 JKN Jane with one of her younger students The start of a new year is a time when we traditionally set our goals for the year ahead. These may be to lose weight, get fitter, try a new activity, or change jobs. Goals can be useful. They provide direction, focus and motivation. They also enable us to measure our progress and bring feelings of satisfaction and pride when we achieve a particular goal.
For a while I have been thinking about and questioning the importance of goals within the context of a traditional martial art. Many people, particularly those who are relatively new to martial arts, focus on the goal of achieving a certain rank. In the early stages of training, they focus on attaining the next coloured belt. As a student progresses, the goal often shifts to reaching the rank of black belt. Students will also focus on the goal of learning new material or starting weapons training. These types of goals provide them with motivation, particularly when training becomes difficult, along with a sense of achievement and satisfaction when the goal is reached. Unlike many of the people I have trained with, I have never really set myself any specific goals for my martial arts training. My intention from the day I started training in the traditional Korean martial art of Kuk Sool Won™ was to continue to train for as long as I found it enjoyable. This has led me on the path towards 2nd degree black belt. However, it has never been a particular goal to become a black belt or run a martial arts school. It just happened as a natural progression of my commitment to enjoying my training. I believe that my enjoyment and commitment to my training in Kuk Sool Won™ has been much greater because I have not set myself any particular goal. Instead, each training session or class I teach becomes my main focus. This enables me to be fully present, participating in my martial art practice and teaching in a very mindful way. I endeavour to engage fully with my students and almost always find it an energising and rewarding experience. It frees me from the stresses of the day and my worries or concerns for tomorrow. For me, martial arts provides a truly mindful activity. A traditional martial art is not a series of destinations. Rather, it is a continuous journey of physical development and personal discovery. What is truly important and of value is in what we learn along the way, rather than what goal we achieve or rank we attain. Focusing on a goal involves focusing on some future state, rather than the present moment. While I would never discourage students from setting goals for themselves and their training, I do encourage them to place a much greater focus on their current training. Being truly present in each moment of every training session is tremendously beneficial and enriches our daily lives. This provides richness and satisfaction on a daily basis. Goals are achieved as a by-product rather than the end-product of training. Ultimately a more mindful approach to training which focuses on the journey enhances our lives more than occurs through the achievement of any specific goal. So for 2019 my commitment is to continue to learn and to enjoy my training and teaching on each day that I am fortunate enough to participate in Kuk Sool Won™. JKN Jane Hurst First degree black belt and school owner Kuk Sool Won™ of Onewhero Copyright © 2019. Kuk Sool Won™ of Pukekohe and Onewhero. All Rights Reserved.
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 A traditional martial art, like Kuk Sool Won™, is about more than the development of physical skills. The learning and personal development opportunities it provides go much deeper. This is particularly clear when working with our female students. Many people believe that a martial art is great for girls and women because it teaches self-defence. This is based on the premise that women need to learn how to defend themselves against a physical attack. It sees girls and women as potential victims of violence based on their gender.
While there are undoubted benefits to learning self-defence skills, participation in a martial art provides girls and women with so much more than protection from violence. A starting point to understanding these benefits can be found in the research into the types of benefits sport provides to girls and women. In 2015, an international consultancy (EY), published research on women in senior leadership positions in large corporations in the United States. It identified that 94% of women in the executive team (or C-suite) had played sport and 74% believed that a background in sport can help accelerate a woman’s career. Girls who play sports have “greater social and economic mobility, are less likely to use drugs, have greater personal safety, and perform better at school”. Other research focusing specifically on women who participate in martial arts has found that it is empowering for those women, builds confidence, and can help change gender stereotypes. In martial arts, girls and boys, and women and men train together. In some martial arts, such as Kuk Sool Won™, they even compete against each other in many categories of competition. This creates an environment where men and women learn to work together, promoting equality and challenging traditional views on gender. Almost half of our students are girls and women. Based on our experiences working with them, as well as our own experiences as women martial artists and instructors, we are well aware of the benefits martial arts training provides.
