Hapkido, a Modern History,
by Kyle G. HenryHapkido’s early history is much debated because of the lack of records and the animosity between Japan, who claims to have started Hapkido with their art of aikido and Korea who claims that aikido was based on Hapkido. The fact that many kicks appear in Hapkido seems to suggest that it is Korean in origin. It is however indisptutable that the founder of modern Hapkido was Korean. The founder of modern Hapkido's name is Choi Yong-Sool. At the age of 11 he was orphaned and adopted by a Japanese man and given a choice, go to school or study martial arts. Choi Yong-Sool decided to study martial arts. He learned the form of Hapkido that was practiced in Japan at the time, Daito-ryu or Aikido. He then moved back to Korea and integrated Korean kicks and styles into his art. He was asked by Seo Bok-Seob the owner of a brewery whose father was a political figure to teach him and some of his workers Hapkido after he witnessed Choi Yong-Sool fight off a group of men at his brewery. When Seo Bok-Seob was confronted by a political rival at a speech he fought the man off using Hapkido, this was a great shock to the general people who had never seen Hapkido before. The man he beat was known to have killed 2 men.
Hapkido is a martial art that focuses on three principles, being relaxed and never using strength on strength, using your opponent’s energy against them, and using natural flow. Hapkido is known for its joint locks and pressure point strikes. Groundwork is also a part of Hapkido. To practice Hapkido one must have a good deal of responsibility as well as self control. Unlike many arts Hapkido focuses on self defense and realistic training. Because of this it is possible to be seriously injured when practicing Hapkido. If you lose your temper in other arts and kick or punch or throw someone to hard they will be bruised and hurting but will recover quickly. If you lose your temper in Hapkido and you use a move wrong they could lose the use of a limb or worse. So please use caution when practicing Hapkido with a partner. Despite the risks Hapkido is a very useful martial art. It teaches discipline and patience as well as self defense.
