Kuk Sool Won brings benefits to each and every martial artist. We all gain tangible skills but also something deeper. For some of us it is space to feel challenged, for some it is the mental challenge and others it is the healthy lifestyle that our martial art affords. One of our students, Brian has shared his story on why Kuk Sool Won is so important to him and what he has gained since joining us two years ago.

I have something called Crohn’s Disease (a form of Irritable Bowel Disease). It can range from being an inconvenience to being completely debilitating. Fortunately, I have quite a mild form of it, but it’s enough that it’s affected my life for the last 18 years. I used to be quite active before I was diagnosed, but my Crohn’s quickly put a stop to that. I have felt weak, both physically and mentally for almost half my life because of this disease.

Around three years ago I had a really bad flare up of my Crohn’s, which caused a rather dramatic drop in my weight, not to mention my mood and energy. However, after getting over this episode I realised that I was never going to feel any better if I didn’t do something about it. I was constantly feeling tired, struggled to even walk up shallow slopes and generally just did not feel like doing much, athletically or otherwise.

I was already regularly playing badminton, but I decided I wanted to take advantage of this weight loss and took up some of the things I used to do, like cycling, hill walking and swimming. They all helped, but it felt like I very quickly hit my peak with them, eventually feeling like I wasn’t improving much.

I decided it was time to give martial arts another go. But, I wanted something more than the karate that I used to do when I was younger. I wanted something that covered a little bit of everything. I searched for martial arts classes in Glasgow and quickly discovered Kuk Sool Won Glasgow. Kuk Sool Won covers almost everything I’d associate with martial arts. Weapons, throws, sparring, techniques, acrobatics and so much more. It took me almost a year to finally work up the courage to give it a go, something which I definitely regret.

I’ve been training at KSW Glasgow for almost two years now. My fitness has improved immensely, thanks to the varied and interesting classes and exercises that the instructors here expose us to. Not only that, the etiquette and focus has helped improve my mental faculties to the point that I have my confidence back and I no longer feel like half a person any more.

I can genuinely say that Kuk Sool Won has given me my life back, I have not felt this healthy or good about myself for a long time. My improved health has helped me manage my Crohn’s and even though I still have the unavoidable bad days, I actually have hope that one day, I’ll have it fully under control.

My thanks go to the instructors and students at KSW Glasgow for their amazing support and for putting up with me for so long! Now that I have gained my DBN belt (something which I’m both constantly amazed at and extremely proud of), I’m very much looking forward to taking things to the next level.