Does anyone know of a good Hapkido org in Ontario Canada that I could contact to find a solid dojang? I have a shodan in shotokan karate and I'm looking for a traditional jiu jitsu style, since hapkido seems to be more popular I was hoping to learn. What can I expect when entering a dojang? What are the classes like? I spar full contact in karate, do hapkido stylest go full contact? Thx
Yes, Hapkido schools do most definitely spar - depending on the place and people, full contact. Although, you'll find it's very different from Shotokan - vastly different. To some degree, you can't possibly spar 'all out full contact' at any degree of proficiency in Hapkido I'd argue because it's not a sport based art at all - the movements aren't generally nearly as commital as those in Shotokan, and lots of them are circular as opposed to Shotokan's strict focus on linear. Some of the low kicks you simply can't do all out in sparing or you might as well have a shuttle between the hospital and the school There's no real way to just 'sum it up' or convey it as a style in so many sentences - go see for yourself if you can find a place
It's hard to practice low chambered kicks where the objective is the break the persons leg, or take off their knee-cap. We spar a practice to make things effective to the greatest extent reasonably possible - and for the people that are up to it and stay after class - even moreso. Afterall, everyone knows that twisting someones head off will work, but you can't really practice it IMO.
Recently I have done some seminars with Theiren Jui Jitsu out of Ottawa (Ont.). They are part of the World Kobudo Federation and pretty open about sharing styles. From the seminars I have attended, they are very good at what they do. The instruction was first rate (from their 2 dans to their 9 dan who came to visit (Soke Morris)) many of the techniques we practiced were similar to Hapkido (just a tad different here and there) so it may be something you might like. They are in the yellow pages and have quite a few schools in the Ontario region. As regards the original question, I don't know of any Hapkido schools in the area (except for ours which is in Potsdam New York, about 1.5 hours from Ottawa).
I DONT KNOW ABOUT ONTARIO HAPKIDO DOJANGS, I LIVE IN SALMON ARM BC, AND WE HAVE BEEN DOING SPARRING. MY INSTRUCTOR JEFF LEEL JUST BEGAN HIS CLASS LAST SEPTEMBER, AND WEVE ONLY JUST BEGAN SPARRING, SINCE WE HAD TO LEARN GROUNDFIGHTING FIRST. RIGHT NOW WE USE CHEST PROTECTOR AND HEAD PROTECTORS, BUT THE IDEA IS TO GET AWAY FROM THAT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I WAS LOOKING AROUND FOR OTHER DOJANGS IN MY IMMEDIATE AREA, AND I FOUND THAT OUR DOJANG WASNT POSTED ON ANY SITES, WOULD THIS BE BECAUSE ITS SO NEW? OR BECAUSE ITS SUCH A SMALL TOWN AND A SMALL GROUP OF PEOPLE ENROLLED THERE? NEW THOUGHT, MY INSTRUCTOR IS A 10TH DEGREE BLACKBELT IN ANCIENT DRAGON HAPKIDO, A 9TH DEGREE IN HAPKIDO, AND SOME DEGREE IN 2STYLES OF TAEKWONDO, JUJITSU AND ANOTHER ONE THAT I CANT THINK OF RIGHT NOW. ARE LOTS OF MASTERS TRAINED IN MANY FIGHTING STYLES? WELL, I HOPE SOMEONE READS THIS POST, AND I HOPE ALL THE CAPS DONT BOTHER YOU, MY KEYBOARD IS STUCK LIKE THIS. ANCIENT DRAGON SIGNING OUT.
i know of 2 Hapkido schools in toronto. Mine is called Rising Sun martial arts...the other is East york Martial arts. My dojang is better which is why i go there. we spar (TKD style) and we also do A LOT of submission grappling. we encorporate a lot of J-Jitsu in our curriculum and im sure that most Hap schools do the same. you'll really enjoy it and you'll find that most maneuvers u learn will be easily used in real life situations. jeja
also..i have to agree. sounds like your teacher has a bit too much experience. i'd look into his background and see just what credits he does have and where he got them from. my instructor is 4 degree TKD and 3dan hapkido and he is awseome but compared to your teacher????? ..u get what im tryin to say? find out if he's lyin. jeja
I agree, sounds a bit too impressive, it does matter how long he has been around for though, if he's younger than his 50's it seems a bit much. (of course if he started the Ancient Dragon Hapkido school of course he's going to be a 10th dan, I know I would call myself that!) All that really matters is if he knows his stuff, do you feel you are learning effectively? And yes I suppose it is common for instructors to be trained in several MA's. My instructor is trained in TKD and HKD. (4th in HKD and 3rd in TKD)
Grandmaster John Pelligrini was formally recognized as the 'founder' of Cheon-doo Kwan Hapkido (Combat Hapkido) and is officially (through the World Kido Federation) ranked as 9th dan. There is really good Hapkido 'family tree' website out there (if I find it again, I will provide the link) that shows where the various kwans fall under the original founder. Link to family tree: http://www.hapkido-info.net/html/hapkido_family_tree.html I don't see Ancient Dragon, nor Jeff Leel listed... but if it is a new branch, it might not be there anywhere...
Hmmm, wouldn't 10th dan make him a Grandmaster? My Master is a 4th degree in Jin Jung Kwan Hapkido and a 5th in Korean Hapkido. His instructor is Grandmaster Lee Chang Soo who is the chief examiner of the Korean Hapkido Federation and Grandmaster Lee is an 8th Dan. Back to the original question...in our style we do spar, with the extent of full contact increasing as one's experience increases. No kata's, lots of sparring, and a focus on control and accuracy. And yes, you can learn to leg kick without breaking legs. I trained in Muay Thai for years and became very good at leg kicks without fully destroying anyones legs in sparring. I'm sure Ontario's got some good schools so just keep checking them out and make sure to interview your instructor to ensure he's qualified and it's a good fit for you. ...Kombat
Hapkido schools in Toronto Rising Sun Martial Arts is not a "Hapkido" school in the lineage sense, but a Tae Kwon Do School with Japanese style joint locks. There are a few Hapkido schools in the GTA area, the two best known for 'pure' Hapkido fighting technique are East West Hapkido and Eagle Hapkido. TKD style kicking is not part of Hapkido.
