Chris from CT
12-15-2003, 12:22
Monday, September 15, 2003
Being really excited to be in Korea, I woke up around 4:00am and got ready for our first class at 6:00am. Frank and I walked through the streets of Daegu to the Jung Ki Kwan. Master Kim, Mon-Su, taught the early morning class. Master Kim is a 72-year-old man with a small frame, but oh my god, he was spry as anyone I ever met. Originally, around thirty years ago, Dojunim Choi, Yong-Sul refused to teach Kim, Mon Su because he was very sickly and frail. Master Kim even had a hard time walking up the three or four flights of stairs to get to the dojang (school). Dojunim Choi thought be would get broken from the hard training they were doing. Master Kim kept coming anyway and lasted all those years. I had a hard time believing the story from the way Master Kim was able to move, apply techniques and the shear strength coming from his tiny frame. It was a fantastic class and a great way to start off our training in Korea.
The next class was all Hapkido too. I got to work with Master Kong, Won-Gee and Trevor. We went over basic techniques and seeing them done with such precision was an eye opener. Everyone is expected to grab on hard when doing any “Son Mok Su” (wrist technique). The techniques were so powerful, and yet so subtle. With the way we were getting thrown around by Master Kong you would think he was using all is strength. But when I saw the same technique applied to Trevor you could see that there was little effort applied with the same effect. “It’s all technique, very little strength.”
The great thing about the training was that even though you are getting tossed around like a rag doll and experiencing some exquisite pain, it was never done maliciously. Everyone there had a great heart and was sincerely caring about everyone’s well being.
Our Doboks (uniforms) drenched in sweat, we broke for lunch and “the US contingency” went out for samgaetang again after getting changed. This time we met Peter who is a fellow student at the Jung Ki Kwan and works at the restaurant. And once again the soup was delicious.
Our afternoon class consisted of Kumdo and Kahapdo. The Kumdo half of the class was taught by Master Kim, Kyung-Hwan. We did a lot of footwork and striking with footwork. Then Master Kim “suited up” in the Kumdo armor in which he then instructed us in drills where we would be passing by and striking him. I have to admit that was pretty fun! The second half of the class was Kahapdo. Kahapdo (also known as Kuhapdo or Gahapdo) is a sword style developed by Grandmaster Lim, which appear to have similarities to Japanese Iaido. For next three hours I worked on a single cut and learned how much I could screw up that one cut! It was great! We were all dripping with sweat again after that class.
Later that night, Master Lee, Jae-Il stopped by our hotel and invited us out for a drink and some appetizers. Master Lee is one of the main interpreters at the Jung Ki Kwan along with Kim, In Sam. I wish my Korean could be half as good as Master Lee’s English. We had a couple of pitchers of beer and quite an assortment of appetizers. One that I will never forget was the Silkworm pupa. It came out and you could tell that they were some sort of larva/pupa thing. All the guys were eyeing me because I never had it before. I figured it wouldn’t be so bad because it looked like it had some crushed garlic with it and that would mask any taste that could have been less than delicious. Well, that was either not garlic or extremely weak because garlic is not what I tasted. It wasn’t terrible, but I definitely enjoyed the chicken tenders and beer much more.
More to come…
Being really excited to be in Korea, I woke up around 4:00am and got ready for our first class at 6:00am. Frank and I walked through the streets of Daegu to the Jung Ki Kwan. Master Kim, Mon-Su, taught the early morning class. Master Kim is a 72-year-old man with a small frame, but oh my god, he was spry as anyone I ever met. Originally, around thirty years ago, Dojunim Choi, Yong-Sul refused to teach Kim, Mon Su because he was very sickly and frail. Master Kim even had a hard time walking up the three or four flights of stairs to get to the dojang (school). Dojunim Choi thought be would get broken from the hard training they were doing. Master Kim kept coming anyway and lasted all those years. I had a hard time believing the story from the way Master Kim was able to move, apply techniques and the shear strength coming from his tiny frame. It was a fantastic class and a great way to start off our training in Korea.
The next class was all Hapkido too. I got to work with Master Kong, Won-Gee and Trevor. We went over basic techniques and seeing them done with such precision was an eye opener. Everyone is expected to grab on hard when doing any “Son Mok Su” (wrist technique). The techniques were so powerful, and yet so subtle. With the way we were getting thrown around by Master Kong you would think he was using all is strength. But when I saw the same technique applied to Trevor you could see that there was little effort applied with the same effect. “It’s all technique, very little strength.”
The great thing about the training was that even though you are getting tossed around like a rag doll and experiencing some exquisite pain, it was never done maliciously. Everyone there had a great heart and was sincerely caring about everyone’s well being.
Our Doboks (uniforms) drenched in sweat, we broke for lunch and “the US contingency” went out for samgaetang again after getting changed. This time we met Peter who is a fellow student at the Jung Ki Kwan and works at the restaurant. And once again the soup was delicious.
Our afternoon class consisted of Kumdo and Kahapdo. The Kumdo half of the class was taught by Master Kim, Kyung-Hwan. We did a lot of footwork and striking with footwork. Then Master Kim “suited up” in the Kumdo armor in which he then instructed us in drills where we would be passing by and striking him. I have to admit that was pretty fun! The second half of the class was Kahapdo. Kahapdo (also known as Kuhapdo or Gahapdo) is a sword style developed by Grandmaster Lim, which appear to have similarities to Japanese Iaido. For next three hours I worked on a single cut and learned how much I could screw up that one cut! It was great! We were all dripping with sweat again after that class.
Later that night, Master Lee, Jae-Il stopped by our hotel and invited us out for a drink and some appetizers. Master Lee is one of the main interpreters at the Jung Ki Kwan along with Kim, In Sam. I wish my Korean could be half as good as Master Lee’s English. We had a couple of pitchers of beer and quite an assortment of appetizers. One that I will never forget was the Silkworm pupa. It came out and you could tell that they were some sort of larva/pupa thing. All the guys were eyeing me because I never had it before. I figured it wouldn’t be so bad because it looked like it had some crushed garlic with it and that would mask any taste that could have been less than delicious. Well, that was either not garlic or extremely weak because garlic is not what I tasted. It wasn’t terrible, but I definitely enjoyed the chicken tenders and beer much more.
More to come…