BLACK BELT MAGAZINE -- July 1979 Issue

HAPKIDO, TRADITIONAL OR ECLECTIC?

By Maggie Pierce

   Hapkido is primarily a weapon of self-defense which, while relying a great deal on many different kicks, incorporates the throws of jujitsu, the hand techniques of karate, and the principles of aikido.

   Hapkido has no kata, as such, but rather a series of "combination kicks," the relicts of ancient kata which were broken down into their component parts long ago to be practiced separately.

   "Like a diamond," as Los Angeles hapkido instructor Chong S. Kim said, "with proper cutting, it acquires more shine. Over the years, and with much experience, there is more shine."

   Because of the similarities of the name and basic principles, it is often assumed by the uninitiated that hapkido and its Japanese cognate are the same art, or that one is the offshoot of the other. Not entirely true. The founders of each art, Morihel Uyeshiba (aikido) and Yong Shul Choi (hapkido)1 each studied daitoryu aikijutsu in Japan in the first quarter of this century. Uyeshiba had practiced several other forms as well, including judo, and had also studied with Buddhist and Shinto priests since early childhood. In 1925, he combined his martial arts with his religious training into a system he call aikido.

   Choi studied the same daitoryu aikijutsu in Japan from 1919 until the start of World War II, at about which time combined his knowledge of that art with ancient native Korean styles, specifically hwarangdo and an even earlier form called tae kyun, which was solely a kicking art. The kata of tae kyun were those which, eventually broken down, became the combination of kicks of hapkido.

   While the two arts, aikido and hapkido, spring from similar sources, neither one can say that it is his art on which the other one is based. Of course, aikido is not the only martial art with pieces of itself wrapped up in hapkido. As one of the most eclectic of arts, hapkido has borrowed from or contributed to a dazzling variety of styles.

   "People come and compare," said Kim. "They ask, what is hapkido? How is it different from other styles? So I show them a little tae kwon do, then I show them hapkido, how this is almost the same. But when I get the chance, I twist and throw."

   One of Kim's black belt students, Steve Petermann, explained the problem some people have separating hapkido out of all the things it seems to resemble.

   "There are elements so logical, so right in hapkido that of course they are going to show up in our art," he said, "They are the same elements, just in a different order. That's one thing we constantly have to stress, because people can say, 'Oh, that's just like kempo, or just like kung fu, or aikido, or judo.' Depending on where you catch us and how long you stay to watch, you can be totally confused. It's not any of those arts, but parts of our art show up in certain other arts."

   Certainly the art most similar to hapkido is aikido, it's Japanese cousin. The most obvious contrast is the simple one of technique. Aikido is primarily a blocking, throwing and holding art. Aikidoists use no kicks at all, and few strikes, while hapkido practitioners employ a large number of kicks and punches. This however is only a surface difference.

   The fundamental distinction between the two is one of basic philosophy, for principles of aikido allow only defensive techniques. The practitioners look on aggression as unnatural human behavior. Their object is self-defense only and, on subduing an offensive person, they are content to walk away. According to Koichi Tohei in Aikido in Daily Life, there are only three situations which it is permissible to use aikido techniques: when your own life is in danger, when another person encounters danger, and when one or two people are disturbing the majority. All of these are occasions of simple self-defense or unshirkable duty to others.

   On the other hand, although the objectives of hapkido remain primarily self-defensive, they are not necessarily meant to show others the errors of their ways. C.S. Kim explained that his art is "not only defensive but offensive and counteroffensive." A hapkidoist intends to use his art only in self-defense but occasionally finds himself in a position where he must throw the first strike and does not hesitate to do so. Furthermore, every defensive move carries with it a built-in counterattack.

   "Aikido is more soft," Kim said in characterizing the two arts, "Hapkido is a little more exciting, more wild. Same idea, same principles, but more exciting. For example, in aikido you would grab and then, so softly, throw. Use the attacker's power. We are the same, but more hard."

   The counterattack may be the most critical point in a hapkido technique. Every block becomes a twist, every throw is followed up with a strike.

   "Americans always seem to want to understand the assailant," Steve Petermann said with a laugh. "The Koreans would rather take the guy out of action."

