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Hapkido is a Korean martial art. The name means literally
"joining-energy-way" and can be rendered as "the way of co-ordinating energy".
History
Hapkido history is rather confused, but Korean sources attribute it to two Koreans, Choi Yong Sul and Ji Han Jae. Primarily there are two main beliefs concerning Choi's education in the martial arts. Choi was sent to Japan at a young age. It is claimed that Choi worked as a houseboy for the Daito-ryu Aikijutsu master Takeda Sokaku (Morihei Ueshiba, a famous student of Takeda, went on to found Aikido) and studied Daitoryu. However, Takeda Sokaku's son Tokimune never knew such a Korean disciple. Some attribute this to the fact of prevailing racism against Koreans in Japan, but this is flatly contradicted by the fact that a number of Koreans were clearly registered by Sokaku, who kept meticulous record of such matter as he charged students for licensing of the art. So far, there is no evidence to show that Choi ever studied Daitoryu except the claim made by Choi himself.
On his return to Korea, Choi began to teach martial arts. One of his students, Ji Han Jae, claims that he incorporated traditional Korean kicking and punching techniques (from taekyon and hwarangdo) and gave the resulting synthesis the name Hapkido in 1959. 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. Korean people tried to wipe out Japanese influence in Korea. Korean tendency to deny Japanese origins comes from History of Korea.
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, emphasise
circular rather than linear movements. Hapkido is an eclectic martial art, and
different hapkido schools emphasise different techniques. However, some core
techniques are found in each school (kwan ), and all techniques should
follow the three principles of Hapkido:
- Nonresistance ("Hwa")
- 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.
Won, the circular principle, is a concept 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 simply 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.
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 meats 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 forcefull throws and joint control techniques derived largely from Aikijutsu. They are
similar to aikido techniques, but in general the circles are smaller. 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 preasure points.
Yudo
Yudo (Judo in Japanese) techniques are throws applied at closer range 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.
Kicking
The wide variety of kicks in Hapkido differentiate it from Aikido and make
it distinctly Korean. In general they are similar to Taekwondo kicks, though
again circular motion is emphasised. Some varieties of Hapkido only use kicks
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 occasions.
Hand strikes
Like most martial arts, hapkido employs a large number of punches and other hand
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.
Training
Hapkido training takes place in a dojang (Japanese dojo). While
training methods vary, a typical training session will contain technique
practice, gymnastics (nakbop), solo form practice (poomse), 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. 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.
External links
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