Dahn Hak Do Marshal Arts

 

Martial arts help to heal both body and mind by Yasmin Asgarali-Glassford


The common perception about martial arts is that it is all about fighting and aggression. When Anne, a petite,‘approaching the golden age’ member of yoga classes at the ChunHwa Yoga and Healing Martial Arts Centre was invited by Master Kuam to take Dahn Hak Do (Healing Martial Arts) training, she declined, fearing what she perceived to be a combative discipline.

“Do you use your body, energy and mind the way you want – intentionally and purposefully?”

Master Kuam asked. He pointed out that most people use their body, mind and energy to feed and clothe themselves, earn more money to buy more stuff,
and compete with others.

“Have you thought about the fact that martial arts can help you to use your body, mind and energy as a healing tool for the good of yourself and others?”

Master Kuam was inviting her to make a paradigm shift, one that he himself had made as a student in Korea. “In school,” he said, “I complained about the teachers. I saw competition and conflict all around me. What I was looking for was a way to bring peace and harmony to myself and others.”

Through Dahn Hak Do, Korean mind/body energy training dating back thousands of years, Master Kuam discovered that problems stem from a lack of communication between the mind and body. Dahn Hak Do restores this communication. It emphasizes the use of energy as a mind-body interface to recover harmony of mind, body and spirit,so practitioners recover health, happiness and peace.

According to Master Kuam,we lose health, happiness and Feel Good
peace because energy is not balanced in the chakras. Through properly executed martial arts movements, we awaken the seven energy centres, improving the circulation of energy so it reaches every corner of the body
through the meridians, blood vessels and nerves. Energy tends to get trapped in the joints, so Master Kuam encourages his students to focus on opening the joints in order to release tension and improve circulation.

According to Oriental medical theory, in a healthy body warm energy resides in the abdomen and cool energy resides in the brain. In modern society
this balance has become reversed,resulting in headaches, Master Kuam leads his students in Dahn Hak Do training at the ChunHwa Yoga and Healing Martial Arts Centre.

Insomnia, poor digestion and so on,Dahn Hak Do techniques focus on adjusting this imbalance.

A typical Dahn Hak Do class begins with a routine of twisting,angling and rotating the eighteen joints in the body in a natural sequence, starting at the neck and ending with the feet. This routine leads into basic martial arts movements, followed by targeted postures for each belt level.

While difficult at first, with persistence these movements are overcome and mastered as brain and body coordination improves.

In everyone’s body we see a record of their life. The way people walk, for example, tells us about their body health and mind condition. Skeletal misalignment is a core imbalance. Through Dahn Hak Do practice, the shoulders and pelvis can become aligned and the spine straightened, enabling the organs to be placed properly in the body and the blood to circulate well. The lower body becomes strong and firm and the upper
body becomes relaxed and more flexible, reversing the ‘stiff upper
body and weak lower body’ syndrome.

The belt levels, as in all martial arts disciplines, are increasingly
complex and challenging, building upon the one that came before. The practitioner becomes stronger and more focussed, mind-body coordination
improves, leading to personal mastery. In Dahn Hak Do this progression is reflected in the belt status – from white, to blue,then red, and finally, the black belt. At the ChunHwa Yoga and Healing Martial Arts Centre
black belt members have been through at least two years of intense
training.

Lise speaks about physical changes she experienced in her body. “My feet no longer turn out when I walk, and the rheumatic pain in my hips has disappeared.”

Sylvie says, “I love the fact that Dahn Hak Do classes combine both soft and dynamic energy moves that leave me calm, focused and energized.”

Noelle has experienced “progress in energy, balance, coordination, strength, flexibility, body alignment, and endurance.”

Angela is very happy that her “physical strength has improved, as well as balance and coordination, concentration, memory, and sense of well-being.”

Anne, our petite, ‘approaching the golden years’ member, has graduated from the white belt level and now proudly wears a blue belt. She has also started to experience the benefits of her practice, having ‘more harmony’
in her life now, and naturally reaching out to others because of this increased ‘inner harmony’. The black belt level is in her plans!

The ChunHwa Yoga and Healing Martial Arts Centre is currently offering 50 per cent off the regular price of a three-month membership for new
members.

The Centre is located at 401 Coventry Road, Unit A. There is ample parking on-site. For more information please call 613-746-9642 or view www.chunhwayoga.ca