Is Hapkido Good for Self Defense

Is Hapkido Good for Self Defense

Fifty six years ago I joined a martial arts school after having been mugged at a high school dance.

I swore that I would never again be in such a helpless position.  Oh sure, I knew that there was always the  possibility of losing a fight, but at least this time I would go down swinging with dignity instead of as a helpless victim.

          In 1970’s suburban Chicago my choices for martial art study were limited.  I might study boxing, but I never liked the idea of trading punches with someone else, especially one who was bigger than me.

          I didn’t want high school wrestling, because I didn’t like the idea of sport grappling.  I wanted to learn to defend myself in a violent encounter where there were no referees.

          Kung fu was almost unknown at the time and David Carradine’s show wouldn’t appear on TV for another two years, and Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon didn’t premier until another year after that.

          The nearest available martial arts school only offered Taekwondo or Judo. I chose Judo since I related to the war films that showed pre WW2 combat Judo.  I loved training, but soon realized that with the post war restrictions that had been put in place by General MacArthur on martial arts training, he had effectively converted Judo into a sport rather than a combative art, and so I would not learn true fighting methodology until reaching master level training.  Even while a member of the University of Illinois Judo team I still felt unprepared was I to face a boxer or a kicker.

          By a quirk of fate I met a classmate at the University who was a black belt in Tae Kwon do (although in those days we called it Korean Karate).  In 1971 I joined his classes also and trained eventually over the years up to 2nd Dan.

Even so as fate would have it the Korean government wanted TKD in the Olympics and so restrictions began to be placed on the art as far as what was permissible and what wasn’t. 

Another martial art was turned into a sport and although I began training Taekwondo with the military applications such as sweeps, some basic wrist techniques and ground defense, within four years none of this was being taught except back in Korea.  My understanding is that today the original kwans are struggling to stay open because the University system there now offers courses and degrees in sport Tae Kwon do for a lot less money.

          I trained for a year in aikido with a 7th Dan Japanese grandmaster and when I started was expecting to learn see the defensive moves that Segal movies portrayed.  I quickly learned that while Ueshiba had learned Daito Ryu Aikijutsu from Sukako Takeda       . His Aikido went through a series of pacifist phases as Ueshiba changed his personal religious views.

          I hadn’t started Aikido to become a philosopher and the months of mere flow routines seemed incredibly drawn out and usually relatively boring.

          In 2001, after moving to Central Florida, I joined a Hapkido school and haven’t left it since.

I learned that the founder of Hapkido Choi Yung Sool had been raised and educated by the very same grandmaster Sakaku Takeda.  Right from the very get go I was being taught counters and the defensive takedowns that were what I had always desired to learn

          So what makes Hapkido such a good combative art? When asked this question I always refer to Hapkido as Aikido but with an attitude.

          Unlike the soft arts or the strictly linear hard arts like Karate, Hapkido is both hard and soft. It is usually soft in defense and hard in offense.

Since the human body only moves in a certain number of manners most of the arts share similar techniques.  The difference is that no techniuqe is disallowed in Hapkido.  Unlike Judo that frowns on kicks and punches or Karate that avoids ground work or Ju Jitsu that prefers ground work to standing fighting, if it works it is allowed in Hapkido. 

          It must be explained however that Choi set down 36 principles to his art which meant that while a kick, punch, choke, throw or joint manipulation could be employed, it was how they were employed that mattered.

          Circle instead fighting in a linear manner, utilize the principle of non resistance instead of meeting force with force and interrupt the opponents flow with pressure point attacks,  off balancing and joint manipulation.

          When you block a blow with a hard style technique both you and your opponent will feel the pain of impact.  With Hapkido you redirect, avoid, or deflect the attack, which makes the Hapkido practitioner more likely to withstand larger and stronger opponents.

          Hapkido grandmasters will tell you that if you are in a true fight that lasts more than thirty seconds to a minute you have done something wrong because in Hapkido we don’t spar.  There are no referees, no rules to combat other than winning through the use of the 36 principles.

          Trust me, even Mohammed Ali wouldn’t withstand a thumb to the eye socket or a femoral artery strike and stay in the fight for very long.

          When asked why I believe in Hapkido I usually explain that the CIA’s combative program was developed by a Hapkido master, the Presidential bodyguards who trained out of Quantico, and the prison guards at Leavenworth have all had training originating from Hapkido.  If it is good enough for them it is good enough for me.

          Hapkido also works with a multitude of weapons, such as Cane, Staff, knife, short stick, and sword, practicing both armed and unarmed combat, and it teaches its students fairly quickly how to defend themselves, rather than forcing them to endure years upon years of monotonous forms, repetitions and exercises. 

          Finally, Hapkido is one of the few arts with that puts an emphasis on creating a three hundred and sixty degree circle of awareness and combat, while placing an emphasis on body guarding others as well as merely fighting one on one.  I have to believe that anyone knows about self defense it would be a bodyguard.

          Think about attacks.  Whether it is punching or kicking Hapkido includes blocks, deflections, redirections and counterattacks.  Throwing is an integral part of Hapkido but while ground fighting is taught Hapkido practitioners prefer to learn how to avoid going to the ground and to get off of it.  We would much rather put the opponent down.

          Mention any attack or counter and it will be covered by Hapkido, whether it be joint manipulations, chokes, sweeps, head butting and elbow strikes.  As mentioned there is no technique that is banned or ignored by Hapkido as long as it conforms to the original 36 principles that Choi created. (Circle beats a line attack, line attack beats a circle attack, don’t meet force dead on but rather flow like water etc.)

          The author has Dan rank in Taekwondo, Master rank in Judo, and 8th Dan rank in Hapkido.  I have studied a little of aikido, karate, and am well versed in small firearms. Were I to choose an all around course of study to protect myself from the widest possible number of violent encounters it would be the study of the Korean art of Hapkido.

About the author: R.W. Stone is currently a practicing veterinarian in Central Florida.  He is an avid horseman, a master ranked martial artist, a best-selling western author, and a firearms enthusiast. After joining a martial arts school in 1970 Stone started studying Yudo with a Korean grandmaster.  He eventually became a member of the Judo team of the University of Illinois.  It was at the University that a Korean classmate and friend introduced him to Tae Kwon do.  After graduating veterinary college, he found the martial arts becoming too sports oriented and eventually after moving from Miami to Central Florida he sought out a Hapkido grandmaster. Currently Stone is ranked 8th Dan in Haemukwan Hapkido, a 4th Dan in Daehan Yudo and a second Dan in Kukki Taekwondo.  He is the Hapkido instructor at the American Dragon Martial Arts Academies.

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