Vermilion Kuk Sool Won Welcomes International Instructors For First Seminar
- Lorna Hamilton
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Vermilion Kuk Sool Won students had a rare opportunity this past weekend as Chong Jae Nim Alex Suh, son of Kuk Sool Won founder Grandmaster In Hyuk Suh and CEO of the World Kuk Sool Association, made his first visit to the Vermilion school.
Suh was joined by Sa Bum Nim Hong, a fourth-degree black belt from Korea, with the visiting instructors spending Friday and Saturday and part of Sunday in Vermilion. The weekend marked the school’s first Kuk Sool Won seminar and the first visit to the Vermilion school for both instructors.
For school owner and chief instructor Sa Bum Nim Morgan Freeman, the weekend was something he and his students won’t soon forget.
“What an incredible weekend of learning, growth, friendship, and martial arts,” Freeman said, adding that the Vermilion school was “incredibly honoured” to host Suh for the special seminar.
Eighteen students took part, receiving hands-on instruction and an opportunity to learn directly from instructors whose experience connects the small Vermilion school to the international Kuk Sool Won organization.
Freeman said the excitement could be felt from the beginning of the seminar, with students experiencing not only an intensive learning opportunity but plenty of encouragement, laughter and camaraderie along the way.
“Every student had the opportunity to learn, challenge themselves, and take their skills to the next level,” he said.
Throughout the training, Suh’s quiet and patient teaching style was as noticeable as the techniques he demonstrated. Rather than simply showing students a movement and moving on, he took time to explain why the techniques worked and, just as importantly, the responsibility that comes with knowing how to use them.
A message Suh returned to several times throughout his instruction was that martial arts should not be viewed as a means to fight. Instead, he encouraged students to think carefully about their actions, protect themselves when necessary and, whenever possible, avoid a confrontation altogether.
“We have to be smart about what we are doing,” Suh told the students. “We have to be able to calculate and be smart about what we are doing and save ourselves, preserve ourselves, and along the way try not to hurt the other party as well.”
While acknowledging that there are situations where people may need to defend themselves, Suh stressed that having martial arts training does not mean a confrontation has to end in a fight.
“My definition of self-defence is this: when something happens, if there’s a way I can get out of that situation or even avoid the situation, that’s the best kind of self-defence,” Suh said. “It’s not the best self-defence to be in a fight. That’s the worst and last resort.”
When physical self-defence does become necessary, Suh demonstrated that technique and body mechanics can be more important than physical size or strength.
Using one of the students to demonstrate, he showed how changing the angle of the body, lowering one’s centre of gravity and maintaining proper positioning can reduce the need to rely on strength alone.
“If I try to fight strength to strength, then I will lose, because he is stronger and bigger than me,” Suh explained. “But if I apply an angle ... you see the difference. The angle makes the difference.”
He also demonstrated how the principle could apply when defending against more than one attacker. Rather than trying to fight several people simultaneously, Suh explained that focusing on one person at a time could improve the chances of successfully defending oneself.
“It doesn’t mean I will always win, but I need to increase my chances,” he said.
The lessons offered an interesting perspective on a side of martial arts that those outside the discipline may not always see. While Kuk Sool Won includes strikes, holds, joint manipulation, pressure points, weapons and other methods of controlling an attacker, Suh’s instruction placed a strong emphasis on restraint, awareness and avoiding conflict whenever possible.
His manner with the students reflected that message. Soft-spoken and patient, Suh frequently stopped to explain a movement or make an individual correction before allowing students to try again.
For Freeman, having the opportunity for his students to train directly with Suh was particularly meaningful.
“Having the opportunity to train directly with Chong Jae Nim Alex, who is the founding Grandmaster’s son, is such a truly special opportunity and privilege,” Freeman said. “The techniques, instruction, stories and wisdom shared throughout the seminar will stay with the school for a long time.”
Freeman’s own connection to Kuk Sool Won stretches back nearly three decades. A fourth-degree black belt, he has more than 34 years of total martial arts experience and began studying Kuk Sool Won in 1997. He has trained with senior masters in the United Kingdom and Canada and has also had the opportunity to study under founder Grandmaster In Hyuk Suh.
He has been teaching for more than 20 years and, during his teaching career, has helped train eight European champions, 12 UK champions and three world champions.
Freeman emigrated to Canada in 2007 with his wife, Emma Freeman, a third-degree black belt who has studied Kuk Sool Won since 1999. The couple opened Kuk Sool Won Vermilion in September 2012 and have continued to build the martial art locally while maintaining connections with the larger Kuk Sool Won organization.
Kuk Sool Won is a traditional Korean martial arts system with a broad curriculum that includes hand and foot striking, pressure-point techniques, joint locking and manipulation, falling, sparring, meditation and traditional weapons.
Its modern history dates back to Grandmaster In Hyuk Suh, who began organizing traditional Korean martial arts into a comprehensive system in the late 1950s before officially founding Kuk Sool Won in 1961.
For the 18 students gathered in Vermilion over the weekend, that international connection became much more immediate as they trained with Suh and Hong in their own school.
Freeman expressed his gratitude to everyone who attended and helped make the school’s first seminar a success, including Hong for making the trip from Korea.
Most of all, he thanked Suh “for sharing your time, knowledge, and passion for Kuk Sool with us.”
“We are so proud of our Kuk Sool Won family and everything we accomplished together,” Freeman said. “What a seminar to remember!”
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