Hwa Rang Do vs. Kuk Sool Won

[BDKF]

I recently discovered that there is a Kuk Sool Won school in my town. I read about the style and it sounds interesting, but I was wondering how it differed from Hwa Rang Do. They seem to have similar curricula. Thanks.

[wu_de36]

That's a nasty can of worms you're playing with, son. You sure you want to open that? :)

Kuk Sool Won is what I flippantly refer to a "flippy sword art." This is not to say I disrespect KSW. It's moves are a lot more circular and Chinese influenced than what you would see in TKD.

Hwa Rang Do was created by Joo Bang Lee as an art he and his brother learned from a monk at the age of 5. That is his story. From what I've come to see, there is a lot of hapkido and kuk sool thrown together. Still good stuff, but why Lee insists on his clearly transparent story is a little goofy, and causes some people to scoff at his stuff. A lot of Korean arts have identity complexes, and HRD is not the only one. I personally don't see the point, since it is a solid system. Why it can't acknowledge, at the very least, a shared past seems a little egotistical to me.

HRD people will flame my ass off for that statement (without noticing my complements of the art) but that's how I see it.

If you've ever seen any of the Echanis knife/stick fighting books (especially the black book!) you are seeing HRD.

Style-wise, not too different. How the teacher approaches it however could make all the difference. He might just like the funky uniforms and cartwheels.

In which case it's Korean Wushu :) :) :)

[MA fanatic]

The governing body of Hwarang-Do is run by Joo Bang Lee who does claim to have been trained by some monk (I think the monks name is Bopsa something or other). He also admitted to have been trained in Hapkido in the early days when Hapkido was being formed from a Japanese art. I believe that Kook Sul's founder studied from Hapkido masters as well. Both arts are quiet similar, and historically, Korean masters have made unsubstantiated claims as to the origin of their arts. So, who knows. I have met with some Kook Sool masters and there stuff, with the exception of some animal forms and acrobatics, seems no different than what Hapkido masters teach. I see a general problem with those arts because they teach circular punching grabbing which seems like it would not work against a projectile (punch) moving full speed in a straight line. I'm also not a believer in wrist locks after grappling for some time. As for the two arts in general, just go to the school and take a look at who is teaching. If the instructor is good and open minded, enroll. Don't pay attention to stories of the art's origin which are most likely false anyway.
MA fanatic