Hapkido

Hapkido is a Korean martial art. The name means literally "joining-energy-way" and can be rendered as "the way of co-ordinating energy" or "the art of coordinated power."

History

Hapkido history is rather confusing, but the birth of Hapkido can be traced to two primary individuals: Choi, Yong Sul and Ji, Han Jae. As Ji was initially a student of Choi, the foundations of the art must be attributed to Choi, however.

Choi, Yong Shul's training in the martial arts is also a subject of hot contentition. Primarily there are two main beliefs concerning Choi's education in the martial arts. Choi was sent to Japan at a young age. Some Claim that Choi was the adopted son of the patriarch of Daito-ryu Aikijutsu, Takeda Sokaku . This fact was overtuned, however, by the research in Korea and Japan of Dr. Scott Shaw. Shaw states that Choi was a worker in the household of Takeda for many years. Tokimune Sokaku, Takeda Sokaku's son, in one report claims, however, that he never knew Choi. Some attribute this to the fact of prevailing racism against Koreans in Japan and the fact that Takeda maintainted two distinct households. So far, there is no evidence to show that Choi ever studied Daitoryu except the claim made by Choi himself.

Note: Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido, was a well known student of Takeda.

On his return to Korea, Choi eventually began to teach martial arts. One of his early students was Ji, Han Jae. Ji details that prior to moving his martial art studio from Tae Guek to Seoul, he also studied with a man known simply as Taoist Lee.

Ji is the teacher of Hapkido who incorporated traditional Korean kicking and punching techniques (from taekyon and hwarang) in the system and gave the resulting synthesis the name Hapkido in 1959. Hapkido is the Korean pronunciation of Aikido and Choi, Yong Sul opposed the name under which Ueshiba's martial art existed in Japan.

Korean sources often claim that Hapkido was influenced by supposed Korean indigenous martial arts and some even deny the Aikijujutsu connection. Korean people tried to wipe out Japanese influence in Korea. The Korean tendency to deny Japanese origins stems from some animosity toward the Japanese concerning their part in the History of Korea.

Techniques

On the "hard-soft" scale of martial arts, Hapkido stands somewhere in the middle, employing "soft" techniques similar to Aikido and "hard" techniques reminiscent of Taekwondo. Even the "hard" techniques, though, emphasise circular rather than linear movements. Hapkido is an eclectic martial art, and different hapkido schools emphasise different techniques. However, some core techniques are found in each school (kwan ), and all techniques should follow the three principles of Hapkido:

• Nonresistance ("Hwa")
• Circular Motion ("Won")
• The Water Principle ("Yu")

Hwa, or nonresistance, is simply the act of remaining relaxed and not directly opposing an opponent's strength. For example, if an opponent were to push against a Hapkido student's chest, rather than resist and push back, the Hapkido student would avoid a direct confrontation by moving in the same direction as the push and utilizing the opponent's forward momentum to throw him.

Won, the circular principle, is a concept to gain momentum for executing the techniques in a natural and free-flowing manner. If an opponent attacks in Linear motion, as in a punch or knife thrust, the Hapkido student would redirect the opponent's force by simply leading the attack in a circular pattern, thereby adding the attacker's power to his own. Once he had redirected the power, the Hapkido student could execute any of a variety of techniques to incapacitate his attacker.

Yu, the water principle, is best described if one pictures the quiet, direct strength in free-flowing water. When you touch water, it is soft; you don't feel anything. But when it comes to water and power, water can be the most powerful thing in the world, turning huge power turbines, or cutting through solid stone to form great canyons. When water is coming down from a stream and meets a rock or other obstruction instead of crashing into it, it always goes around.

"As the flowing stream penetrates and surrounds its obstructions and as dripping water eventually penetrates the stone, so does the Hapkido strength flow in and through its opponents."

Core techniques

These consist of gentle or forceful throws and joint control techniques derived largely from Aikijutsu. They are similar to aikido techniques, but in general the circles are smaller. Most techniques work by a combination of unbalancing the attacker and applying pressure to specific places on the body, known as hyul. Hapkido makes use of over 700 pressure points.

Yudo

Yudo (Judo in Japanese) techniques are throws applied at closer range than the core techniques. The techniques differ somewhat because of the smaller circles applied to combat, and because of the types of application that are practiced in Hapkido.

Kicking

The wide variety of kicks in Hapkido differentiate it from Aikido and make it distinctly Korean. In general they are similar to Taekwondo kicks, though again circular motion is emphasised. Some varieties of Hapkido only use kicks to the lower body, but traditional Hapkido also includes high kicks and jumping kicks. The kicks in hapkido are more extensive than in most other Korean arts, including very specialized kicks for all occasions.

Hand strikes

Like most martial arts, hapkido employs a large number of punches and other hand strikes. A distinctive example of Hapkido hand techniques is "live hand" strike,that focuses energy to the baek hwa hyul in the hand, producing energy strikes and internal strikes.

Training

Hapkido training takes place in a dojang (Japanese dojo). While training methods vary, a typical training session will contain technique practice, gymnastics (nakbop), solo form practice (poomse), sparring and exercises to develop internal energy (ki).

Although hapkido is in some respects a "soft" or "internal" art, training is very vigorous and demanding. However, strength is not a prerequisite of hapkido; what strength and fitness is necessary to perform the techniques develops naturally as a result of training.

External links

• The History of Hapkido
• Hapkido - Learn All About Hapkido In Detail
• Hapkido Family Tree
• International Hapkido Sun Moo Kwan Association - Allison Hapkido
• Korea Hapkido JinJungKwan
• Korea Hapkido JinJungKwan - Germany
• An Interview With An American Hapkido Grandmaster
• An Interview With A Korean Hapkido Grandmaster