Hapkido
Intro:
This Korean art is sometimes confused with Aikido, since the Korean and Japanese
translation of the names are the same.
Origin:
Korea.
History:
Hapkido history is the subject of some controversy.
Some sources say that the founder of Hapkido, Choi, Yong Sul was a houseboy/servant
(some even say "the adopted son") of Japanese Daito Ryu Aikijujutsu GrandMaster
Takeda, Sokaku. In Japan, Choi used the Japanese name Yoshida, Tatsujutsu since
all immigrants to Japan took Japanese names at that time. Choi's Japanese name
has also been given as Asao, Yoshida by some sources. According to this view,
Choi studied under Takeda in Japan from 1913, when he was aged 9, until Takeda
died in 1943. However, Daito Ryu records do not reflect this, so hard confirmation
has not been available. Some claim that Choi's Daito Ryu training was limited
to attending seminars.
Ueshiba, Morihei, the founder of Aikido, was also a student of Takeda (this
is not disputed). Hapkido and Aikido both have significant similarities to Daito
Ryu Aikijujutsu, so it would seem that Hapkido's link to it is real, regardless
of how and where Choi was trained.
Choi returned to Korea after Takeda's death and began studying Korean arts
and teaching Yu Sool or Yawara (other names for jujutsu), eventually calling his
kwan ("school") the Hapki Kwan. Ji, Han Jae, began studying under Choi and eventually
started his own school, where he taught what he called Hapkido, after the grandmaster's
school. Along the way, Hapkido adopted various techniques from Tang Soo Do, Tae
Kyon, and other Korean kwans (schools).
Korean sources may tend to emphasize the Korean arts lineage of Hapkido over
the Aikijujutsu lineage, with some even omitting the Aikijujutsu connection. However,
as noted above, the connection can be seen in the techniques.
Ji now calls his system Sin Moo Hapkido. He currently lives and teaches in
California, as does another former Choi student, Myung, Kwang Sik, who is GrandMaster
of the World Hapkido Federation.
Some other Choi Hapkido students are still living. Chang, Chun Il currently
teaches in New York City, and Im, Hyon Soo lives and teaches in Korea. Both of
these men were promoted to 9th dan by Choi. One of the first Hapkido masters to
bring the art to the western culture was Han, Bong Soo.
In the 1970's and 80's Hapkido was taught as the style of choice to elite South
Korean armed forces units.
Description:
Hapkido combines joint locks, pressure points, throws, kicks, and strikes for
practical self-defense. More soft than hard and more internal than external, but
elements of each are included. Emphasizes circular motion, non-resistive movements,
and control of the opponent.
Although Hapkido contains both outfighting and infighting techniques, the goal
in most situations is to get inside for a close-in strike, lock, or throw. When
striking, deriving power from hip rotation is strongly emphasized.
Training:
Varies with organization and instructor. As a general rule, beginners concentrate
on basic strikes and kicks, along with a few joint locks and throws. Some of the
striking and kicking practice is form-like, that is, with no partner, however,
most is done with a partner who is holding heavy pads that the student strikes
and kicks full power.
Advanced students add a few more strikes and kicks as well as many more throws,
locks, and pressure points. There is also some weapons training for advanced students
- primarily belt, kubatan, cane, and short staff.
Some schools do forms, some do not. Some do sparring and some do not, although
at the advanced levels, most schools do at least some sparring. Many Hapkido techniques
are unsuitable for use in sparring, as their use would result in injury, even
when protective gear is used. Thus, sparring typically uses only a limited subset
of techinques.
There is generally an emphasis on physical conditioning and excercise, including
"ki" exercises.
(Contributors: Randy Pals, Ray Terry, Dakin Burdick)
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