Book of Stone: Um Yang Kwon

For April, Stone Soldiers.info is celebrating the A to Z Blog Challenge with daily letter-themed entries. A separate page with a list of all these entries, plus Character Profiles and Book Synopses will appear on the right hand side of the page in coming weeks, detailing the people, places and things of the Stone Soldiers universe.

An ancient martial art from the Korean kingdom of Shilla, Um Yang Kwon has been reported as the predecessor for Tae Kwon Do. Legends say that a scholar developed this martial art as a way to create soldiers for the Shilla Kingdon to use against its enemies. These soldiers were known as the Hwa Rang and were not merely adept at hand-to-hand combat, but also were capable of inhuman feats of strength, and possessed mental powers, the Shin Gong, developed through intense study and practice.

By the 20th Century, Um Yang Kwon was an almost-forgotten art, the Hwa Rang having been disbanded centuries early. During the Japanese occupation of the peninsula, all symbols of Korean history were outlawed. Those still practicing Um Yang Kwon went into hiding or fled the country.

Colonel Mark Kenslir was among a group of special operations soldiers sent to study the art in the late 1950s, following the Korean War. Trained by Mast Pin Lee, Kenslir may not only be some of the first Westerners to learn the art, but the last in the world to practice it.

Kenslir's mastery of Um Yang Kwon was first identified in Stone Soldiers #08 Terrorcota when he fought against an agent of the People's Republic of China. Kenslir identified his Master and confirmed that he practices at least some of the Shin Gong. In particular, Kenslir utilizes Shin Kyun Sul to see into the mind's eye of subjects, and Un Shin Bop to cloud the minds of others for stealthy movement. As of Book #11, the full extent of Kenslir's training has yet to be revealed. It has been revealed that the Colonel has been training other members of Detachment 1039 in the martial art, possibly for decades.