The Martial Arts Centre Hailsham

Unit 17, Station Road Industrial Estate, Hailsham, East Sussex, BN27 2EW.


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Founder Of Kuk Sool Won™

KUK SA NIM-border

In Hyuk Suh is the founder, Grandmaster and President of the World Kuk Sool Association®. He has studied martial arts for more than 50 years, receiving his first instruction from his grandfather, Myung Deuk Suh, a master-instructor to the Korean Royal Court. After his grandfather’s death, he travelled throughout the Far East seeking out and studying additional aspects of the martial arts.

The knowledge he acquired from his grandfather and subsequent masters enabled him to establish Kuk Sool Won™. His organisation now boasts 1.3 million members with over 800 schools worldwide in 27 different countries. Although expert in every aspect of martial arts, Grandmaster Suh is especially renowned for his mastery of pressure point and joint manipulation.

Additionally, Kuk Sool Won™ has been mentioned in over 300 articles and featured on more than 60 front covers by world famous magazines in the United States, England, Spain, Iran, Germany, Mexico, and Venezuela. While the following list of accomplishments include items accrued not only by himself but by the organisations he founded, the reason for this can be found in the excerpt below, taken from the “Letter from the Grandmaster” which is written to all practitioners of Kuk Sool Won™ and located in the front of the Textbooks he provided as an aid to understanding such a unique and comprehensive martial art.

“Any distinction or honour granted to me or to any member of this
organisation is a credit to the organisation as a whole, including
all the individuals who make up this vast organisation.”
– In Hyuk Suh

Below is a brief timeline Kuk Sool Won across the Globe:

1958 Founding of the martial art of Kuk Sool Won™

1961 Founding of the Korean Kuk Sool Association®

1972 Kuk Sool Won™ recorded in the World Athletic Dictionary as a traditional Korean martial art

1973 Kuk Sool Won™ School established in U.S.A.

1974 Grandmaster In Hyuk Suh emigrates to U.S.A.

1975 Founding of the World Kuk Sool Association®

1975 Kuk Sool Won™ School established in Great Britain

1975 Kuk Sool Won™ School established in Canada

1976-77 40 Kuk Sool Masters appear in Ho Kuk Moo Yea, (translation: Art Used in Defence of the Nation) a documentary produced by the Korean Ministry of Culture and Tourism

1977 Kuk Sool Won™ school established in Venezuela

1978 Panama International Film Festival bestows its Culture Award to Kuk Sool Won™ for its role in the documentary, Ho Kuk Moo Yea commences annual seminars and special training in U.S.A.

1982 Kuk Sool Won™ hosts first Open Tournament at the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco

1984 Grandmaster In Hyuk Suh voted “Man of the Year” by Black Belt Magazine

1984 Kuk Sool Won™ School established in Iran

1985 Publication of Kuk Sool Won™ handbooks, textbooks, and instructional videos

1988 Grandmaster In Hyuk Suh voted “Instructor of the Year” by Inside Kung Fu Magazine

1988 Commenced annual seminars and special training in United Kingdom

1990 Kuk Sool Won™ hosts First Annual Canadian Tournament

1990 Commenced annual seminars and special training in Canada

1991 Kuk Sool Won™ was selected as an extra curriculum activity for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point

1991 Kuk Sool Won™ School established in Germany

1991 25 U.S. cities now hold a “Kuk Sool Won™ Day”

1992 Grandmaster In Hyuk Suh is presented with the Commander’s Sword by the U.S. Military Academy at West Point

1993 Grandmaster In Hyuk Suh voted “Master of the Year” by Tae Kwon Do Times Magazine

1994 Several universities in the U.S.A. include Kuk Sool Won™ as a regular athletic activity

1994 Grandmaster In Hyuk Suh is presented with the Commander’s Sword by the U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs

1995 Kuk Sool Won™ hosts First Annual Tournament at the U.S. Military Academy

1996 Kuk Sool Won™ School established in The Netherlands

1998 Grandmaster In Hyuk Suh is awarded the SuhkRyoo (Pomegranate) Medal for Civil Merit by the South Korean Government

1998 Commenced annual seminars and special training in Europe

1999 Kuk Sool Won™ School established in Spain

1999 Victory of a Little Giant, a special documentary about Grandmaster In Hyuk Suh produced by the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS aired 3/17)

2000 Kuk Sool Won™ recognised as an Official Governing Body for martial arts by the South Korean Government

2000 Kuk Sool Won™ participates in the KyungJu Cultural Expo demonstration members include masters from all over the world and conclude with a final performance for the President of South Korea

2001 World Kuk Sool Association® opens a traditional training facility on the outskirts of Houston (Tomball, TX) incorporating over 20 acres of land

2002 Kuk Sool Won™ hosts the World Kuk Sool Championships at the Civic Auditorium in KyungJu this is an international event with over 2000 competitors from across the globe, also received were proclamations for a successful event from many world leaders such as North KyungSang Provincial Governor Lee, KyungJu City Mayor Baek, over a dozen U.S. State Governors, and U.S. President G.W. Bush

2003 Another TV broadcasting program by MBC titled “Kuk Sool Coming to America” aired in Korea

2004 Publication of a biography of Kuk Sa Nim in Korea by Ms. Moon Young Kin with Sam-Toh Publications

2005 Kuk Sa Nim receives Professor Emeritus from Young San University in Korea

2005 Kuk Sa Nim receives honorary Doctor of Chiropractic Degree from Texas Chiropractic College in Pasadena Texas

2005 Chiefmaster In Joo Suh is appointed as the president of Korea Kuk Sool Won as well as the Executive VP of WKSA

2006 Kuk Sool Won became an official baccalaureate program under the Asian Martial Arts Department at Young-San University

2007 Kuk Sa Nim receives the honour of 2007 Recipient of Man-Hae Award in Korea

2008 In October, Kuk Sool Won ™ celebrates its 50th anniversary at the World Championship in Houston,Texas