Soo Shim Rock

My original Taekwon-Do school that I opened in 1998 was simply named Potchefstroom Taekwon-Do Club and it kept that name for the 25 years that it ran at the North West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa. However, when the national governing body restructured in 2001, chief instructors who oversaw more than one school had to choose a name for their association of schools, which were called “Kwan”, inspired by the legendary original Kwan in South Korea which were the foundations of what would eventually become Taekwon-Do. (The word “Kwan” 관 actually means building, by implication a training hall. But within the martial arts community back then it suggested a home or family for a particular style. In South Korea there were five original Kwan. The number increased to nine before – with the exception of one Kwan – they all eventually merged into one system: Tae Kwon Do. Within roughly a decade and a half, Tae Kwon Do would become two distinct styles: ITF Taekwon-Do and Kukki/WT Taekwondo. But I digress…) 

As one of the chief instructors I had to choose a name for my Kwan. I knew immediately which name it would be: Soo Shim Kwan. I had read the philosophical phrase “Soo Shim” a few years prior, in 1997, in an issue of Tae Kwon Do Times magazine. The concept immediately resonated with me. Soo means water. Shim means heart or mind. The implication is to be like water. Now were you to ask the average Korean what “soo shim” means, they would probably think of various homonyms based on other root words ranging from “water level” to “melancholy”. However, were you to mention the term to either a philosopher or an erudite martial artist, you would get nods of knowing approval. The metaphor of water to describe one’s movements and mental state is a well-known and appreciated symbol within certain martial arts circles and East Asian schools of thought. (I provide a short overview of this here.)

As an intangible philosophical concept, there isn’t really a special place or particular thing one can visit that has relevance to “Soo Shim”. Or so I thought… One day, probably in search of more philosophical information on the concept, I stumbled upon a little article of some ancient calligraphy carved into a rock with the characters for “Soo Shim”. Of course, this made me elated, and I put it on my bucket list to go find this rock. Well, recently on my way back to Seoul from a trip to Jeongju, I noticed that with only about an hour’s detour, I would be able to go see the “Soo Shim”-rock at last. 

 

 

This little trip would not have been of much interest to most other people, but to me it was very special. The stone carving was nearly imperceptible. The paint that used to emblazon the engraved characters were mostly worn away with time and weathering. Nevertheless, I immediately recognized the letters that had been part of my life and thinking for over two decades. And while my connection with this place was simply one of my own making, it felt nevertheless meaningful.
 

Confucian scholar and calligrapher Song Si-yeol, known by his penname Uam

The characters were calligraphed by Master Song Si-yeol (1607-1698), penname Uam, an esteemed Confucian scholar who lived during the mid-Joseon Dynasty. The reason for the engravement on that particular rock is twofold. First, it is simply the name of the rock: “Sooshimdae” (Sooshim-rock). The rock is also central to a scattering of villages that were arranged in the pattern of the Chinese character "shim" [心]. Not far from this location is a stream; hence one could sit on the rock in the shade of the pine trees and peacefully observe the water passing by. The implication is that the rock was a place of meditation. Secondly, it was in honour of a famous teacher and patriot Jo Heon (趙憲) (1544-1592), a civil official who devoted himself to learning and teaching in that area. He lived roughly a hundred years before Master Song. Jo Heon was known for frequently visiting this rock and apparently he was the one who named the rock “Sooshimdae”. In some of his writings he referred to the area as both a haven and a place for raising one’s spirits (qi). 

Civil servant and teacher turned militia leader, Jo Heong

 
In 1592 the Japanese invaded Korea; Jo raised about 700 civilian troops as a volunteer militia in the Geumsan region to fight against the invaders. Their initial guerrilla tactics proved successful and there joined attack on the Japanese-occupied Chongju with the warrior monk Yonggyu and his militia freed Chongju. However, in a subsequent battle in Geumsan, Jo and his army were defeated and killed. Jo Heon was posthumously promoted to “minister in charge of public administration” by King Seonjo in 1604 and again to “prime minister” in 1609 by King Gwanghae in recognition of his services to his country. Joheon Sadang, a shrine where memorial services for Jo Heon are held was originally built in 1734 during the reign of King Yengjo. The original shrine building continued to deteriorate so it was rebuilt at the present site, right next to one of Jo Heon’s favourite places, the Sooshim-rock. The shrine building was built with donations from provincial schools, Confucian scholars, and Jo Heon’s descendants. Joheon Sadang has been dedicated as a Tangible Cultural Heritage (Material No. 26) for Chungcheongnam Province, and belongs to the Baecheon Jo-family.
 
Of course, for many readers of this blog, the Sooshim-rock and the story of Jo Heong is of little value. However, for those of you that consider yourself part of the Soo Shim Kwan family it might be interesting. I found it serendipitous that the “Soo Shim” concept has such a tremendously long history in Korea; I loved that this rock is named after it, as a place for contemplation, a place of meditation on “Soo Shim”; and that one person who meditated on “Soo Shim” also became a militia leader when circumstances required of him to protect his country against an invading army.

New ITF Taekwon-Do & Hapkido Gym: Soo Shim Kwan ◦ Seoul

Master Kim Hoon

After about two decades of running gyms in Seoul, Master Kim Hoon has decided to take a sabbatical and a well-deserved rest. Therefore, the 'The Way' gym has closed at the end of May. I have been part of Master Kim Hoon's gym for nine years and have taught ITF Taekwon-Do and other martial arts at 'The Way' for most of that time.

With the closing of 'The Way', I suddenly needed a place for myself to train, and also assist my students in their journey towards black belts and beyond.

