history of kuk sool won:
1:3 The Three Kingdoms Period: 57 BCE - 668 CE

upon the liaison. She considered that his military career could be adversely affected if this affair were to continue . To save her son from ruin, she forbade him ever to see CHONG GWAN again. KIM YU SHIN, being a faithful son and adhering to the HWA RANG precept of SA CHIN E HYO (honour and respect towards one’s parents), vowed never to see CHONG GWAN again. However, one night, the weary warrior fell asleep on his horse and his faithful charge took him to the house of CHONG GWAN. When KIM YU SHIN realised where he was, and that inadvertently he had almost broken his vow to his mother, he immediately destroyed his horse. Filled both with anger and remorse, he made his way to a mountain cave, where he spent his time in training and meditation in order to purify his body, mind and spirit.

Figure 14:
General KIM YU SHIN - Korea's Greatest General

The legend that surrounds this story continues that the gods were so moved by KIM YU SHIN’s adherence to the HWA RANG code of filial piety and selfless dedication to his training, that they bestowed upon him a specially engraved sword and several special texts. It was later considered that these gifts from the gods were to help KIM YU SHIN to eventually become, not only one of the most skilful swordsmen in Korean history, but also the greatest general Korea had ever seen. This in turn ultimately led him to fulfil his destiny of unifying the three kingdoms of Korea.