Indiana Martial Arts
Martial Arts Indiana
Martinsville Martial Arts
Martinsville Karate
Martinsville Indiana
Taekwondo Tae kwon do

A Sunday with Grandmaster In Sun Seo, head of the World Kido Association.

Photo from Kidohae.com

Grandmaster Seo was in Chicago on Feb 24th and 25th of 2001. We were only able to make the second day, and wondered what we had missed—if anything—on the first. After the typical warm-up, ki breathing exercise, and a little playing around with a form, GM Seo said we were going to review the first day. He took about three minutes and rattled off about 30 techniques, mostly of the through or front variation, waved his hand and told us to review those. I was instantly kicking myself for missing the first day. Brent and I both managed to see one variation that was new somewhat new to us and we tried to recreate those, but a lot of the other people who were there for the first day were not doing much better. But it wasn’t long before my disappointment about the previous day turned into anticipation about the present one.

The format for the new material was about the same. GM Seo would take about 3 minutes to show about 4-5 techniques, doing the series a couple times through. At times there would be progression from one series to another, but usually they were more associated by type of technique: grab and locks, grab and throws, 2 on 1 grab, etc. There did seem to be a common theme or organization of the type of techniques from one set to another. It would be interesting to note whether this was a World Kido Association curriculum design or simply GM Seo’s decision to emphasize certain genres of techniques at the seminar. There was little or no instruction on the nuance of technique, although he did seem to slightly exaggerate some of the physical illustrations. This served as a reminder of the contrast between the traditional teaching culture of Asian martial arts and the Western approach, and you got the feeling he was teaching similar to the ways he taught in Korea 25 years ago.

To be sure, most of the techniques shown were not very radical or foreign to us. But by its nature, Hapkido is full of subtle variations. One would like to think that given enough time and practice, our own research could yield many of the same variations, but nevertheless it nice to have the process expedited by someone who has already dedicated his life to the art. And while there was little explanation of technique, there is something to be said about merely the opportunity to watch great practitioners move: the proficiency at off-balancing the opponent, the precision of technique, and flow among techniques, all the qualities that make the movements legitimately effortless.

As far as actual techniques covered, many of the USHF rank requirements were touched upon: grab and locks, grab and throws, 2 on 1 grabs, double hand grabs, double wrist grab from behind, etc. Again, several new variations on these USHF staples were shown. There were a couple of series that were a little more unique: a pressure point grab and throw series, lots of uptwist regrabbing techniques, wrist grab defenses with the hand pointing up rather than being grabbed with the arm being relaxed at the side, a really interesting series of defenses against a judo entry, and sitting techniques. As stated before, these new situations didn’t create radically new techniques, but as we have always stressed, it is simply a matter of learning how to apply what you already know more universally. It was also interesting to note how the genius of the USHF curriculum assisted us at the seminar. By being able to define or label techniques within the context of our body movement and alternative directions of response terminology, we were able to translate what was being done much more efficiently. We were able to say “that was just a switching hands, up and down technique, whereas this one was something else.” It allowed us to focus on the truly unique material (at least to us). I noticed that when we were having such discussions, or were using the USHF concepts to discuss and critique each other, other practitioners standing nearby would take notice of our conversation. It made me marvel at how much more difficult it must be to practice hapkido and participate in a seminar like this without that conceptual, categorical method of learning.

While GM Seo did not explain technique that much, he did offer some interesting discussions on more general topics that he then reinforced with illustrations of specific techniques. He spoke limited English, so most was translated by one of his sons who also served as his demo partners. Since the seminar was predominately black belts, several of which were far more experienced than we were, he oftentimes put things into the context of teaching. He stressed that Hapkido, at its finest and most advanced levels, must have a circular nature. He illustrated this with blocking drills designed to capture the momentum of a punch, encircling and redirecting the arm into various locks that flowed out of the circular motion. He talked about the necessity to be like water and flow or adjust from one technique to another. He gave both a practical example of how once during a challenge match a wrestler grabbed him in such a way to limit his Hapkido repertoire and he was forced to adapt and create a new response. He also talked about how during seminars or demonstrations, once in a while even he makes a mistake and is a little off on a technique, but as long as you know how to compensate and flow into the proper technique that the situation demands, no other person would ever be able to tell you even made a mistake. (I personally had to chuckle, however, when I thought about the margin of error that he considered a mistake compared to mine, and that I am sure I wouldn’t even be able to discern some of the times that the situation called for such adaptation.)

He also discussed Ki energy, and he made it clear that he wasn’t referring to it in a mystical sense but in the very practical notion of concentration of intent and force. He said that despite being only 132 pounds, he is still able to overcome much larger opponents on account of 40 years of practicing how to concentrate his power on a precise point. When watching him perform, it was evident that he had this Jing, this power that cant just be explained by sheer speed or momentum—at least in the more general sense.

Personally, this point was driven home when doing a hammer lock variation where you also bind the fingers, and the finger lock is actually the part that makes the shoulder want to drive into the ground. There are lots of places one can focus his attention in the lock….in lifting the elbow in the hammer lock, on using a back pivot to create space for the opponent to fall, on pulling to get the shoulder to go down, but on this particular technique, if all the attention is placed in the fingers, the rest of the mechanics just fall into place. Just a very simple illustration of what he appeared to be talking about.

We personally didn’t get to interact with GM Seo that much. Despite his age, he was still quite agile and fluid in his motions. I didn’t have the pleasure of feeling his technique, but I noticed that he was sweating more than half the students were, indicating that he was active in another part of the room. One of his sons surveyed our section of the gym quite frequently, so we did get most questions answered. At the end, everyone got certificates of participation and a Kido Hae lapel pin. He also made it a point to shake every participant’s hand. All nice gestures even if it took quite a while with 140 seminar participants.

I also noted that he more than once referred to his own continued research. Here is a pioneer and legend in the field with something like 40 years of experience, and he is quick to point out that he is still learning…like so many of the other great ones also admit. This, like so many other aspects of the seminar, was both inspiring and depressing at the same time. It was a thing of beauty to watch some of the Hapkido being practiced, and seeing that level of mastery is inspiring, but at the same, it is humbling to think how far we have to go.

reply@gentrymartialarts.com
Last modified: January 10, 2006