Posted by DevilDoll on October 15, 2002 at 19:32:34:
Note: The yoo sul mentioned below was, by several accounts, including old Japanese records, which tend to be extensive, was learned around the turn of the millenium before last by a japanese military aristocrat who, under the ' borrowed techniques' category contributed much of what was used in jujutsu
Also many of the techniques and progressions appear to support that this is either hapkido or that modern hapkido is very influenced by this. Also yoo sul or yawara is what Choi called hapkido.
Korean martial arts historians generally believe that centuries ago only two fighting styles existed in Korea: the kick/punch art of
tae kyon (formerly called subak ki) and the grappling art of yoo sool (also spelled yu sool or yu sul). As evidenced by its
continuation today, tae kyon survived its close call with extinction. Yoo sool, however, was not as fortunate, for it is recorded as
having died out centuries ago.
Yet located in the heart of Pusan, Korea, is a 'dojang' that bears the official designation of the Korea Yoo Sool Headquarters. The
retelling of the birth of this organization never fails to instigate heated argument in the Korean martial arts community.
Ancient Yoo Sool
Like most martial arts of Korea and Japan, yoo sool is thought to have evolved from primitive skills imported from northern
China thousands of years ago. Korean practitioners refined the techniques into a system better suited to the physical and mental
character of the population. As a combat method, Korean yoo sool received acclaim for the deadly speed with which it could
dispense with adversaries, both armed and armored.
After centuries of success in innumerable conflicts, yoo sool began to wane. Some believe it became extinct due to the rise of
Neo-Confucianism, with its emphasis on scholastic endeavors and disdain for martial arts. Modern practitioners in Pusan,
however, claim the art continued to thrive long after this period of governmental suppression and right into the 20th century.
They say that Japanese occupational troops carrying out orders to erase all aspects of Korean cultural identity, as well as all means
to physically resist imperial edicts, proceeded to destroy the art in Korea. Both versions yield the same result: yoo sool on the
Korean peninsula was wiped out of existence.
Saved From Extinction
Kim Mu-jin, currently the highest-ranking man in the yoo sool organization, claims to have learned the style in Japan, of all
places. He agrees that the practice of yoo sool in Korea did end, then explains how Japanese enthusiasts, who had centuries ago
learned the art while living in Korea, returned to their homeland with highly effective yoo sool grappling skills. The loathing
which the Japanese have traditionally held for all things Korean prevented anyone from acknowledging yoo sool's true origins.
Korean yoo sool was then passed off by the Japanese as a secret indigenous art of self-defense whose origins were lost in antiquity,
Kim says. The Japanese pronunciation of the two Chinese characters that spell out yoo sool was 'jujutsu.' According to Kim, the
roots of this extremely popular group of Japanese martial styles thus sprouted from Korean yoo sool seeds. Michael Finn
corroborated this in Martial Arts: A Complete Illustrated History when he wrote, 'One of the earliest schools of jujutsu, dating
back to the seventh century, was called Koden Ryu ... Much of their inspiration derived from Korea.'
Kim says that starting in 1964, he was able to study under Yokuyama Sensei in a 'dojo' identified as Hwang Do Ip Gwang Ryu
(Japanese: Godo Hakko Ryu). He claims a style of jujutsu that was unusually true to its Korean heritage was practiced there. Kim
subsequently reintroduced the art into Korea, and in 1975 he changed the organization's name from the Yawara Association
(yawara is an alternate Japanese pronunciation for jujutsu.) to the Korea Yoo Sool Headquarters.
The Korean Education Ministry recognized the style in 1983, and the new title became the Korea Yoo Sool Association. Kim
currently oversees a number of modestly successful schools in Pusan and Kyong Nam province and hopes to spread his style to all
parts of the country.
Character of Yoo Sool
The style's main emphasis, as implied by a name that literally means 'soft skills,' is to confront hard attacks not with equal force
but with soft, redirecting force. It should be noted that soft does not necessarily mean circular, at times it can manifest itself as
linear.
