7/13 Springfield Class with Kwan Ja Nim

The class consisted of an even split between Masters and 3rd Dan's, about 6 each. Master LayLu was asked to warm us up with steaches.

The weather was hot and humid leaving all of us soaked thought with sweat in the first 10 minutes of class. It seems as if we are living in a tropical climate no in the NE United States.

Today was our Founders 8th anniversary of his passing. Kwan Ja Nim used this to focus on some of our core fundamentals in our founders memories.

Kwan Ja Nim opened class with a discussion to the importance of our connections to each other. He sited the 50 year connection at the Nationals. He also the some direct connections in the class including myself as an older connection which was re-established and Master LayLu who he had just met at the Nationals.

He took us through some basics including warm up punches.

Punching in Horse Stance:

1. Left hand extended, initial position.

2. slight pull back of the right hip

3. punch with right while pulling left back to the point where both hand are even. this was our Shin / contraction point

- repeated 2-3 several times

4. full punch position connecting with earth

In the sprit of the 8th anniversary of the passing of our founder, Kwan Ja Nim had us focus on Gi Cho Hyung 1,2,3 and Chilsng 1 & 2 for the class. These forms were created by our Founder and were dear to his heart so in his memory this was our focus. We went through each hyung at least twice, the first pass to focus on our Way Gung and the second on our Nay Gung.

There was a great emphasis on the Hip initiating all movements and keeping our center connected to the earth. This was practiced by working with Shin Shook for each movement. We would repeat each move 2-5 times moving between the start position into the Shin position.

- For example in Gi Cho Hyung 1:

Move 1.1 - Look, inhale while contracting the arms elbow to elbow across the body while initiating the move by pulling the right hip back.

Move 1.2 - Expand into the block while keeping a strong connection to the earth.

We repeated the move from Choon Be  to Move 1.1 to get the Shin/Contraction understanding.

Move 2.1 -  Contract into mid position while holding the right hip back but at the same time letting our front hand naturally extend.

Move 2.2 - Expand into the punch with the hip initiating the move and a strong connection to the earth.

( I had a correction here with my punch/body being over extended/turned at the end of the motion, hip rotated too far/past forward )

This was even more prominent in Chil Sung 1:

Move 1.1 - looking, breath & hip start, stepping left into sakorip jase expanding with left hand following the hip while right extends slowly out, we are fully expanded

Move 1.2 - Hip pushes the right hand forward and down while the body turns in towards the left giving the folding effect of the arm. We are fully contracted here.

We repeat the transition between 1.1 & 1.2 2-5 times to get our hips to lead.

Chil Sung 2:

High punch's at end:

- ensure the arm is behaving and not being raised before the motion. This would be Weh Gung exercise not Neh Gung.

 The arm will naturally lift since the hip will rise and push the arm up slightly but the arm should not move independent of the hip in an upward motion when transitioning  between Hugle Hadon Makee and Samdon Kunkyuk.

We used the practice between the transition position and back on a number of different moves in both forms to help us get that connection of the hip and breath leading.

Kwan Ja Nim gave us an analogy while doing our Huyngs, Plugged in.

If our arms and legs are not plugged-into our hip then they will not behave properly and will end up working independently. No wireless connections ;)

When our body is plugged-into the hip then it will follow the hip and give us a more natural feeling and movement.

Other corrections given:

- Ensure our backs are straight up and down. This will help us keep our balance and connection with the earth.

On a side note. When Kwan Ja Nim would do his low,high block the floor would shake. I feel his connection with the earth through his proper weight distribution combined with the proper movement of his body created this effect. It was clear he was not stomping or the ground during his motion to cause this but it was a natural side effect of doing every thing just rite. This was the case 15 years ago when I trained with him as well. I have strived to achieve this ever since but have thus far not come close.