fellow students.  Things that my instructor has told me time after time suddenly become clear when I see someone else making the same mistake.  When I listen to him explain a technique, I always hear something new that I missed when I learned it the first time around.  Every time I watch my peers do a form or practice their weapons, I find myself learning from watching.  I see the things they do well and desire to emulate them, and I see my own flaws mirrored back at me and am reminded of where I need to work.  Every moment spent in the dojang is an opportunity for learning, whether we’re actively involved or simply sitting on the sidelines.