Many of the techniques in Kuk Sool (and many other martial arts that involve more than striking) involve grabbing, trapping, locking… basically that you’re grabbing your opponent and then manipulating them in some way. There’s no denying that some degree of strength is involved in these actions. You hear the stories claiming a 90# woman can disable a 300# man… well, maybe. Let’s be honest, there’s certainly a size and strength disparity here that is difficult to overcome; difficult, but not impossible. It’s a matter of knowing how to use what strength and size you have to its maximum advantage. I’m not going to say it will allow that little woman to out-muscle the big man, but at least perhaps she can use what she has to its fullest.

One key aspect to this is to use your center. Bring things to your center, as this is where you are strongest. The best analogy is the pickle jar. When you have to open a jar (pickles or otherwise) and the lid is stuck and tough to get off, what do you do? Most people bring that jar into their center, somewhere around their belly button. You’re able to apply more strength to the lid by holding and working the jar in this location as opposed to say holding the jar at arms length and working on it there. So when you apply physical techniques to people, bring them to your center. If you cannot bring the person/joint/lock to your center, move yourself in a manner that places your center closer to the point at which you are trying to work. So you move yourself or you move them, either way it’s putting what you’re working on closer to your center. Your center is where you can best apply your strength. 

Related to this, don’t forget to keep yourself towards your center. Try this experiment. Have a friend hold their forearms vertically in front of their chest, forearms pressed together, hands clenched in fists, fists in front of their chin, elbows in front of their belly button. Now you come up to your friend and place your hands atop their fists and press down as hard as you can; your friend should resist, not so much as to throw you off but just enough to counter your force. When you press down, first try pressing down holding your elbows out to the side (your forearms parallel to the ground). Then try pressing again, this time with your elbows pointing down (perpendicular to the ground). If I described this correctly and all goes well, you ought to be able to exert more force when your elbows are in. You’ve kept your elbows in, towards your center. This isn’t saying there’s magic about the center, but it’s about how our body physiology is set up and how much more effective we can work when we angle ourselves in a manner that allows our body to work to its maximum potential.

Of course, there’s a lot of philosophical implications of “finding strength from your center” as well, but that’s perhaps a discussion topic for another time. 🙂

So as you work, consider your center and keeping to it. This is where you can find much strength.