Traditional Training

TRADITIONAL TRAINING • IsMartialArtEdulation Selond Class? • TheEssential Student OfTheMartialArts • GrowthThrough TheTenets

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Ther e ar e few martial arts whose technique s are pr acticed in the same w ay as they were over 2000 years ago . Ma ster In Hyuk Suh , Founder of the martial art of Kuk Sool Won, ha s or ganized man y of the se ancient Korean techniques that have been pa ss ed down to him through gen er ation s of martial artists . Kuk Sool's pyung sool t echniques ar e claimed to ' be some of the de adlie st in the world.

THE. 5T DEADLIE by Jane Hallander

Th ey're cal led pyun g 500 1in Kor ean, or palm techniq ues . This very po werful m ean s of se lfd efense includ es all the techni ques of the op en hand . So me martial art ists co ns ider th em mor e po tent th an clo sed fist str ikes . Whe reas a fist us es on ly two knu ckl es as s tri king are as , any porti on of an ope n pa lm is a pot entia l wea po n . Th ere are IWO typ es of palm " te ch ni ques in Korea n martial arts, chol-sa-jang (s tee l palm ) and pyun g 50 0 1 (ope n finge r palm tec hn iqu e). Knif e ha nd and rid ge hand stri kes ar e not co ns ide re d palm techn iq ues . Every m artial art uses palm tech ni ques . som e mor e than othe rs. Kuk 500 1wo n is one of th ose that pl aces palm techni ques above fist str ikes on th e martial art evolu tion ary scale. Accor ding to kuk sool fou nd er and gra ndm as ter, In Hyuk Su h, anc ient Korean hi st ory a ttrib u ted fist s tr ikes to un ski Ued fight ers and

palm techniq ues to higher ed uca ted martia l art is ts. "When you pun ch som ething with your fist , you have onl y knuckl e power at th e end of your thrust. Palm s trik es ar e m ore natu ra l, bec ause your po wer is relax ed , co m ing throu gh th e wris t. Pyun g sool com b ines focu s, int ent ion and jo in t action togeth er w ith the

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body's natura l ene rgy, ki . pro duc in g in tern al po wer an d pen etra t ion ." Says In Hyuk Suh . If anyone should know about pa lm power , it's Suh . When he was actively tra ining for pyun g sool, hi s str ikin g hand m eas ure d seven cenThe open palm han d is used bo th d ef en sively and offen sively a s s how n in this se que nce. Grandma ster Suh (rig ht) first blCKks th e attac k w ith palm tec hniq ue s, th en co unte rs wit h o ffen s ive palm techn iques_

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ORENHAND-THE DEADLIEST WEAPON?

rtm erers thick in the palm regio n . However , unlik e the train ing r esu lts in so me martial arts . the re were no ca llu ses on any pan of his hand . He also retain ed com plete j oin t flexibil ity and dexteri ty. In Hyuk Suh's grand fat her , a Korean royal co urt martia l art mas ter, pa ssed on m uch of w ha t comp rises tod ay's ku k sool won sys tem to Suh. His gra nd father's marti al a rt m end s also contribut ed to Su h's syste m . "I rem emb er one of my gra ndfather's fr iend s offering to tea ch me pal m str ikes with powe r and speed. In re turn , I was suppose d to cook his mea ls for him . I cooked for him for over six mont hs. while he d idn't teach me an yt hin g. Fin ally, a t lunch ti me one da y, I lost patien ce and becam e very an gry. Seei ng my anger , my teach er took me to a tre e and told me to vent my an ger ,

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Suh chelnges the direction of th e o ppo ne nt's punch , then strik es to th e boc k and to th e bock of th e head .

A circula r y o p pyung soo l start s with Suh stopp ing th e opponent ' s punch , bringing th e punch ing arm around in 0 circle into 0 s hou ld e r lock , and finish ing w ith 0 palm st rike to th e fe ce ,

Jung pyung 5001 (stroight palm tech niqu e ). In Hyuk Suh (right ) first stops his oppon ent's kick wi th a soh palm c~ve ri n g tech niqu e, then poinfully-for the oppon entst ops th e punch with 0 jung p yung 500 1,or stroight forw a rd polm strik e that co uld shatter th e oppon ent' s wrist if deliv er ed hard enough.

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[i] [i] [i] After bloc.kin9 the opp o n ent 's punch ,

Suh strikes wi th tw o ho e jung pyung

500 1 (cun ing

palm techniqu es ) in rap id su ccession to each s ide of th e

oppon ent' s head .

