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It's not unusual to set a
little money aside to attend a martial arts camp or seminar.
Last summer, I did one better. I traveled to South Korea
for a month of intensive hapkido training. In the
process, I had a lot of fun.
This isn't the
first time I've been to Korea. I had previously lived in
Kangnung. I trained in hapkido and ki gong
(breathing exercises) and earned a black belt from the Korean
Hapkido Federation. I traned at the Hapkido
Choiyukwan under Young-Jong Kim and Jun-Kyu Lee.
While I was living there, I taught English at a hogwan (private
academy). Korean students attend these academies after
their regular public school classes to get ahead with their
studies. This time I wasn't there to teach, however.
I was there mainly to train.
When I arrived in
Kangnung, I planned on spending the month living in one of the
yokwans (cheap hotel) that are so abundant throughout
Korea. However, Lee would have none of that. He
and his family lived in and ran a minbak (an inn) near
the beach. He insisted that I stay in one of the rooms
without paying. Not only did I train with my instructor,
be we did everything together, including going to the beach
and movies.
4 Classes Per Day
When I first
arrived, we had class four times a day. The first class
was at 6 a.m. The following classes were at 2:30 p.m.,
4:30 p.m., and 8 p.m. The times changed during summer
vacation. The first class was bumped back to 9 a.m.,
followed by classes at 3, 5 and 8 p.m. Either way, I had
four classes per day plus plenty of extra training between
classes.
Typically, I'd go
to class in the morning and then go back to Lee's home to rest
before the next session. After lunch, we would leave
early so we could pick up some of the other students for the
next class. This is common practice throughout Korea.
Whether it is a martial arts school or something similar, a
driver would pick up the other students in a minivan and drop
them off afterward. We did this for every class.
After the third class of the day, we would go home t eat
dinner and practice various techniques before we went to the
last class of the day. This was usually the longest and
most intense class of the day because it consisted mainly of
adults. It was usually 10 p.m. before we had the school
swept, the water bottles filled and were ready to go home.
By the end of class, our uniforms were soaked and we were
spent. In these classes, we spent a lot of time
sparring. Believe me, I went home sore on more than one
occasion.
Generate Power
The type of
training I did depended on the class. The early classes
had younger students, so I often helped with the instruction.
There were also several new students, so I usually worked on
the basics with them. This was particularly enjoyable.
It's not only a way to better yourself, but the kids were
great to work with, too.
Regardless of what
class we were in, Lee always made sure that he taught me at
least one new technique. This meant that I was learning
between four and six new techniques per day. After
class, I'd write the new techniques in a notebook along with
the other notes from class. Each night, I'd review
everything I learned that day before I went to sleep.
The next day, I'd practice everything I had learned before he
taught me something new.
Wednesday's class
was always different because we always worked with weapons.
although we primarily worked with the staff or short stick, we
sometimes worked with the bamboo sword. During the free
time between classes, Lee also worked with me on various cane
and belt techniques.
Besides all of the
traditional hapkido I was learning, I also received an
added bonus. Kim was teaching and working with Lee and a
few of the other high-ranking students some striking methods
called kwon sul. These drills involved a variety
of strikes, including punches, ridgehands, spearhands,
backfists and others. The key to these drills is
shifting your body weight to gain the maximum power for your
strike. It was always amazing to see how much power my
instructor could generate with the slightest motion.
Naturally, I jotted notes about his technique into my book
every night.
Hapkido and Taekwondo
While the weekdays
were reserved for hapkido, the weekends were for rest
and relaxation. I spent those summer weekends visiting
new places with my fiancee, Yi Saeng Ham, going out with
friends and resting from the week's grueling schedule.
Like all vacations, the time flew by much too quickly.
Before I knew it, I had to return to the States.
I realize that not
everyone has connections to go to Korea to live with an
instructor. However, there are many opportunities for
people to visit Korea and train in various arts, including hapkido,
taekwondo, and other arts. I encourage anyone to
visit and train in Korea. Without a doubt, it will be an
experience you will always remember.
About the
author: Alain Burrese, who is certified as a specialist
in martial arts conditioning by the International Sports
Sciences Association, attends the University of Montana School
of Law.
This article appeared in Karate Kung Fu Illustrated
August 1999 issue with Mike Swain on the cover.
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