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Hapkido (also spelled hap ki do or hapki-do) is a dynamic and somewhat eclectic Korean martial art. 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 way of coordinated power." A historical link to Daito-ryu aikijujutsu is generally acknowledged, though the exact nature of which is clouded by the historical animosity between the Korean and Japanese peoples and the confusion following the end of the Second World War. Hapkido prides itself on effective self-defense and as such employs joint locks, pressure points, throws, kicks, and other strikes. Hapkido is the authentic asian martial art of total self-defense, it deals with countering the techniques of other martial arts as well as common "unskilled" attacks. Although hapkido contains both long range fighting and infighting techniques, the end of most situations is to get near for a close strike, lock, or throw. Hapkido emphasizes circular motion, non-resisting movements, and control of the opponent. Practitioners seek to gain advantage through footwork and body positioning to employ leverage, avoiding the use of strength against strength. History and Major Figures The birth of hapkido can be traced to the efforts of a group of Korean nationals in the post Japanese colonial period of Korea, Choi Yong Sul (b. 1904, d. 1986) and his most prominant students, Suh Bok Sub, the first student of the art, Ji Han Jae (b. 1936, ) undoubtedly the greatest promoter of the art, Kim Moo Hong, a major innovator in the art, Myung Jae Nam who forged a greater connection between the art and Japanese aikido and then founded Hankido, and others, all of whom were direct students of Choi or of his immediate students. Choi Yong Sul Choi Yong Sul's training in martial arts is a subject of contention. It is known that Choi was sent to Japan as a young boy and returned to Korea with techniques characteristic of Daito-ryu, a forerunner of aikido. Some claim that while he was in Japan, Choi became the adopted son of the patriarch of Daito-ryu aikijujutsu, Sokaku Takeda. This is contradicted by historical records, however, which detail that Choi was simply a worker in the home of Takeda. In fact,the meticulous enrollment and fee records of Takeda Tokimune, held by Takeda Sokaku's eldest son and Daito-ryu's successor, do not seem include Choi's name among them. Therefore, except for claims made by Choi himself, there is little evidence that Choi was the adopted son of Sokaku Takeda, or that he ever formally studied Daito-ryu. Stanley Pranin, then of Aiki News and now editor of the Aikidojournal.com, asked Ueshiba Kisshomaru about Choi Yong Sool and hapkido: “ AikiNews: It is true that a Korean named “Choi” who founded ‘hapkido” studied Aikido or Daito-ryu? Doshu:I don’t know what art it was but I understand that there was a young Korean of about 17 or 18 who participated in a seminar of Sokaku Takeda-sensei held in Ashikawa City in Hokkaido. It seems that he studied the art together with my father and would refer to him as his “senior”. AikiNews: If that’s the case the art must have been Daito-ryu. Doshu: I’ve heard that this man who studied Daito-ryu had some contact with my father after that. Then he returned to Korea and began teaching Daito-ryu on a modest scale. The art gradually became popular and many Koreans trained with him. Since aikido became popular in Japan he called his art ‘Hapkido’ (Written with the same Chinese characters as Aikido). Then the art split into many schools before anyone realized it. This is what my father told me. I once received a letter from this teacher after my father’s death.” - Aiki News Magazine No. 77 However the debate over Choi Yong Sul's potential omission from the records, and the ensuing debate over hapkido's origins, may result from tensions between Koreans and the Japanese, partly as a result of Japanese involvement in the History of Korea. While some commentators claim hapkido has a Japanese lineage, others state that its origins lay with indigenous Korean martial arts. Choi Yong Sul's first student, and the man whom some claim helped him develop the art of hapkido was Suh Bok Sup, a Korean Judo black belt when they met. Some of Choi's other respected senior students are: Ji Han Jae, Kim Moo-Hong, Won Kwang-Hwa, Kim Jung-Yoon, and arguably Suh In-Hyuk and Lee Joo Bang who went on to form the arts of Kuk Sool Won and modern Hwarang-do respectively (though some argue that their training stems from time spent training under Kim Moo-Hong). Suh Bok Sub Choi's first student and the first person known to have opened up a dojang under Choi was Master Suh Bok-Sub. In 1948, when Suh Bok-sub was still in his early 20s, he had already earned his black belt in judo and was a graduate of the prestigeous Korea University. After watching Choi Yong Sul successfully defend himself against a group of men when an argument erupted in the yard of the Suh Brewery Company, Suh, who was the chairman of the company, invited Choi to begin teaching martial arts to Suh