Ha e jun p yung see l (cutti ng palm techniq ue), a pCllm strike com ing from th e sid e , Suh slops his opponent 's ClttcJc k , ste p s behind him and strik e s w it h th e bClck of his pCllm, sid ewClys , first to th e b e ck, th en to the bo ck of th e heod .

stri king the tr ee. Over a t housa nd leaves m ust have fallen as I struc k the tre e trunk over and over w ith my palm . " M y teach er told me tha t I was h inin g the tr ee hard en ou gh I ~ push the trunk , sha king th e leaves off only. If I stayed wit h him anot her six mo nt hs. he would leach me to strik e the tr ee wit h spee d a nd int ern al po wer, kn ocking only th ree leaves off . This is the kind of po wer that stays inside your oppo nent , vibra ting in to in ternal organs." S la t es Su h . Palm techniques are see n in all ma rt ial art s, but are -more com mo n in mart ial cultu res t hat se pa r a te t hei r figh tin g tec hni ques int o ha rd and so ft or extern al and intern al. For inst an ce, traditi on al Ko rean marti al arts like kuk son l place fist stri kes int o the hard cat egory and pa lm att acks wit h soft "yu-sool" marti a l art s. Accord ing to Su h, th e knuckl e po wer produ ced by a pu nch with a fis t is far less ef fect ive tha n a palm strike. He says th at it is possib le to deliver u p to seve n times more penet ratin g for ce w ith a pa lm stri ke . Becau se you m ust tense yom"mu scles to ma ke a fist, ki power stops sha n of the ta rget w he n a pun ch is deliver ed . When a fist lan ds in the for m of a pun ch, it r eacts in much t he

same ma nn er as a Fragm en tation grenade w hic h blows apa rt , depo siting little pieces of met a l in t he ta rge t. A pun ch does imm ediate da mage to a local ized ar ea o f the bod y, leaving bru ises and bro ken bo nes. However , a stri ke palm clo sely resemb les th e effe cts of a co ncussimi gre nade whe re nothin g comes o ut whe n it blows up except a devas tati ng shoc k wave. A correc tly

execu ted palm stri ke, usin g the marti al artist's maximum power pot en tia l, m ay not leave any brui sing but w ill inst ead shatter nerves and blood vessels. Thi s causes Far mo re da mage than a pun ch. ju st like the tree tha t sheds a ni)' thr ee leaves. Steel palm tra ining invok es the condition ing a nd develop ment o f

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martia l art ist's entir e hand : the pa lm, fi nge rs, side an d bac k of thc han d (e nabling him to b reak or crus h objec ts w ith superhu man speed an d srrengt b.) Ste el pal m techni ques requ ire thc finge rs be closed togeth er , making the ent ire ha nd the stri king sur fac e. This is not the sa me as pyun g sool. In anci ent Korea, steel pal m tec hniq ues were used extensively fo r fighting a nd sel f-de fense. T he ang le of th e fighte r's pa lm det ermi ned w he ther the result ing blow would be defen sive and only inju re the oppon en t, or offen sive an d cause dea th . A 90 degre e ang le wa s cons ide re d dead ly, w hile 145 degr ees was used for d efensive purpo ses. Th e b low wa s mad e w ith such speed and force that if a steel pa lm pra ct ition er had no inter n al tra ini ng, he wou ld have bro ke n every bone in his stri king hand . Steel palm stri kes. however, have only t he des tru ctive qualities of a fist blow , merel y spread out over a gre a te r area . Th e palm tech niq ues, w hich lea ve no ou twa rd signs but w hich can cause gra ve int erna l • dam age, ar e the pyun g sool technique s. A palm techn ique ca n be used effe ctively ag ains t any pres sur e po int , mu scle or j oint. However, there is a right and wr ong wa y to stri ke w ith the palm . Suh ca utions rhat only the palm and fingers o f your hand ma ke co ntact. T he jo int s do no t str ike the ta rget. Th is app lies al so to ba ck of the hand stri kes . Onl y the back of t he pal m makes co ntact, never t he knu ckles. [f you str ike so me thing hard w ith the jo ints o f your fingers or palm , you ca n easily dam age them by hyp er extension or impact trau ma . Pyu ng sool techniques had their

