Extensive Study of Techniques and Arts
By Grand Master Suh, In Hyuk
When I was young, I opened my eyes into the martial art world. Forgetting everything except training, even sometimes forgetting to sleep and eat, I traveled from province to province and village to village to learn from over a hundred masters who decline to tell their names. They taught me the hidden secrets of generations of martial arts one by one, sometimes learning only one special technique from a master, and after years of learning and research, I hesitated to keep all the priceless arts of my ancestors to myself. But after much meditation and consideration I decided to teach the ancient martial arts of Korea to the public and that is when I began the "Kuk Sool Won" (Korean National Martial Arts Association).
In the thirty years since "Kuk Sool" was founded, we have built hundreds of branch schools. I came to the United States in 1974 to bring Kuk Sool to the world outside of Korea. Starting from one school, in ten years there were seventy-five schools. Worldwide, there are well over a hundred schools in many other countries. I believe this phenomenal growth is due to the quality of our martial art and to the support of its members and officers.
Kuk Sool is definitely one of the best martial arts in the world. I am not saying that simply because I am the founder of Kuk Sool Won or to boast. The world's strongest country, America, reminds me of the admiration people have for Kuk Sool because we are able to thrive here in the United States despite the diversity of peoples and culture and the great size of the country.
So far through many thousands of demonstrations, I have proved the remarkableness of Kuk Sool not only to myself but to others as well. The distinction and honor that may come our way is to the credit of our fellow countrymen. Also in America, all of the techniques are written in the Korean language because the origin of our martial art is from the Korean peninsula. We have transmitted not only physical techniques developed by our ancestors, but the treasure of our culture as well. I began to publish a textbook before I left Korea, and I am happy now that it has been accomplished. I received many inquires asking why we did not put all the techniques of Kuk Sool in the book. That task is surprisingly difficult because of the vast amount of material and the fact that many techniques, especially the advanced ones, are quite esoteric and complicated.