When one does not rely upon brute force to stop an opponent, he must target precise points on the body, or else strikes will be
ineffective. Yoo sool teaches 365 such points, called 'maek,' upon which one's 'ki' and a minimal amount of strength are
focused. Learning how to locate and utilize the points comprises some 70 percent of training time.
Yoo sool joint locks come in 116 variations, many of which are enhanced by adding pressure on a vital point. A total of 3,806
variations of self-defense techniques exist in the system, but these days only 120 are normally taught. In addition to the original
25 basic techniques, there used to be 10 secret techniques which were never recorded because of their lethal nature. Past experts
claimed the 10 techniques were inappropriate for modern society, and for that reason they were seldom taught. Today, no one
knows the original 10, but their less dangerous reincarnations, along with eight equally effective additions, are still taught at the
highest levels of the art.
Modern yoo sool training begins with scientific stretching designed to loosen muscles and joints, followed by numerous
repetitions of falling techniques. Extensive heavy-bag work is conducted with the hands, especially using combinations of the
palm strike and the 'sudo' knife-hand strike. Whenever a punch is thrown, impact is made with the middle knuckle protruding. It
is claimed to impart a deceptive power and to actually be safer for the bones of the hand. Main points of attack include the
floating ribs, jaw, heart and forehead. Stationary, jumping and spinning kicks are also practiced, purportedly in some 2,000
variations.
That yoo sool's claim to fame was utilization of pressure points and meridians is attested to by a clinic located inside the Pusan
headquarters. Outpatients are treated by yoo sool masters using the ancient skills of 'chim sool' (acupuncture) and 'jihap sool'
(acupressure). People often say that if a surgeon attacks a man with a knife, he knows exactly where to cut. It corresponds that
yoo sool experts, skilled in locating the body's vital points for healing, know exactly where to strike for defense.
Disputed Origins
A Western martial artist who studies in Asia may well be accorded much respect when he returns home and opens a dojang. In
Korea, it is very different, especially if one has studied in Japan. Kim Mu-jin returned from Japan only to face a population of
Koreans who had just thrown off the yoke of brutal Japanese occupation. The last thing anyone wanted was to learn a martial art
'stolen' by the Japanese and then learned there by a Korean. For these reasons, Kim laments his success in popularizing yoo sool
has been hindered. That he chooses to keep the alternate name of yawara, which he says was bestowed upon the art during the
occupation, does not alleviate the problem.
But yoo sool faces other obstacles. Kuk Sool Won, a powerful organization in Korea and the United States, claims yoo sool is
merely an unauthorized offshoot of their art and frequently uses the word 'betrayal' when referring to the founding of the art.
Hwang Man-jae, a yoo sool instructor in Pusan, blames the ill will on a failed attempt by Kuk Sool Won to unite hapkido, yoo
sool and itself into a single organization in the early 1980s. When yoo sool refused, Hwang says Kuk Sool Won officials began
spreading rumors of betrayal.
In actuality, there are many yoo sool techniques which appear nearly identical to those of kuk sool. The stances, falling
techniques, ki development exercises and four-directional block are among them. Yoo sool students, who now dress in white if
below fourth dan, at one time trained in black uniforms, just as kuk sool students do.
But yoo sool seems to encompass much more, such as the emphasis on vital points and a completely different set of 'hyung'
(forms). Kuk sool teaches a number of weapons, including the staff, long sword, twin short swords, nunchaku and fan. Yoo sool,
on the other hand, utilizes only the short, medium and long staff.
Yet the two styles are undeniably similar. If indeed one did evolve from the other, we can only wonder which art came first. Did
yoo sool recently break away from kuk sool, or did kuk sool's founders study with Kim after he returned from Japan but before
they went their separate ways?
Perhaps the truth about yoo sool's origin is not so important. The art exists today as a functional means of personal development
for hundreds of Koreans. When questioned about the theory that yoo sool was long ago thought extinct but actually lived on in
Japan, and was only recently reunited with an unsuspecting Korean population, one student replied: 'It's like a family separated in
the Korean war. The parents think the child is dead, but one day they are reunited. The history of yoo sool is one that I want to
believe.'
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