ori gins with a branch o f a nci en t Korean mart ia l 8l1S known as sado mu soo l "tri bal marti al 311s" over 2000 yea rs ago. These techniq ucs are usu ally brok en dow n in to thr ee d ist inct types of pa lm stri kes , eac h des ign ed for speci fic uses . Th e first is ca lled j un g"pyun g soo l or stra ight pa lm tech nique. It is the mo st eleme ntal)' of the thre e typ es . As the name descri bes it . j ung pyu ng sool is a stra ight f OI·ward , pene tra ting pa lm stri ke When Suh , right , wa s activ ely tTaining , his striking hand mea s ured 7 centim ete rs thi ck in th e palm reg io n with no ca lluses on an y art of his hand .

delivered to any pa rt of the oppo nen t's bod y. A j un g pyun g sool stri ke is usual ly mad e a fter the o pposit ions' technique has been blocked and an open ing in their d efenses mad e available for the stra ight thru st ing pa lm a ua ck. Th e seco nd palm techniq ue gro uped in the pyun g sool cla ss of palm stri kes is nam ed ya p pyun g sao l or cu tt ing pal m tec hniqu e. These ar e pa lm strik es that come from the side ra t her than stra ight toward the target . The prim a l) ' tar -

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gets for ya p pyung soo l techn iques ar e join ts, such as the elbow and '.' kn ee. A typ ical ya p pyu ng sool strike is mad e aga inst the opponent's pun chi ng ar m, stri king and brea kin g th e elbo w as the pun ch is thro wn. In t his cas e, the ya p pyun g sool rechniquc act s as both a blockin g actio n to stop and deflect the pun ch and as a cou ntera ttac k, brea king the elbo w. The th ird tech niqu e cla ssified w ith pyung sool strik es is ca lled hae jo n pyu ng sool or circu lar pa lm techn ique. It is th e most ad vanced o f the three, relying upon a st icky sens itivity between palm stylis ts and op pon ent s . Hac j un pyu ng sool pra ct ition ers make a circl e w hile their str iking an u s are in co ntact w ith the oppo nen t's own atta cking a nu s. This circula r ac tion red irects both the oppo nent 's balan ce and ene rgy away from th e palm stylist. When t he red irect ion of ene rgy a nd ba lan ce has been accompli shed a nd an open ing in the oppo si tion s' defen ses foun d. the pyu ng sool pra ctition er stri kes . One o f the favorit e techniques o f anci ent Kore an mart ial art ists was a dead ly hae j un pyu ng soo l stri ke targ eted j ust below their opponent 's Ji bs. In th is techniqu e. a circu lar scooping act ion usin g the out er edge of the lower part of their palm was used to j am the pal m up int o the lib cage , send ing shock wave s thro ughout the ene my's bo dy.

00 00 Yap p yung soo l(circ u la r palm tech· niqu e ], Suh trap s th e o p po ne nt' s punching ann inta a thra o t lock th en s trikes w ith an ad van ced to p p yung seer.

All t hree types of pa lm techniq ues ar e pra ctic ed toda y in kuk soo l the sa me way they were thousa nds o f years ago in Kore a . Su h says tha t the basic pra ct ice curriculu m is co mpr ised of co nce ntra tion , ang le, ab sorp t ion , medit ation a nd ki developm en t. Con centrat ion is the menta l train ing which allows pyu ng sool pra ctitioners 10 thrus t all of thei r foc us and in tenli on on the tar get.

Left : (Left to Right) Brother s In"'S uk Suh , In Hyuk Suh , In Sun Suh and In Joo Suh . Cover pe rso na lity In Hyuk Su h is a te nth deg re e Grandm a st er in Kuk Soa l Wan a nd his b rot h ers ho ld two e ig hth d egre es and on e nine degre e re spect ivel y.