I am passionate about encouraging girls and women to explore their physicality through martial arts. If this is done in a respectful, inclusive environment, the benefits can be truly lifechanging. JKN Jane Hurst First degree black belt and school owner Kuk Sool Won™ of Onewhero Copyright © 2018. Kuk Sool Won™ of Pukekohe and Onewhero. All Rights Reserved.  Nathan Scott (centre), with SBN Caroline (left) and JKN Jane (right) My Kuk Sool Won™ journey began when I was researching martial arts for one to learn. I came across Kus Sool Won, I decided to look in to it a bit more and then decided I would give it a try. I sent SBN Caroline, the owner, an email and I soon got a reply. So, the next day I went along to my try-out class and I loved it and went along to the next class.
After a year of being with Kuk Sool my younger brother also started training, but unfortunately the West Auckland school had to close. I did not want to stop training, so I tried some other martial arts but they were nothing like Kuk Sool. My Dad drove me on the three hour round trip to the Waikato until we moved down to Onewhero. I was able to do Kuk Sool with the same instructors, which was very important to me. I also convinced my parents to join and we now train together as a family. It is great to train with family because we can all learn together and get to spend time doing something which we all enjoy. When we moved to the Waikato I joined the Black Belt Club. This means that I can now train as many times as I like. I am now a Brown Belt and in the first hour of training I help the younger students and in the second hour I focus on my own training. I really enjoy working with the younger students as it helps me to be patient and to be a good teacher. This means that I train for up to 6 hours a week, over 3 session times. My favourite part of Kuk Sool is using the weapons, because it is fun and you can learn the part the weapons have in the history of Korea. I also really enjoy practicing the forms. Forms are a combination of moves made to fit together in a sequence. The reason I like forms is because it is the main part of Kuk Sool, which teaches you strikes and stances easily. I would like to get to at least Ji Do Kwahn Jahng Nim (Seventh Degree) and open a school in Wellington, but my Kuk Sool Won journey will never end. SBN Caroline and JKN Jane are the best and I never want to stop Kuk Sool. Nathan Scott Brown Belt Kuk Sool Won of Onewhero & Pukekohe Copyright © 2018. Kuk Sool Won™ of Onewhero. All Rights Reserved. 
Teaching children the traditional Korean martial art of Kuk Sool Won™ is a great joy for me. Sure, it can be a bit like herding feral kittens at times, especially when they are tired near the end of the school term. It can also be frustrating when they can’t remember what you have taught them or when siblings fight in class. But these are minor irritations when compared with the overall joy teaching this age group brings.
So why do I enjoy teaching martial arts to children so much?
Teaching martial arts to kids is not easy and does not come naturally to everyone. While there are many factors that make a good teacher, fundamentally an instructor must have a passion for teaching children. If this exists, the kids will be “smiling, sweating and learning” (using the words of Master Martin Ducker of Kuk Sool Won™ of Lowestoft and Halesworth). This makes for a great environment for everyone. JKN Jane Hurst First degree black belt and school owner Kuk Sool Won™ of Onewhero Copyright © 2018. Kuk Sool Won™ of Onewhero. All Rights Reserved. 
SBN Caroline Hurst (4th Degree Black Belt and School Owner)
In 2003, SBN Caroline arrived in New Zealand as a first degree black belt in the traditional Korean martial art of Kuk Sool Won™. She had trained at the busy UK school of Kuk Sool Won™ of Lowestoft and was expecting to join the local Kuk Sool school to continue her training. However, she found that not only were there no schools in West Auckland where she was living, there were no Kuk Sool schools in New Zealand. What would most people do in this situation? They would give up their martial arts training or start from scratch in a different style.
