Hapkido
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. The first theory is that Choi was sent to Japan at a young age and worked as a houseboy for the Daito-ryu Aikijutsu master Takeda Sokaku (Morihei Ueshiba, a famous student of Takeda, went on to found Aikido). However, Takeda Sokaku's son Tokimune never knew such a Korean disciple. This story is problematic because of the Japanese attitude to Koreans at the time. The Japanese of the time period in question were in fact quite racist. Koreans were at best considered to be servants, never social equals. Therefore, a Korean student studying at the home of one of Japan's greatest masters is highly unlikely. A much more probable tale is one of kidnapping and forced servitude. Most likely Choi was taken from Korea and sent to Japan to work as a manual laborer. He later was employed as a servant in the household of Takeda Sokaku where he came to learn of Aikijutsu. It is no wonder that Tokimune never remembered Choi. He would have had no occasion to remember a "lowly" Korean laborer. Eventually after the death of Takeda Sokaku Choi was allowed to return home to Korea.
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 (gwan ), and all techniques should
follow the three principles of Hapkido:
- fluid motion
- circular motion
- harmony in motion.
Core techniques
These consist of throws and locks 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.
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.
