What is Hapkido?

Discussion in 'Hapkido' started by MowJ, Oct 3, 2015.

  1. MowJ

    MowJ Valued Member

    After much question asking and various research I'm thinking of getting back into MA after a long layoff. If you've followed any of my other posts you will see I've narrowed it down to Hapkido or aikido. What exactly is Hapkido in a way you would describe it for a newbie? Is it TKD with some rolls? Is it aikido with some kicks? I mean what would the average person walking off the street be learning in the typical gym? Is there weapons training? I'm not being vague, just curious!
     
  2. Tom bayley

    Tom bayley Valued Member

    Hapkido is an integrated art with strikes, locks, throws, groundwork and weapons. As a traditional Chinese martial artist I really like Hapkido. It has substance in both breadth and depth. Hapkido is worth the effort of attending a class so that you can see for yourself if it is the art for you.
     
    Last edited: Oct 3, 2015
  3. Knee Rider

    Knee Rider Valued Member Supporter

    Seeing as nobody has answered yet I will say that I've always considered it as a Korean version of Japanese jujitsu/gendai budo, with as much variation in quality and approach as its comparative.

    Locks throws strikes breaks compliance holds breakfalls etc
     
  4. Thomas

    Thomas Combat Hapkido/Taekwondo

    As an art, Hapkido descends from Daito-Ryu Aikijujutsu by way of Choi Yong-sool Dojunim. Because of that, you will find a lot of breakfalls, a lot of joint locks, and basic striking, all packaged within a nice circular operating system. There are still a few schools that follow this tradition.

    As Hapkido was 'distilling' into the art it has become, it went through quite a few filters, including a bit of Judo influence (Suh Beok-sub) and then a lot of kicking development (Ji Han-jae Dojunim and Kim Moo-hong) and more complex breakfalls and techniques. Focus also went into "Ki" development and breathing exercises.

    Ji Han-jae Dojunim's Sin Moo Hapkido incoporated some other influences, especially a comprehensive philosophical foundation. A large amount of Hapkido styles trace their source to Ji Han-jae Dojun so this will be the most common thread.

    There were some other Korean Martial Arts that were heavily influenced by Hapkido and they have developed along parallel lines (e.g., Hwarangdo, Kuk Sool Won, etc)

    There are a few 'modern' styles that have stripped Hapkido back to its operating system, dropped a lot of the flashy stuff, and began bringing in new influences in order to more properly deal with what they consider modern-day self defense needs (a mix of RBSD).

    At its base, whatever the system, expect a circular footwork system with lots of breakfalls, strikes, locks, throws and sweeps that will probably at some point bring in basic weapons like stick, knife, cane, and rope, and that will have some focus on breathing and 'ki' development.

    With its mix of material, it is, in my opinion, a great art (or foundation) to deal with modern self defense because of the many options along the 'use of force continuum', in other words, it is not "just" a punishing art, but one that can be applied to situations with very little force all the way up to lethal force... something very valuable in today's world of easy access cameras, sue happy 'victims', and need to use as little force as possible to escape.

    It is also a great foundation for cross training and adding in influences... Hapkidoists tend to be great 'generalists' when it comes to basic material and further cross training in specific areas (like ground grappling) comes a bit easier with this foundation.

    Those are the 'plus sides' of the art.

    On the negative side, there are a few things to watch out for:
    1. Politics - Hapkido discussion bring out some of the worst back-biting and sniping (not as bad as the Ninja arts, but pretty bad). Everyone has a story and there is a lot of bashing done based on lineage and who does the more 'pure' Hapkido (and get your guard up if you do a less than 'pure' Hapkido system!).