Undeterred and committed to continuing her training in Kuk Sool, SBN Caroline opened her own school, with the support of her family, who had also trained to first degree black belt. The early beginnings of Kuk Sool in New Zealand were humble, with her school of Kuk Sool Won™ of Auckland having only 3 students for the first couple of years. Gradually though, this has increased and over the last 15 years, SBN Caroline has promoted 25 students to 1st degree black belt. Four of these students have progressed to 2nd degree black belt. Establishing and running a school in a new location is always challenging. Being so far away from an instructor and other students at a similar level adds another degree of difficulty that few martial artists and school owners ever experience. To receive her own training, SBN Caroline must travel to Texas, at considerable personal expense. While we have been fortunate to have annual visits from her instructor in recent years, SBN Caroline has been in the challenging position of having her instruction condensed into three or four days a year. She then has to practice her material on her own, based on her memory and notes taken at the time. She must wait for several months for refinement and further instruction. In this way she has progressed from first to fourth degree black belt and is currently testing for master (fifth degree black belt). Learning a traditional martial art like Kuk Sool can be a very challenging experience. It takes years of dedication to achieve each degree of black belt. Most people give up before they even reach black belt. Few go on to achieve 2nd degree and even less progress to the higher ranks. However, the rewards of making the commitment are considerable. Training over years (and even decades) develops the body, as well as self-defense knowledge and skills. However, it does much more than teach physical skills. It also teaches the importance of dedication, tenacity, commitment, and focus. Training so far away from an instructor and in the absence of other students at a similar level, in the way SBN Caroline has, is extremely difficult but it has helped her to develop all of these characteristics. Taking the harder path can make us more resilient and better able to cope with the difficulties and challenges that life inevitably brings. The benefits of such perseverance cannot be underestimated or overstated. For some, the martial arts journey involves opening a school either through choice or by necessity as a way of continuing to train. School ownership provides the opportunity to learn by teaching and to develop a depth of understanding that is difficult to achieve by participation as student. It also develops qualities such as humility and integrity. Our students are only as good as our ability to teach them. Every person learns differently and we must adapt our teaching style accordingly. School ownership requires significant commitment and responsibility. It also requires personal sacrifice. Most school owners do not get paid and often have to subsidise the school’s running costs to ensure it can survive. Added to that is the cost of travel to visit an instructor, which from New Zealand, is always expensive. There are also no other school owners here to provide advice, moral support, or a sense of collegiality. Instead, we must be self-reliant, as well as savvy in the use of technology to build relationships with school owners in other parts of the world. 15 years ago, SBN Caroline chose an extremely difficult path when she committed to continue her Kuk Sool training in New Zealand by opening a school. I have been fortunate to be part of that journey for the last few years and to be able to learn from her and provide her with support. Her commitment to not only Kuk Sool but to each student is inspiring. She has and continues to make a difference to lives of many people. That is the true essence of our martial art. JKN Jane Hurst First degree black belt and school owner Kuk Sool Won™ of Onewhero Copyright © 2018. Kuk Sool Won™ of Onewhero. All Rights Reserved. 
JKN Jane Hurst and SBN Caroline Hurst
I recently turned 50, a significant milestone in anyone’s life. For many people, this is a time of reflection. We think about our past and what we have learned from it, as well as reflect on what the future may offer. As a black belt, instructor and school owner in the traditional Korean martial art of Kuk Sool Won™, I have been reflecting on the central role martial arts occupies in my life. What does it mean to me as I age and how do I see my future as a martial artist?
My passion and commitment to Kuk Sool Won™ continues to grow as I enter my 50s. There are many reasons for this. Understanding what they are keep me motivated, particularly when I am having a bad day or when I want or need to lift my energy levels. Here are the top five reasons why I am passionate about Kuk Sool Won™ at age 50 and why training gets better with age.
We all have our reasons for training in martial arts. I encourage you to take the time to reflect on what they are for you. This will help to motivate you during the tough training days, as well as provide you with greater clarity of the many benefits your training brings to your life. For older martial artists, you may well find that like me, your training is getting better and more enjoyable as you age. JKN Jane Hurst First degree black belt and school owner Kuk Sool Won™ of Onewhero Copyright © 2018. Kuk Sool Won™ of Onewhero. All Rights Reserved. 
It’s the winter school holidays in New Zealand and we have closed our martial arts school for two weeks. Unlike many schools in other countries, we always take a break from training during the school holidays. It’s good for us and for our students for three important reasons.
Instructors need a break from time to time as well. Teaching is mentally and physically draining. A huge amount of energy is required to keep classes enjoyable and to ensure everyone is learning. Like teachers and university lecturers, martial arts instructors need time away from the dojang to recharge their energy levels. This enables us to teach classes with our full attention and energy, to ensure it is the best experience possible for our students. Taking a short training break does not mean we do nothing. It is important to rest and relax physically and mentally, but it is also equally important to keep our bodies moving. We encourage our students to keep physically active by doing something different and enjoyable. This might involve walking, swimming or cycling for example, as part of a holiday activity. And don’t forget to plan some social time with your family and friends. Enjoy your training holiday. JKN Jane Hurst First degree black belt and school owner Kuk Sool Won™ of Onewhero Copyright © 2018. Kuk Sool Won™ of Onewhero. All Rights Reserved. 
