Hapkido

Template:Koreanname image Hapkido or Hap Ki Do is one of the Korean martial arts. In the Korean language, Hap means "harmony", "coordinated", or "joining"; Ki describes internal energy, spirit, strength, or power; and Do means "way" or "art". Thus, Hapkido translates literally as "joining-energy-way", but it is most often rendered as "the way of coordinating energy" or "the art of coordinated power."

Hapkido employs joint locks, pressure points, throws, kicks, and other strikes primarily for self-defense.

Hapkido practitioners learn to use and control their own "Ki" and that of the attacker. This is because Hapkido emphasizes circular motion, non-resistive movements, and control of the opponent. Although Hapkido contains both outfighting and infighting techniques, the end of most situations is to get near for a close strike, lock, or throw. Hapkido practitioners seek to gain advantage through techniques, avoiding the use of strength against strength.

History

The birth of Hapkido can be traced to two primary individuals: Choi Yong Sul (b. 1904, d. 1986) and Ji Han Jae (b. 1936). As Ji was initially a student of Choi, the foundations of the art must be attributed to Choi, however.

Choi, Yong Sul

Choi, Yong Sul's training in the martial arts is a subject of contention. Primarily there are two main beliefs concerning his training. It is known that Choi was sent to Japan as a young boy. Once there, some claim that Choi was the adopted son of the patriarch of Daito-ryu Aikijutsu, Sokaku Takeda. Other historians write that he was simply a worker for Takeda. This second belief is substantiated by Tokimune Sokaku, Takeda Sokaku's son. He states that the records of Daito-ryu show that Choi was never recorded as a student of Daito-ryu. Some attribute his statements to the prevailing racism held against Koreans by the Japanese. To date, however, there is no paper evidence to show that Choi was the adopted son of Sokaku Takeda or that he ever studied Daito-ryu except by the claims made by Choi himself. The techniques which Choi brought back from Japan are, however, obviously characteristic of Daito-ryu.

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

Choi, Yong Sul's first student, and the man who helped him develop the art of Hapkido was Suh, Bok Sup. Some of Choi's other respected senior students are: Bong Soo Han; Kim, Chong S.; Kim, Yong W.; Kim, Yong J.; Lee, Park; Jung H.; Joo, Bang; Park, Nam Sun; Seo, In Sun; Son, Duk Hyun; Yum, Chong H.; and most notably, Ji Han Jae.

Ji, Han Jae

Whereas the martial art education of Yong Shul Choi is unconfirmed, the martial art history of Ji, Han Jae is much easier to trace. Ji was an early student of Choi. He details that prior to moving his martial art studio from Daegu to Seoul, he also studied from 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. In 1984 Ji moved to the United States and founded Sin Moo Hapkido, which incorporates philosophical tenets, specific series of techniques and kicks, and healing techniques, into the art. 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. Perhaps one reason for this effort to deny any Japanese influence or origin in Hapkido is that in recent times some Koreans have made efforts to erase any mention or history of Japanese influences in Korea. The Korean tendency to deny Japanese origins stems from some animosity toward the Japanese concerning their part in the History of Korea.

One of Ji Han Jae's most notable students was Myung Jae Nam. The founder of the International HKD Federation.

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, emphasize circular rather than linear movements. Hapkido is an eclectic martial art, and different hapkido schools emphasize different techniques. However, some core techniques are found in each school (kwan), and all techniques should follow the three principles of Hapkido:

Nonresistance ("Wha")
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.

One of Hapkido's principles, Won, consists in redirecting the opponent's power in a circular motion, as shown.

Won, the circular principle, is a way 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 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. The Hapkido practitioner learns to view an attacker as an "energy entity" rather than as a physical one. The bigger the person is, or the more energy a person has, the better it is for the Hapkido student.

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 taught similarly to aikido techniques, but in general the application is more linear and the circles are smaller. Aikido circles are taught wide and large for novices because they are slower and easier, but experts are expected to execute techniques in small circles with the same ease. The ki becomes more focused as the circles get smaller, and perhaps the difference between the two arts is the pedagogical subtlety of Aikido and the directness of Hapkido in the nature of circular energy. 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 centered around extensive throws applied using different footwork and less joint manipulation 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. Yudo techniques also include various chokes, hold downs, joint locks, and other grappling techniques used to control the opponent on the ground.

Kicking

The wide variety of kicks in Hapkido make it distinctly Korean. In general, they are similar to Taekwondo kicks, though, again, circular motion and full follow thru are emphasised. Some schools of Hapkido use kicks only 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 specific circumstances.

Hand Strikes

Like most martial arts, hapkido employs a large number of punches and other hand strikes, as well as elbows. 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. The hand strikes are used often to weaken the opponent before joint locking and throwing, and also as finishing techniques.

Weapons

As a Hapkido student advances through the various belt levels (basically the same as other Korean arts, e.g. Taekwondo), he or she learns how to employ and defend against various weapons. The first weapon encountered is most often the knife. Then, techniques and defenses against the short stick, the long staff, the sword, the walking cane, and the rope are introduced in Hapkido training.

Training

Hapkido students practice throws and joint manipulation in a *dojang*.

Hapkido training takes place in a dojang (Japanese dojo). While training methods vary, a typical training session will contain technique practice, break falling (nakbop), 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. The practitioner could benefit in training by being lean and muscular. 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. Hapkido is appropriate for all persons of all ages and helps develop fitness. With a few noteable exceptions, there is little to no competition in Hapkido. The very powerful techniques of hapkido can pose a great risk of injury or even death if applied uncontrollably for such competitive events.

Since its founding, Hapkido has become one of the most popular and respected martial arts in the world. Many military officials and police officers take hapkido as part of their self-defense training. Taekwondo students often learn Hapkido as part of their curriculum for self-defense, and it is not uncommon for Taekwondo instructors to also hold rank in Hapkido.

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