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HapKiDo
(Contributors: Randy Pals - pals@ipact.com,
Ray Terry - rterry@hpkel02.cup.hp.com,
Dakin Burdick - burdick@silver.ucs.indiana.edu)
Intro:
This Korean art is sometimes confused with Aikido, since the
Korean and Japanese translation of the names is 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.
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