In my recent blogs I have been exploring the concept of mindfulness as it relates to the practice of martial arts and personal safety. Mindfulness, in essence, involves fully paying attention to the present moment, without judging or reacting to it. Living mindfully is good for our health and wellbeing. It enables us to gain control over our attention, attitude, and actions. This means we can break the cycle of worry and negative self-talk, focus on and live fully in the present moment, and act in ways that are well thought through and beneficial to us. This makes us feel happier and our life richer and more meaningful.
Mindfulness is not easy to achieve and does not come naturally to most of us. Our minds get flooded with thoughts and judgments, we get distracted, and we often try juggling too many things at once. We rarely completely focus our full awareness on each present moment, without any form of judgment. Mindfulness therefore, is something we need to practice. Mindfulness can be practised at anytime, anywhere, and while undertaking any activity. This includes mindful movement, such as martial arts. Here are five exercises you can use to bring mindfulness into your regular martial arts practice. 1. Mindfully warming up: Observe your body when you are doing your warm up. Really focus your attention and awareness on each part of your body. This includes noticing for example, the sensations in your muscles as you are stretching them. For example, are they tense, relaxed, sore, or tight? Notice your thoughts and gently let go of any judgments, such as, “I am not flexible enough” or “I’m in pain and will really struggle tonight”. If you find your mind drifting off, gently bring it back to observing your body. 2. Observe your breathing: Focus your awareness on the air flowing in and then flowing out. This involves observing the movement of your lungs, chest and belly, the sensations in your nostrils, and the pauses in between the in and out breaths. Observe your breath not only when stationary, but also when you are moving, such as during your kicks, techniques and martial arts forms. Experiment with lengthening your in and out breath. When doing a kihap (kiai or martial arts yell), observe the sensation of the air being forced out of your lungs. 3. Move mindfully: When undertaking a specific martial arts movement, such as a kick, follow the sensations in your body as you move. For example, when doing a roundhouse kick, focus on the sensations in your body when you are in your martial arts stance. Observe each change in movement as you prepare for and execute the kick. Focus on the sensations in your muscles and joints when for example, lift your leg to chamber, you pivot on the ball of your base foot, you extend your leg to kick, and when you return back to your stance. Slow each movement down and really focus on the sensations in your body. 4. Observe your thoughts: When doing a series of martial arts movements, such as hyung or forms in Kuk Sool Won™ (patterns in Taekwondo or kata in karate), we often have a mixture of thoughts in our head. Some of these can be quite negative, such as “I can never remember”, or “I’m never going to be good enough”, or “I can’t get low enough in my stances”. Sometimes we are on autopilot, with no conscious thoughts in our minds or with our thoughts distracted by something else. Even positive thoughts can detract from being fully present in our bodies. To achieve a better balance between our thoughts and movements, we first need to become aware of our thinking. We do this by observing our thoughts, without judging them or trying to control them. This exercise enables us to become aware of how our thoughts intrude on and distract us from fully experiencing each present moment. 5. Participate with awareness: Once we become aware of our thoughts, we can then begin to gently let go of those which are negative or distracting. If we pay full attention to what we are doing in each moment and let go of everything else, we are participating fully in that moment. Once you have practised observing your thoughts, try to do your forms while letting go of all those thoughts and judgments that are distracting or negative. As they come into your head, notice them and then gently let them go rather than fixate on them. Refocus on each movement. While it is not easy, over time it will come more naturally to you. It will add to your ability to improve your form and make your training much more enjoyable. Mindfulness is something which needs to be practised. Try these exercises for several weeks and observe how they affect your training. You can also try finding other ways to incorporate these types of mindfulness skills into your other martial arts activities (such as breakfalls and technique training), and then into other aspects of your daily life. This will not only improve your martial arts training, but also act as a great stress reliever. JKN Jane Hurst First degree black belt and school owner Kuk Sool Won™ of Onewhero Copyright © 2018. Kuk Sool Won™ of Onewhero. All Rights Reserved. 
In my last blog I looked at the link between martial arts and mindfulness and how the mindful practice of martial arts has made my life richer and more enjoyable. Practising mindfulness enriches the quality of our lives by reducing stress and anxiety, as well as enabling us to enjoy each present moment. It also serves another very practical and important function. Living more mindfully enhances our personal safety.
