Why Neh Gung?

Back in 2009, I attended a black belt and instructor’s seminar in Pittsburgh led by Choong Jae Nim CS Kim.  It’s usually an annual pilgrimage for me and I usually come away from each one with something a little different each time.

That particular year, at the tail end of training, I can recall being led outside the gymnasium which was our home for the day to an uphill run to a field that was perhaps a quarter-mile from the Boyce Campus gymnasium in Monroeville.  Once there, Grandmaster Kim led us through 2 separate exercises that were designed to build “internal strength”.  He termed them as “Neh Gung”.

At the time I’m writing this blog post, I have to admit that my knowledge of the concept of Neh Gung is still infantile at best.  I’m still finding material to read to develop a better understanding of it.  Little to no mention of Neh Gung is made in the ITF textbook Authentic Tang Soo Do, and my knowledge of techniques involved in developing it are presently limited to what I was taught at the 2009 seminar, save for a couple of things I’ve learned from random reads in books dealing largely with other subjects.  Still, the interest remains, hence this post.

In the original Tang Soo Do Soo Bahk Do text, Grandmaster Hwang Kee makes mention of the concept of Neh Gung (or Nae Kong) as a “method of training the inner organs of the body”.  He further explains that it’s part of kong bup training.  Unfortunately, the text does not give a definition for kong bup!  Nevertheless, if you do a little digging, “kong bup” (also spelled gwongbeop) is the term for “fist-fighting method”.  The term is first referenced in the muyedobotongji, which is Korea’s earliest referenced martial arts publication (and a subject actually deserving of its own blog article one day).  Supposedly, part of the Korean text is steeped in hand to hand combat methods derived from Shaolin Temple fighting arts.  Per Grandmaster Hwang Kee’s explanation, there are both internal and external kong bup training methods.  So exactly what are the internal training methods, and why even do them to begin with?  Thus, my search begins……

If you practice Korean martial arts & study their respective histories, do you have a version of this book? If you don't, why not?

The idea of the unwavering warrior in the face of adversity permeates across all cultures, and it has a big hand in the concept of “budo” (warrior spirit) popularized largely by martial arts of Asian descent.  That idea is centered around control of the self.  In martial arts, to put it bluntly, having an uncontrolled nature is seen as “bad form”.  Hence, there is an inherent stress on controlling the emotions in many traditionally oriented classes.  To understand how something like Neh Gung fits into all this, you sort of have to understand a bit about the Asian concept of duality and the interwoven relationship between all things.  To put things in layman terms, what happens on the inside affects what happens on the outside, and vice-versa.  Probably the most easily referenced example here is the Japanese samurai warrior and the practice of Zen meditation.  I’m not going to reference any one particular source because I’ve read this from too many different ones; but the Samurai are said to have sought after the ability to keenly turn on the state of mushin or “no mind” before going into battle.  You can define mushin as the ability to turn off all emotion, all outward stressors and envelop yourself in achieving one goal.  For the samurai, that goal was cutting down the enemy.

Now, in modern society, there’s no enemy to cut down (usually); but the concept of developing this ability is still an extremely useful life-tool, both in the training hall and out in the world.  First of all, you have to understand at least a little about Chinese medicine (and I’m a big aficionado).  Among other things, Chinese medicine tends to follow the concept that physical condition affects spirit and vice versa, much more so than we do here in the west.  For that reason, someone properly schooled in it may prescribe something for the spirit when there is a particular physical ailment of concern.  Along those same lines, there are also a number of physical exercises that one can employ to strengthen the internal organs, which in-turn directly affect the spirit.  Ever hear of the Chinese term “Chi Kung”?  Well, there’s a reason why it sounds a heck of a lot like Neh Gung.  I’m pretty sure the concepts are derived from the same source.

The practice of Chi Kung, or qigong is so extensive in China and worldwide that there are entire arts dedicated to it.  Defined (and I’m quoting a disputed Wikipedia article here, so be careful), it’s collectively said to be “methods of cultivation and manipulation of this life energy…..[used as]  an important component in enhancing martial abilities“.  Many of the principles behind quigong are extensive versions of the Neh Gung concepts touched upon in Tang Soo Do.  I’m guessing that it can be theorized that Grandmaster Hwang Kee wished, in his pursuit of an all-inclusive martial art, to include a series of exercises not only to promote a balanced psyche, but also good health as well.  That being said, the practice of Neh Gung was included in the basic tenets of the first Tang Soo Do Soo Bahk Do text.  Still, that theory of mine is without base, and just deductive reasoning on my part.  Still, when you get an opportunity, look up Quigong exercises on YouTube.  You’ll find some neat stuff.

Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming performs Quigong exercises - in one of its purest forms.

Interestingly enough, I find that Choong Jae Nim Kim spends more and more time on stuff like this as the years go by, and historically speaking, a lot of aging masters tend to exercise more time in studying the subtle, internal aspects of martial arts as time goes by.  I can’t help but wonder if that’s what I’m witnessing in my own senior master of Tang Soo Do.  The afternoon in Monroeville that I referenced at the beginning of this blog article, I learned two separate techniques for Neh Gung practice, but I have yet to find them in another realm.  The challenge for me now is to find if the exercises learned that day are referenced in other arts that include this practice; which basically means I’ve got some extensive Neh Gung research of my own to do (more-so than is worthy for just one blog article on the subject).

While the Korean Neh Gung outwardly appears to be a derivative of the Chinese Quigong, it still makes an attempt at achieving balance through breathing and/or body motion.  it’s just less complex than the martial arts that seem to be built around the concept.  That, quite honestly, keeps me intrigued.  Since really getting deeply involved in martial arts at age 19, I’ve also become a fan of meditation, which I largely use to quiet my mind.  This, of course, assists me greatly when I need to dedicate myself fully to a task.  Unfortunately, due to the varying responsibilities of my daily life, it’s not always possible for me to find a quiet corner and concentrate on breathing properly.  Here is where Neh Gung practice normally comes into play for me.  In practice, I typically do 1-3 exercises.  Two are from my lessons learned from Grandmaster Kim himself.  The other I borrow from The book Hapkido authored by Master Choe Hui Son.  In doing so, I get an opportunity to work on concentrating my whole being on just strengthening the spirit, remembering to breathe properly, and slowing myself down.  While this may not be the intended purpose, it appears to work well for me, when the need is there and I don’t have time to pull out the ‘ol meditation cushion and sit for a spell.  A typical Neh Gung session will last anywhere from 5 – 7 minutes, depending on how many exercises I do and how many rotations of each one I choose to perform.  In the 2 years following that 2009 class, it seems to do the trick pretty darned well for me; and that’s why I’ve kept up the practice.

There are a couple of neat little Neh Gung exercises tucked away in this book if you should ever pick it up!

One of the things, in my infinite “to do” list is to learn some of the more extensive techniques involved, just to see what else is there, and “how deep the rabbit hole goes”, so to speak; and I have actually touched on the subject at random in my classes as a way to bring everyone’s mind to training at the initiation of class, or a way to decompress at the end of training.  As a matter of fact, I’m giving serious thought to adding Neh Gung sessions to the regular class schedule in the not-too-distant future because I’m starting to bear the fruit of some of the benefits of even my own limited knowledge & practice.

Until then, catch me before regular class and you may see me doing some of these exercises from time to time.

Master Wayne Boozer

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