   The object of a hapkidoist's response to violence is to convince the attacker there would have been more profitable ways to use his time, or at least less painful ways. For the hapkidoist is trained in acupressure as well as striking and throwing with very little effort he can throw and twist into something almost approaching a broken arm or wrist, although breaking techniques are reserved for advanced ranks of black belts, as are the principles of acupuncture. Once a person has learned to inflict injury and seven of the body's pressure points, properly used, can stun or even kill - he must also learn how to repair or ease the damage he may have done. Both acupressure and acupuncture are taught for this purpose.

   Aikido and hapkido have in common the basic principle of nondissension or nonresistance, although their attitudes towards to principle vary slightly. Basically, however, this principle requires that one meet force with minimum force possible to deflect and not clash with the adversary's power.

   "In defending against a powerfully thrown punch, the hapkido practitioner would never step inside the opponent's area of greatest momentum and block and block with a hard right-angle thrust," Bong Soo Han said in his book, Hapkido, Korean Art of Self-Defense. "Instead, he would avoid a direct confrontation by stepping to the outside to parry the punch with a soft circular motion of the arm and hand. Once the power has been diverted, he would then be free to attack his opponent's exposed side." The circular movements are important to both hapkido and aikido at all times.

   Han further explained that one uses the circular motions "to gain momentum for executing the techniques in a free-flowing manner. Straight but jerky movements are extremely hard to redirect once the power has been unleashed."

   The third basic aspect of hapkido which helps to set it apart from almost all other forms of martial arts in known as "the water principle." Bong Soo Han concluded his introduction to hapkido by describing the water principles as "the quite, direct strength in free-flowing water. As the flowing stream penetrates and surrounds its obstructions and as the dripping water eventually penetrates the stone, so does the hapkido strength flow in and through it's opponents."

   Also as with most styles of it's Japanese cousin, hapkido has no tournament or sport forms, although its adherents sometimes compete in tournaments with a modified style. The problem is partly that hapkido is all together to deadly an art to be considered a sport. It's use of pressure points to subdue an opponent can cause serious injury, and hapkidoists also feel that training in light or no contact would take away from the art all that makes it most effective as a weapon at self-defense. For hapkido is a most utilitarian martial art. Age, size, weight, sex, even physical handicaps, are no impediment to one who sincerely desires or who needs an effective method of self-defense.

"Many times," Kim said, "I have had a person that can not kick, but he can use hand techniques: punching, grabbing, throwing. Older people that need a walking stick or can may like to take a walk in the park, or walk to the market. But then somebody attacks them. I teach them to use cane techniques."

   "For older people, boys, young men, techniques are all different. If they can not do black belt techniques, I teach the easy ones. I make them a schedule, then after two months I check to see how they are doing and make another schedule."

   Hapkido also uses techniques which can be used from any body position: sitting, standing or lying down. And almost anything, from a simple pocket comb to a rolled piece of notebook paper, can be a deadly weapon in the hands of an experienced hapkidoist.

   "Anytime, anyplace," said Kim, "we can fight easy. We can use anything as a weapon: a key, a women's comb, a ballpoint pen."

   Women in Kim's studio generally are familiar with more techniques at any time than the men at the same belt level, primarily because they have to follow the regular men's training schedule plus a women's self-defense course as well.

   If a husband a wife started hapkido at the same time, Kim continued, "I teach the husband two techniques a day; the wife, four or five: two plus women's self-defense."

   At least one of Kim's female students, Sara Sproul, is happy to testify to the beneficial aspects of her five year study of hapkido.

   "I have rheumatoid arthritis," she said." And I was just sitting around not doing anything athletic. The arthritis was just getting worse and worse, and I thought exercise would help. I couldn't even close my fist, and now I can. I started to notice the difference in about three months, and my family noticed a difference, too. Stretching and exercises make you limber and stronger."

   All of Kim's students had only praise for their teacher and his art. But in the middle of their conversation, Kim interrupted to admonish them that it is "bad manners to brag about hapkido and to say it is better than other styles. Never say that"

   "My teaching and style are something they can't get at home or at school," Kim went on to say with a certain touch of pride. "Strong mind, strong body, strong soul."