and some of the workers at the distillery where Suh had prepared a dojang. In 1951, Suh opened up the first proper dojang called the Korean Yu Kwan Sool Hapki Dojang. The first symbol,designed by Suh,which was used to denote the art was the inverted arrowhead design featured in both the modern incarnation of the KiDo Association and by Master Myung Kwang-Sik's World Hapkido Association. Choi Yong Sul was also employed during this time to as a bodyguard to Suh's father who was a congressman. Suh claims that he and Choi agreeed to shorten the name of the art from 'hapki yu kwon sool' to 'hapkido' in 1959. Kim Moo Hong (alternately rendered as Kim Moo Woong or Kim Mu Hyun) A notable student from the Choi and Suh's Yu Sool Kwan dojang was Kim Moo Hong who later taught at Suh's Joong Ang dojang in Daegu. Suh, who promoted Kim to 4th degree, credits Kim with the development of many kicks which are still used in hapkido today. Master Kim apparentally took the concepts from very the basic kicks he had learned from Choi and went to a temple to work on developing them to a much greater degree. Later, in 1961, Kim travelled to Seoul and while staying at Master Ji Han Jae's Sung Moo Kwan dojang they finalized the kicking curriculum. Kim went on to found his his Shin Moo Kwan dojang in the Jong Myo section of Seoul, also in 1961. Won Kwang-Wha also served as an instructor at this dojang. Kim's notable students were Lee Han-Chul, Kim Woo-Tak (who founded the Kuk Sool Kwan Hapkido dojang), Huh Il-Wooong, Lee Joo Bang (who founded modern Hwarang-do), Na Han-Dong, Shin Dong-Ki and Suh In-Hyuk (who founded Kuk Sool Won. Originally a member of the Korea Kido Association, the organization sent Master Kim to teach hapkido in the United States in 1969. Upon returning to Korea in 1970, Kim looked to Ji Han Jae's move to set up his own organization and with the encouragement of his students followed suit and founded the Korean Hapkido Association (Hangook Hapkido Association)in 1971. Later he combined this organization with the groups led by Ji Han Jae and Myung Jae Nam to form the Republic of Korea Hapkido Association. Won Kwang-Wha Won Kwang-Wha also served as a personal secretary and body guard to Suh Bok-Sub's father, congressman Suh Dong-jin. Having first learned hapkido from Suh he later studied directly from Choi Yong-Sul. In 1962, when Kim Moo Hong opened up his Shin Moo-Hong dojang in Seoul he became one the instructors there. Shortly thereafter Won opened his own school the Moo Sool Kwan. Being already an older practitioner when he started his training and having pragmatic reasons for studying the art Won's Moo Sool Kwon emphasized what he believed constituted practical self defense techniques. Moo Sool Kwan emphasizes powerful and direct techniques and a greater emphasis on strength in responses rather than ki power. there is also a preference towards whole body throws than wrist centred jointlocking throws. Some of his notable students were Park Lee-Hyun, Kimm He-Young, Won Hyung-Dae Won Hyung-Dae, his son, took over the management of the kwan upon his father's passing. Ji Han Jae Ji Han Jae was undoubtedly the prime mover in the art of Korean hapkido. It is due to both his technical contributions, promotional efforts and political connections as head instructor to the presidential body guard under president Park Jung Hee that hapkido became popularized, first within Korea and then internationally. Whereas the martial art education of Choi Yong Sul is unconfirmed, the martial art history of Ji Han Jae's core training is somewhat easier to trace. Ji was an early student (Dan As a teacher of hapkido, Ji incorporated traditional Korean kicking techniques (from Taoist Lee and the art Sam Rang Do Tek Gi) and punching techniques into the system and gave the resulting synthesis the name hapkido in 1957. Hapkido is the Korean pronunciation of (Japanese) aikido and is sometimes referred to as its Korean cousin. Although a founding member of the Dae Han Ki Do Hwe (Korea Kido Association) in 1963 with Choi Yong Sool acting as official Chairman and Kim Jung-Yoon as Secretary General and Head Instructor for the association Ji found himself not able to exert as much control over the organization as he might have wished. To this end and with the support of the Head of the Security Forces, Park Jong-Kyu, Ji founded the very successful Dae Han Hapkido Association (Dae Han Hapkido Hyub Hwe) in 1965. Later when this organization combined with the organizations founded by Myung Jae-Nam (Korea Hapki Association/Hangook Hapki Hwe) and Kim Moo-Hong (Korean Hapkido Association/Hangook Hapkido Hyub Hwe) in 1973 they became the very extensive and influential organization known as the Republic of Korea Hapkido Association (Dae Han Min Gook Hapkido Hyub Hwe). After Ji was imprisoned for suspicion of conspiring against the government and subsequently left Korea in 1984. This organization was taken over by Master Oh Se-Lim who re-christened the organization by Ji's first organization's name the Daehan