By Hsiu-Bun Hsu 2nd Gup Brown Belt I believe I have learned much from studying Chayon-Ryu under Grandmaster Kim Soo. Combining and understanding the techniques and mental attitudes from Kung Fu, Judo, Hapkido, Tae Kwon Do and other martial arts, Grandmaster Kim Soo creates a holistic system; Chayon-Ryu - The Natural Way. The more knowledge I gained the more I realized that there is so much more knowledge that I want to learn and understand. Why do I want to learn martial arts? The questions might appear simple and straight forward. However, I believe that to answer such a question requires serious, careful thoughts. Many people today study martial arts to defend themselves, to improve physical fitness, or to gain self confidence. Chayon-Ryu is a system that can teach onw how to protect themselves, increase cardiovascular fitness and muscular fitness, and enhance self-image, however Chayon-Ryu can be much more. Chayon-Ryu, the natural way, can be viewed as a philosophy which provides a positive approach to life. Chayon-Ryu promotes the use of one's own physical and mental energy and strength using natural motion. The Chayon-Ryu knowledge is a treasure passed down from one generation to another from Grandmaster Kim Soo to his students and from his students to all the Chayon-Ryu students all over the world. Grandmaster Kim Soo teaches his students that knowledge and wisdom are infinite and that learning Chayon-Ryu is a continual process. Chayon-Ryu emphasizes strong foundation and principle. Strong foundation comes from practice, patience, dedication, and sincerity. Proper practice allows continual refinement of basic techniques. Having a good fundamental in the basic techniques is an important requirement for further elaboration of more difficult techniques and forms. The breathing and movement in the techniques strengthen the basics. Further more, the basic exercise can be viewed as a way of active meditation. While sparring can help improve the cardiovascular system and self-defense, more importantly sparring is a form of dynamic expression of one's own body. Become more aware of one's self by knowing one's own and the opponent's limitation and abilities. Extend one's su ryong throug meditation and training. Know that the knowledge is infinite and the training is a contiuous lifetime process. Therefore, to gain the knowledge, wisdom and experience must come from continual practice and time. When Grandmaster Kim Soo tells the student to empty their mind it means to me to clear your mind to lose the distractions and prejudices and concentrate at the current task. This view can be applied to everyday life. To do a task one must remain focused while at the same time be prepared and open to other possibilities. The Chayon-Ryu system continues to evolve and improve. As I gain more experience through training and being promoted to higher belt levels, I will commit myself to continue stregthening my basic foundation and improve my training methods. |
