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Gongkwon Yusul - The Korean Martial Art of Ass-Kicking

submitted by rembar

1 decade 7 years 6 months 2 weeks ago

I just discovered this video, and couldn't let it burn a hole in my sift pocket, so to speak. In my quest for a video of old-school tae kwon do or any Korean martial art that doesn't suck in the combative sense, I found Gongkwon Yusul (GKY). GKY is a Korean hybrid/mixed martial art created in 1996 by Gang Jun, and looks to have roots in tae kwon do, Kyokushin karate, judo, jujutsu and yusul. (The official website says Jun trained in Pal Kwang Ryu Yu Sul, judo, Hap Ki Do, Kyuk Tu Gi, Teuk Gong Moo Sul, Taekkyon and other Korean and Japanese martial arts. Yusool/Yu Sul is the Korean equivalent of jujutsu, it can imply a spectrum of training and also combative applicability.) In a convergent evolution sense, Gongkwon Yusul strongly resembles Daido Juku.

GKY covers both striking and grappling in all three ranges of unarmed combat (standing, clinch, and ground), with what appear to be few limitations beyond those included in standard MMA rules. Awesomeness includes leg grabbing off kicks, leg kicking, bare-knuckle punching, leg-locking goodness, starting off wrist-to-wrist a la old kung fu flicks, and judo-style takedowns fighting on hardwood floor.

Noticeably absent in the first section are punches and elbows to the head, although the last bit of the video shows a fight with headgear and gloves and punches to the head. This is similiar to Kyokushin karate, which does not allow head punching in competitions, but often has students spar with head punching when not competing. Punching to the head significantly affects standup striking, as well as ground-and-pound, and it would be nice to see more headpunching. I also did not see any wrestling-style shots (lower body takedowns), although this may be a result of the gi making judo-type throws easier and safer than shots. I also thought striking from the clinch, especially knees, was not allowed, but other videos showed this. I guess they just need to work on their plum clinching.

As a barely decade-old art, GKY probably has some growing and expansion to do as a style and system, and would benefit from a larger membership, which I'm sure it will find as the worlds of MMA and effective martial arts expand. Still, all in all, these guys look like they mean business, and I'd love to mix it up with them any day of the week.