Hapkido Hyub Hwe and the 'Korea Hapkido Federation' became the preferred rendering in English. The KHF remains probably the most influential of the many hapkido organizations existing in Korea today. This organization is still primarily run by students of Master Ji's original Sung Moo Kwan dojang. In 1984, Ji moved first to Germany and then to the United States and founded sin moo hapkido, which incorporates philosophical tenets, a specific series of techniques (including kicks) and healing techniques into the art. Two of Ji Han Jae's notable students in Korea were Tae Man Kwon and Myung Jae Nam. Ji can be seen in the films Lady Kungfu and Game of Death in which he takes part in a long fight scene against Bruce Lee. After the death of Choi Yong Sul, Master Ji began to come forward more strongly with the assertion that it was really he who founded the Korean art of hapkido, asserting that Choi Yong Sul taught only jujutsu based skills and that it was he who added much of the kicking, and weapon techniques we now associate with modern hapkido. He also asserts that it was he that first used the term 'hapkido' to refer to the art. While both claims are contested by some of the senior most teachers of the art what is not contested is the undeniably huge contributions made by Ji to the art, its systematization and its promotion world wide. Myung Jae Nam In 1972, Myung Jae Nam was the 8th person to receive an 8th degree black belt from Ji Han Jae, and was one of the original members of the Korea Hapkido Association (Dae Han Hapkido Hyub Hwe), which was formed in 1965 at the request of the South Korean President Park Chung Hee. The Korea Hapkido Association was formed with the assistance of Mr. Park Jong Kyu, who was the head of the Presidential Protective Forces and one of the most powerful men in Korea at the time. Later Myung Jae Nam broke away from all the other organizations and started to focus on promoting a new style, hankido. Until his death in 1999 he was the leader of the International HKD Federation (Kuk Jae Yeon Maeng Hapki Hwe), one of Korea's three main hapkido organizations. Techniques
Core Techniques These consist of gentle or forceful throws and joint control techniques derived largely from aikijujutsu. They are taught similarly to aikido techniques, but in general the circles are smaller and the techniques, particularly those of sin moo hapkido are applied in a more linear fashion. 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. Modern hapkido This is a style of traditional hapkido that focuses on self defense for today's society. It is the next step in this evolution that seeks to adapt traditional techniques to fit the society we live today. Modern hapkido uses a selection of traditional hands techniques from other arts to provide a system that is 100% self defence . 1st Degree Black Belt 2nd Degree Black Belt 3rd Degree Black Belt 4th Degree Black Belt 5th Degree Black Belt
Yudo/Judo Yudo (judo in Japanese) techniques are centered around extensive throws applied using different footwork 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. Types of Yudo Techniques Yudo has one throw that judo does not, called lift and drop or durome chigi. It is a throw taken from ssireum (a form of Korean wrestling). Kicking The wide variety of kicks in hapkido make it distinctly Korean. Many of which are similar to taekwondo kicks, though again circular motion is emphasized. Hapkido's method of delivery tends toward greater weight commitment to the strikes and less concern for quick retraction of the kicking leg. As in other arts, such as Muay Thai, hapkido's emphasis is more towards power and commitment than to speed and the preference is toward hip rather than knee generated power. Some varieties 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 all situations. Hand Strikes Like most martial arts, hapkido employs a great number of punches and hand strikes, as well as elbow 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. The hand strikes are often used to weaken the opponent before joint locking and throwing, and also as finishing techniques. Hand striking in hapkido (unless in competition) is not restricted to punches and open hand striking; some significance is given to striking with fingernails at the throat and eyes; pulling at the opponent's genitals is also covered in conventional training. In order to recall hand strikes more easily in an emotionally charged situation, beginning students are taught conventional, effective patterns of blocks and counterattacks called Makko Chigi, which progress to more complex techniques as the student becomes familiar with them. 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 (kal, 칼). Then, techniques and defenses against the short stick (dan bong, 단봉), the walking cane (jipangee, 지팡이), and the rope are introduced in hapkido training. Some styles also incorporate the long staff (jang bong, 장봉), nunchuk, Kali Stick, and the sword (Gum, 검). Training
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