Martial Arts: New club hopes to spread ancient Korean art

Nov 14 2012 by Douglas Dickie, Rutherglen Reformer

A new club in Cambuslang is hoping to spread the reputation of relatively unknown marital art, Kuk Sool Won.

Cambuslang Kuk Sool Won has just been opened by Aaden Black (27) and he hopes to encourage more members to try out the sport.

A traditional Korean martial art, Kuk Sool combines many different disciplines and skills.

There are currently around 800 clubs worldwide, and that number is growing with clubs in Scotland alone rising from just one 20 years ago, to 18.

Aaden is aiming to grow the sport in Cambuslang: “This is something I’ve wanted to do for a few years.

“Kuk Sool is quite a comprehensive martial art, based on traditional Korean arts. It covers so much.

“It’s maybe not one of the first martial arts people recognise, but that can be a good thing because it gives me a chance to explain it to them when they ask and try and encourage them to go along.”

Unlike other martial arts such as karate and taekwondo, Kuk Sool was founded as a martial arts system and not merely as a martial arts style, and it is not limited to any single discipline. It attempts to be a comprehensive study of all traditional Korean martial arts. However, it is still a competitive sport with national championships and competitions.

Aaden has been studying it for 15 years and has taught classes in Edinburgh and Falkirk.

And in that time, he believes he has seen many people have their life transformed by the discipline is imposes: “There are a number of different benefits , it’s not just about learning to defend yourself.

“It improves your self-confidence and, of course, your health and wellbeing.

“We study things like meditation and healing and I’ve seen it transform a lot of people’s lives in my time.

“Places I’ve taught there were people with deeply troubled backgrounds and they have turned their life around.”

Right now Aaden has five members, but the club is barely a month old meaning he has plenty of time to spread the word.

He said: “We’re going to be starting kid’s classes this week and we have a free trial night going on. I’m just starting to market it now.

“There are already classes in places like Hillington and Paisley so it made sense to set up here, on the other side of the town.”

The school currently meets on Tuesday and Thursday nights between 8pm and 9pm and on Sunday’s between 12pm and 3pm at Unit E1 in Somervell Street, which is currently turning it into a martial arts gym.

For more information, go to www.cambuslangksw.co.uk.