Left : I.H. Suh pe rfOm1S a palm te
Con centra tion d ire cts the co mbination o f imema l and exte rn al ene rg ies into th e targ et. A kno wled ge o f an gles is necessa ry in o rd er to pro perly assess the ta rget and still genera te maximum fo rce. Abso rption mean s that pyun g sool pract ition ers mu st ab sor b some of th e shoc k of t heir ow n palm stri ke w ithout becom ing tense and rigid . As t he shoc k wa ves en ter t he o ppo nent 's body they a lso

[!]000 Yop pyung soo l techniqu e. Suh sto ps Ihe pun ch and st a rts a d rcu la r e lbow and s ha uld e r lock . With the loc:k fin ish ed a nd the oppon ent off balan ce , Suh strike s w ith hi s pa lm to th e b ac k af th e a p po ne nt's head.

cau se a sllglu. reco iling act ion back int o the body of the pyu ng sool stylis t. Failur e LO ab sorb th is Force by mo ving wit h the stri ke ca n ca use inte rn al da mag e to the pe rso n app lyin g thc pal m techniq ue. Med itatio n a nd ki developmen t are clo sely tied together. Without t he prope l- me d ita tion a nd breat hin g pra ctic e, there ca n be no ki development . Ki power is necessa ry to add the m aximum amo unt of stre ng th 10 the palm stri ke. Ki is the Korea n term tha t descri bes int erna l rra in ing. II is t he source of in tern a l stre ngth and is tied closel y to breathi ng a nd blood circu lation . To becom e profi cient

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at palm techniques, mar tial arti sts mu st develop th ei r ki. Th ere are two kinds of ki, pre natal (befor e birt h) and post-natal [after bir th ). Three pr essur e point s in a stra ight lin e directly be low the navel repr esent the ar eas of prenat al ki. Before b irth an d at birth , thi s ki is fully de velope d . However, as childr en grow, develop ing stress an d o ther eve ryday habit s, they lose m uch of the ki at these point s and mus t wo rk to redevelop it. This form of ki is wha t determine s intern al streng th or power. Post -nata l ki cente rs ar c loca ted a t three vertica l pressure point s di rectly abo ve the na vel. This ki

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develops aft er birt h and is th e source of extern al stre ngt h. Postnatal ki is ea sily re plenishe d by ea ting nut ri tiou s foods and getting enough sleep. This is the extern al po wer and energy that most ma rt ia l art ists spend thei r time' developing. In a stra ight line pas sing horizo nral lythrou gh the navel are six area s, th ree on eac h side , where pre -na ta l and po st- nata l ki co nne ct and blen d int o a balan ce of interIn a ddi tio n to be ing th e found er o f Kuk Sao l Won , Grandma st er Suh al so fo u nded th e Ki Do Hai Association in 1983 w hich rep rese nts the 31 ma rtia l a rts of Korea ex cep t TKD and Ju d o ,

nal and exte rn al ki power. This same po wer is see n in a pe netrating pa lm stri ke. Th is blend ing of ki is often r eferre d 10 as a n urn a nd ya ng (yi n and yang in Chinese) com bination. Prior to the blendin g of pre and post-nata l ki , po st -nata l ki repre sent ed ya ng, the hard , warm. externa l energy w hile prenat al k.i stood for u rn, the so ft. cool. intern al stre ngt h . A ba la nce of both is esse ntial for maxim um power . In Hyu k Suh ad voca tes severa l ways La develop and bri ng ki out into the palm . The firs t is ca lled sal-li-ki mea n ing sprea d fingers . Here all five fingers are spread wide, then r elaxed . You've proba bly see n mart ial artis ts do th is exer cise ju st before break ing bri cks or seve ra l bo ar ds wit h a pa lm

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str ike. II's a good exerci se 10 pra ct ice every da y. Th en do it j us t befo re a pa lm break ing technique to tran sfer a m as sive amou nt of ki int o the ha nd . Anot her ki developing exerc ise for the hand is ca ll ki-cho -j ak i or wr inging out the ki. With this exercise, all five fin gers are ope ned as w ide as possible, str etch ing the we b of skin between th e fingers. Th en t hey are form ed int o a t ight fist , and back into the sprea d position. Th e exerci se is repea te d ma ny tim es eac h day by kuk soo l pra ct itioners to tra nsfer ki in to the hand s. There are also exte rn al benefits gained fro m these exe rc ises. Opening the fingers as wide as po ssible stre tc hes and conditions the tend ons and liga men ts that tie the bo nes of th e han d togeth er. It Lones an d develops the muscle s o f the hand an d palm . Pyu ng sool pract ition ers can be so powerfu l t hat they don't worry abo ut find ing a pressu re po int to hi t with their palm strikes . They can sr rike any part of an opp onent' s body with good res ults . Pre ssure po int s ar e not nec essa ry to the success o f th eir techn iqu es. No matt er where t he techni qu e hi ts, an oppo nent w ill becom e dizzy from th e shock of the b low . From there, it's al l downh ill for the oppo sit ion .