PIT SCHOOL PRESS
TRADITIONAL MARTIAL ARTS PUBLISHING
A firsthand account of martial arts history

Inside The Pit

A Rare Firsthand Account of Training with a Grandmaster

During the early years of Kuk Sool Won in America, Grandmaster In Hyuk Suh (Kuk Sa Nim) established his first American school in San Francisco.

A short time after testing for his first-degree black belt under Kuk Sa Nim, Gene Gause received a telephone call from his friend, Master Harmon, conveying a remarkable offer: a personal invitation from Kuk Sa Nim to become a live-in student at the Grandmaster’s San Francisco school.

Gene’s answer was immediate—Yes!

He sold everything he owned and, accompanied by a friend, drove from South Carolina to San Francisco to begin an extraordinary chapter of his martial arts journey.

Tales from the Pit brings readers inside that remarkable period through the firsthand experiences of Master Gene Gause. His stories capture the challenges, discipline, humor, and extraordinary lessons of training directly under Kuk Sa Nim—lessons that continue to influence his life and teaching to this day.

This is more than martial arts history. It is a firsthand account from someone who lived it.

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Cover of Tales from the Pit by Master Gene Gause, edited by Stephen D. Barnard
The story behind the book

Not a retelling. A lived experience.

Master Gene Gause trained at “The Pit” as a resident student of Grandmaster In Hyuk Suh. In short, memorable accounts, he shares the moments that shaped his understanding of traditional martial arts—from demanding instruction to unexpected insights and humor.

For practitioners of Kuk Sool Won and other martial arts, the book offers a personal window into a formative era. For other readers, it is a story about mentorship, commitment, and learning directly from a master.

Tales from the Pit

Discover the stories from inside The Pit.

Written by Master Gene Gause and edited by Stephen D. Barnard. Published by Pit School Press.

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