Mindfulness is a state of being, where we are completely present and living with full awareness of each moment. By living fully in the present moment, we can give our full attention and focus to our present task or activity, whether it is sitting reading a book, taking a walk, or practising martial arts. When it comes to personal safety, mindfulness enables us to become much more aware of our surroundings. How many times have we walked along a street caught up in our thoughts or looking at our phone, unaware of what is happening around us? Or driven a familiar route on autopilot while we reflect on our day or some problem that is troubling us? Our lack of awareness can expose us to risks, which could be avoided if we practised mindfulness in our daily lives and activities. Here are some mindful ways we can improve our personal safety.
JKN Jane Hurst First degree black belt and school owner Kuk Sool Won™ of Onewhero Copyright © 2018. Kuk Sool Won™ of Onewhero. All Rights Reserved. 
When I am practising and teaching my martial art of Kuk Sool Won™, nothing else exists. I am not thinking about what has happened in my day or what I will be doing later. I am freed from any worries that may be causing me stress. My mind is focused on one thing; what I am doing in that moment. For me, martial arts is a mindful practice.
Most people will have heard of mindfulness. It is the big thing at the moment with loads of books published on the subject and a huge array of mindfulness courses available. It has the potential to truly enhance a person’s quality of life if it is understood and practiced correctly. What most people may not realise though, is that a traditional martial art such as Kuk Sool Won™ incorporates and teaches the concepts and benefits of mindfulness. It is a mindful practice. To understand this relationship, we need to understand what mindfulness is and how it is relevant to the practice of martial arts. Mindfulness is derived from eastern Buddhist practices where monks would meditate for hours to still and empty their mind. They saw this as a path to enlightenment, something which takes a lifetime of practice to achieve. Given its Buddhist origins, most people associate mindfulness with the concept of being completely still and of emptying our minds. However, for most of us, this is not realistic. Our lives are too busy, are minds are too filled with thoughts that we struggle to control, and we have little free time to sit and do nothing. Mindfulness as it has been related to westernised culture, is based on the principle of focus rather than on emptying of our minds and as such, it doesn’t require us to meditate or to be completely still for extended periods of time. Instead, mindfulness is a state of being, where we are completely present and living with full awareness of each moment. This frees us from worry about the future or thinking about a multitude of things at once. By living fully in the present moment, we can give our full attention and focus to our present task or activity, whether it is sitting reading a book, taking a walk, or practising martial arts. Being fully present and mindful not only requires us to focus solely on the task at hand, but also to do it in a non-judgmental way. This involves gently letting go of the negative self-talk and the judgments we make about ourselves, such as “I’m not doing this well enough” or “I will never be good enough”. When I first started practising martial arts, I would become distracted by my thoughts and self-judgments. I would reflect on my day during the warm up and think about what I would be having for dinner or doing tomorrow. I would also have a frequent internal dialogue on all of the things I was doing wrong or not good at. I would criticise myself for not being good at kicks, or not remembering my forms, or not getting my techniques right. As I progressed in my training, this began to change and I am now much more mindful in my training and teaching. For example, instead of thinking about my day, I now focus on my body and how it feels during the warm up. This is the time when I connect with and prepare for my training and the class I am teaching. When I am training, I do it with awareness and focus on what I am doing. While I am aware of how well I am performing it, I rarely criticise myself now. Instead, my awareness provides me with important information which I can use to help me improve. I am also not thinking about what I will be doing next. Instead, I am focused on that present moment. There is a connection between my body and mind, in each moment of my training, which makes it a much more enjoyable experience. It reduces my stress rather than adding to it. This flows through to my teaching, enabling me to give my students my full attention and the best teaching experience I can. Martial arts training has taught me how to be fully in the present moment, in a non-judgmental way. While I am not able to replicate this at all times, in all aspects of my life, it does have a flow on effect by encouraging me to be more present and aware, as well as less judgmental throughout my day. My life is richer and more enjoyable as a result. JKN Jane Hurst First degree black belt and school owner Kuk Sool Won™ of Onewhero Copyright © 2018. Kuk Sool Won™ of Onewhero. All Rights Reserved. |
Caroline and Jane Hurst
Caroline is a 5th degree black belt and Jane is a 2nd degree black belt in the traditional Korean martial art of Kuk Sool Won™ . They run 2 Kuk Sool Won™ martial arts schools in New Zealand. Archives
March 2019
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