    2. It is a general art (except for maybe joint locks and breakfalls), so you may wish to cross train. Some handy cross training skills include some sort of extra sparring (Taekwondo, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, MMA, whatever), hopefully in an open format where you can also learn to incoroprate your other skills from Hapkido. You should also cross train in some soprt of grappling (BJJ, wrestling) because this is one area where most Hapkido teaching are a bit light (unless you count the 'traditional' schools that have suddenly 'discovered' secret Korean wrestling techniques that look like BJJ after the advent of MMA)

    If you are going to a Hapkido school, here are a few questions to ask...
    1. Lineage - who do they trace their line back to? It has to go back to Choi Yong-sool Dojunim and probably will go back to Ji Han-jae Dojunim.

    2. Ask about pressure testing... do students work their techniques against resisting opponents after they have learned them? Is there sparring (many schools won't call it that, but there should be some kind of resistant partner work)

    3. Ask about curriculum - what weapons and skills are taught and ask about cross training - is it frowned upon or are there opportunities within the school or recommend nearby?

    Feel free to ask any follow-up questions you like. Just so you can see the filters my replies come through, I have a background in traditional Hapkido (2nd dan from the GM Myeong Jae-nam lineage) and in a splinter Hapkido art (1st dan in Kyeong-Ho Moo Sool, a bodyguard type of art), both of which I learned in Korea. I also have a background in one of the modern Hapkido arts (5th dan in GM Pellegrini's Combat Hapkido).
     
  5. Knee Rider

    Knee Rider Valued Member Supporter

    Well, you couldn't really hope for a more comprehensive response than that!
     
  6. MowJ

    MowJ Valued Member

    That pretty much sums it up for me! Wow lol. Seriously, thanks guys...I couldn't have gotten a better understanding elsewhere. Another question....what is hapkido's ancient roots? What did it derive from?
     
  7. Latikos

    Latikos Valued Member

    Or did I understand the question wrong?
     
  8. MowJ

    MowJ Valued Member

    Excuse me for not remembering to see that part in the very long informative post. Maybe I'm asking what daito aikijujitsu is.....
     
  9. Ben Gash CLF

    Ben Gash CLF Valued Member

    Daito ryu is a Japanese martial arts system, amongst the first of the Gendai (post Meiji) Jujitsu systems (it claims to be Koryu but it's not known before 1890). It's most famous for being the art that Ueshiba studied prior to formulating Aikido. It kinda looks like Aikido that's at once more formal and more rough and ready.
    [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkPx-sw1-Bk"]Daito Ryu Aikijujutsu - YouTube[/ame]
     
  10. Latikos

    Latikos Valued Member

    Well, it's the very first sentence in Thomas answer, so I really wasn't entirely sure, whether I misunderstood the question or not :p
     
  11. MowJ

    MowJ Valued Member

    Okay we got off on the wrong foot, my apologies. Hard to type and read this iPad sometimes.
     
    Last edited: Oct 4, 2015
  12. MowJ

    MowJ Valued Member

    Thomas are there lots of katas to learn? Also any good biographical type Hapkido books you might recommend? I read Steve Sexton
     
  13. Thomas

    Thomas Combat Hapkido/Taekwondo

    Generally no. Most schools have some breathing exercises, but few have any sort of 'kata' (or poomsae/hyung in Korean systems). The school I trained in had hyung (patterns), but they will pretty much just for that school. The late GM Myung Kwang-shik developed some patterns as well. Generally though, very few schools have any sort of hyung.

    I like Dr Kimm He-young's books, especially Hapkido I and History of Hapkido (see http://hanmudo.myshopify.com/collections/all)

    For good books on the technique, GM Myung Kwang-shik's books are good (although the 'history' sections are not very accurate, the technique catalogs are good)

    Otherwise, there are lot of books out there that cover the very low levels of the art, usually with bit of relatively inaccurate history attached. I like the Dr. Kimm books best.
     
  14. Latikos

    Latikos Valued Member

    Nothing to worry about.

    Regarding Kata: The style I learn is in the same association as other styles as well.
    The others have added Kata to their syllabus, whereas we still don't have them.
    And to be honest: The teachers don't care much for them, so I doubt they will get added soon.

    So... yeah... essentially the same, as Thomas has written already, I guess :rolleyes:
     

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