At first I thought of getting a training space close by my home. However, 'The Way' dojang was the only ITF Taekwon-Do space in central Seoul; we often received international visitors that wanted a place to practise ITF Taekwon-Do in the city of its birth. I thought it would be a terrible shame not to continue to have a "home" for ITF Taekwon-Do in Seoul that is accessible to most people. Although I live in Seoul, I live on the eastern outskirts, which might be a little difficult to access for tourists and other people interested in ITF Taekwon-Do.

I therefore decided to find a place more centrally located. I found a rooftop one-room apartment that I think will do the job. It is located in the Yongsan District, which is in central Seoul, close by the Itaewon and Noksapyeong neighbourhoods that are well-known among foreign residents in Korea. During the pleasant summer months one can exercise outside on the rooftop, with Namsan Mountain and Seoul Tower in the background. And on rainy days and during the cold months one can train inside. The idea of a rooftop training space has always appealed to me as historically that is where many martial artists in cities used to practise their discipline.

Dr Sanko Lewis going through a personal exercise routine

Soo Shim Kwan ◦ Seoul will function as my private dojang where I can continue my own martial arts practise. I'll also use it for private teaching and to continue the monthly "Seoul Martial Arts Circle" workshops that I've been hosting for several years. My focus will continue to be Korean martial arts, with emphasis on ITF Taekwon-Do and Hapkido, but also Taekkyeon and Yusul when time allows.

I will move into the new premises early July 2017. The first week or so will probably be dedicated to renovations, but I plan to get training there as soon as possible and will spend much of my time during my summer vacation at Soo Shim Kwan ◦ Seoul.

Visit to the Potchefstroom Dojang

Last week Thursday I visited the Soo Shim Kwan Dojang in Potchefstroom during my visit to South Africa. Since it is still early in the year and many of the university students have not returned from vacation yet, there were only four in attendance. It was nevertheless nice to meet new members of the Soo Shim Kwan family.

During the session with them I covered some ground work (break falls and rolls), and spent some time on (power) posture work in Taekwon-Do and the importance of balanced musculature, pointing out how some muscles are overly stretched and under-streghtened (such as the hamstrings) while the antagonistic muscles are trained too hard, but not stretched enough (quads). Such musculature imbalances can cause injuries in the long run. I also covered some three step-sparring and explained the importance of angle-and-distance / positioning.

I opened the Potchefstroom Dojang in 1998. Seventeen years later it is still active and while not a particularly large school, it is nonetheless still going strong. The numerous medals won during tournaments last year is just one indicator that the current Potchefstroom Dojang instructor, Mr Philip de Vos, is doing a great job. I was pleased to present Bsbnim Philip with a black belt that I had embroidered in Korea just before I departed for South Africa with his name and "III" in honour of his promotion to 3rd degree black belt recently. I also presented the Potchefstroom Dojang with a new set of focus pads, which I'm sure will come into good use.

Vaal Taekwon-Do Reunion

Over the last few months I have been quite busy with arranging the first Vaal Taekwon-Do Reunion, which was held this past Saturday near Vanderbijlpark, in the Vaal Triangle, South Africa. The event had a double purpose: the first, of course, was to get old acquantances together to catch up on the good old days; the second was to officially confirm the early history of Taekwon-Do, particularly ITF Taekwon-Do in South Africa.

Andrew Fall

During the evening it was confirmed by three individuals that practised Taekwon-Do during the late 70s and 80s that the first person to have brought Taekwon-Do to South Africa was Mr Andrew Fall, from Vereeniging, who started the South Africa Taekwon-Do Institute in 1976. Mr Fall was originally a JKA Karate practitioner; however, he went to England and practised under Rhee Ki-Ha (then a 7th Dan master). When Mr Fall returned to South Africa he introduced this new Korean art to his Karate club in Vereeniging, which resulted in the club to split, with roughly a third continuing with JKA and the remaining students starting their new journey in ITF Taekwon-Do.

General Choi Hong-Hi visited South Africa shortly afterwards in 1978, during which time he presented Mr Fall a scroll that proclaimed him life-president of ITF Taekwon-Do in South Africa. During his follow-up visit in the early 80s, Gen. Choi tested the first batch of black belt candidates in South Africa.

This early history of ITF Taekwon-Do in South Africa has gone nearly unnoticed by the current governing body (SA-ITF), until in recent years different collaborators confirmed the early history, providing various newspaper clippings, and other documents as proof. Such documents were again provided during the reunion over the weekend.

The SA-ITF executive president, Mr Dirk Nel, fully acknowledged and accepted this early history of Taekwon-Do in South Africa and also announced honours to certain key individuals in the early history of South African Taekwon-Do. Mr Andrew Fall was posthumously presented with an honorary fourth degree black belt. (Other individuals were also honoured; a formal announcement will be made by the president in an official letter in the near future.)

So what does this mean to us, the Soo Shim Kwan? Basically, it establishes our group as a direct lineage from the first Taekwon-Dojang in South Africa, starting with Mr Andrew Fall, then Mr Johan Bolton, who was my direct instructor.

The SA-ITF has ten Kwan (federations). Four of these Kwan branch out of Mr Johan Bolton's structures, and therefore, Mr Andrew Fall's first Taekwon-Do structure; they are Bulsaju Kwan, Juche Kwan, Dan Gun Kwan and Soo Shim Kwan. The other Kwan in South Africa have their roots in Mr James Brooks who came to South Africa from England in the 80s and first settled in Johannesburg -- later moving to Vanderbijlpark. (He eventually had to return to England.)

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