Hapkido Overview

Hap Ki Do not only redirects the attack, but turns it back against the attacker and follows through with offensive techniques which may control his violence or render him incapable of further antagonistic actions. The Hap Ki Do practitioner is in complete control of the confrontation defusing the aggression without the need for uncontrolled damage as seen in many "hard" styles.

Hap Ki Do provides complete physical conditioning which improves balance, posture, flexibility, timing, quickness, muscle tone, joint strength and most importantly, confidence through physical and mental discipline.

The immediate aim of Hap Ki Do is of course the welfare of the one practicing it. Not only will skills in self-defense be attained, but more importantly will be the focus on an individuals character development. A well rounded personality can be realized only if the spirit is right. Courtesy, Respect, Modesty, Loyalty, Generosity, and Dedication are not only the source, but also the rewards of Hap Ki Do.

The origin of Hapkido is the subject of some controversy. Some sources say that the founder of Hapkido, Choi, Yong Sul was a houseboy/servant (some Hapkido history even say "the adopted son") of Japanese Daito Ryu Aikijujutsu Grand Master 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 martial arts and teaching Yu Sool or Yawara (other names for jujutsu), eventually calling his Gwan ("school") the Hapki Gwan. Ji, Han Jae, began studying under Choi and eventually started his own school, where he taught what he called Hapkido, after the grand master's school. Along the way, Hapkido adopted various techniques from Dang Soo Do, Taekkyon, and other Korean Gwans (schools).

Korean sources may tend to emphasize the Korean martial 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 Grand Master of the World Hapkido Federation.

Some other Choi Hapkido students are still living. Chang, Chun Il currently resides in NY, and Im, Hyon Soo who 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 Hapkido Martial art to the western culture was Han, Bong Soo.

In the 1970's and 80's Hapkido martial arts was taught as the style of choice to elite South Korean armed forces units. Later a more advanced style was taught to the Korean Special Forces called Tukong Moosul.

It should be first understood that a Martial Art is not invented or created by any one person. Techniques are developed by many over a great number of years. Just as wrestling, boxing, and fencing are unique to the western world, Martial Arts have been developed through a long history of Asian countries.

During the Three Kingdom Era (SAM-KUK-SHI-DAE) (from 57 B.C. to 688 A.D) Three Kingdoms competed on the Korean peninsula: KO-GU-RYO (37 B.C.) in the north, PAEK-JAB (18 B.C.) in the southwest, and SHILLA (57 B.C.) in the southeast. Martial Arts techniques much like those of modern day Hap Ki Do were introduced to ancient Korea with the introduction of Buddhism in KO-GU-RYO approximately 372 AD. Evidence can be found in many of the ancient wall and cave paintings and sculptures from that period of time.

During the SHILLA (57 B.C. to 660 AD) and the United SHILLA Kingdom (676 AD to 935 AD) each kingdom gathered about them an elite group of young knights, the HWA-RANG (Flowering Youth) Warriors, who were highly disciplined, adhered to a strict code of ethics and were extremely proficient in the martial arts. These warriors, who were to train the future national leaders, were taught Hap Ki Do techniques for their physical fitness, mental discipline and self-defense.

The SHILLA kingdom was overturned in 935 AD by the Dynasty of KO-RYO, from which then name "Korea" was derived. During the KO-RYO Dynasty (918 AD -1392 AD) Buddhism was the state religion and greatly influenced politics and administrations as well as martial arts. Many kings including king EYI-JONG, and king CHOONG-HEI, brought Hap Ki Do experts into the palace to perform demonstrations of the martial arts. This is the beginning of Hap Ki Do as a royal martial art.

In the history of Hap Ki Do, a monk Grandmaster SU-SAN taught Hap Ki Do to the monks who were successful in repelling the Japanese invaders during the IN-JIN-WAE-RAN invasion. This was a prime example of Hap Ki Do applied on a grand scale.

In the new CHO-SON dynasty (1392-1910) or YI dynasty as it is often called, the collapse of Buddhism came about and its subsequent replacement by Confucianism... which respects scholarly disciplines and looks down upon physical force or martial arts, brought about the down fall of martial arts. Painting, sculpting, and writing replaced the art of fighting. The country progressively took on an anti-militaristic temperament. By the end of the nineteenth century, martial arts had come to be looked down upon by the Korean citizen, if not completely banned in many regions.

Hap Ki Do barely maintained its continuation through individual masters, Buddhist monks and royal families practicing the arts in seclusion. In an attempt to prevent the complete loss of the fighting arts, king JUNG-JO ordered his general LEE-DUK-MOO to compile a book of all the known martial techniques. The book known as MOO-YAE-DO-BO-TONG-JI has many detailed examples of Hap Ki Do techniques recorded within its pages.

The CHO-SON dynasty was brought down by the Japanese in 1910. From 1910 to 1945 the Japanese ruled Korea. Under Japanese rule, all civil liberties were revoked. The Japanese closed many private schools and established their own public schools designed to assimilate Korean youth into the Japanese culture, omitting Korean language and history and stressing Japan's instead. The martial arts again suffered since the occupying Japanese would not even allow Korean sports, let alone Korean martial arts to be practiced. But as before those dedicated few continued to practice, quietly defying there invading rulers.

In 1945 after Korea regained control of their country, the martial arts once again gained popularity in this defense hungry nation. Hap Ki Do was re-introduced by the man given the title of founder or father of modern day Hap Ki Do, CHOI, YONG-SOOL. Before his death in 1987 Supreme Grandmaster CHOI taught all the Hap Ki Do techniques to a few outstanding students, who in turn took on the task of popularizing Hap Ki Do in modern Korea. Today, one cannot find a single city in Korea without Hap Ki Do schools. All the government organizations, all the military academies and special military units have Hap Ki Do instructors and practitioners totaling over one million already.

Among foreign countries such as USA, Germany, Canada, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, China, and France, there is a solid foundation of Hap Ki Do schools that is continuing through the unending dedication of the Hap Ki Do Masters throughout the world.