Chris from CT

I have been to a few Martial Art Camps, and trust me these are not necessarily for the kids. Two of the most enjoyable and informational I have been to are… Master J.R. West’s Hapkido Seminar (some TKD and TSD also) Jackson, Mississippi. (Usually 2x per year) http://www.hapkido.com Master Michael Campos’ Super Summer Seminar Johnstown, New York (During the Summer Months) http://www.superior.net/~zendokai/SUMMERCAMP.htm What usually happens is they start of Friday and end on Sunday. You are given an itinerary sheet with all of the day’s classes/seminars on it. Each time slot runs about one to two hours. For each time slot, you have a selection of around 4-6 classes to choose from. So there is never a time where you say, “well there is nothing for me at this time.” Each of the one’s I have listed above have the following in common. 1. The host is a respected martial artist who is very down to earth and very respectful to all. 2. The information shared is top notch 3. They happen every year 4. The foods pretty good too. Take care

I am leaving to go to Korea to visit and train with my teacher. I just wanted to say see you later and talk to y'all in October. Take care

We just teach Jung Ki Hapkido. As I progress a little further I may introduce Kuhapdo into the school, but as of now, just Hapkido. Take care

Great post Sens55. Thumbs up bro! From discussing and working with Aikido and Daito Ryu practioners, Dojunim Choi's Hapkido seems to have more similarities to Daito Ryu than Aikido in philosophy and technique. Now from working and discussing with other Hapkido stylists, GM Ji, Han-Jae's Hapkido seems to have more incomon with Taekwondo than Dojunim Choi's and then the late GM Myung, Jae-Nam's Hapkido has a more "Aikido-esque" style to it. All three styles are very good, they just have a different flavor to them. Fryia, during the Japanese occupation of Korea it was common for the Japanese to take Korean children back to Japan to work. Dojunim Choi said in an interview in 1982, "I became acquainted with a Mr. Morimoto, who was a Japanese businessman and candy store owner. Morimoto had no sons. When the time came for him to return to Japan he abducted me and took me with him to Japan..." For the entire intervew you gan go to GM Rim, Jong-Bae's website - http://www.rimshapkido.com/ysc.html Also, I give you alot of credit for researching into the past and trying to figure out what and where things came from. You mentioned that most of the instructors in your area come from the same Hapkido instructor. Would you know who that is? Take care

I don't know of any Hapkido dojangs in the area, BUT... depending on what part of Westchester County you are from, we are only about 25 minutes from Port Chester. If I can be of any help just let me know. Take care.

Two of the top things that I love are Martial Arts and Music. I play bass guitar. Here is our band's website. http://www.xitweb.net We have some sound clips and, I think, we still have the video clips up. (ok, it's been a while since I've been to the site) Take care.

I agree with battousai16, it would probably be easier to make one for yourself than to try and find one. I'm in my 3rd year as an acupuncture student at Tri-State College of Acupuncture in NYC and I would not advise it unless your sensei has some serious training under his/her belt. If you end up doing it PLEASE BE CAREFUL! One reason is the obvious heath reasons, especially physicially. Without the proper supervision it is quite easy to collaps a lung or create other major or life threatening injuries. And the second is that depending on where you live, you may be breaking the law. Certain states require licensure in order to perform acupuncture. The first reason above is a great reason alone for the second. If you want, check out these sites... http://www.acaom.org/ (information about accredited schools) http://www.nccaom.org/ (info on the studies of acupuncture) http://www.acupuncture.com/ (just a good site on acupuncture in general) Good luck on whatever you do.

Being a musician with sponsors is similar to a martial artist. My advice is to go to any company, ask who is in charge of sponsorship and get a name and a number for that person specifically. First, start off with the martial art companies that you currently use their product. One ther thing... Don't limit yourself... then use your imagination and go to the companies that are outside of the martial arts that you use. Companies want to sponsor people that will get their product name around so make sure you can back up why they should sponsor you. They want highly visible people. Include info on national/international tournaments you have participated and/or placed in, seminars that you have given, Newpaper/TV interviews, TV/films spots you have been in, etc. Even if you haven't done some of these don't give up. You'll be suprised on who will give some type of sponsorship. Don't forget that there are different types and levels of sponsorship. (Discounted gear, free gear, advertising, cash, etc.) Something is always better than nothing and you can always move up in the future if you continue on. So what have you got to lose? Worst they can say is no, and even then you are building experience on how do be better prepared for the next time. Go for it and good luck!

Hello Master Jeff. It's good to have you here. Please correct me if I'm wrong... Are you saying that Dojunim Choi was founder of the IHF? The reason why I am sincerely asking is because you didn't give a name of the Association, but on your webpage the IHF logo is displayed. I had always read that GM Myung was the founder if the IHF. Please let me know so I can be more precise in the future. Once again welcome aboard.

From an Eastern Medical point of view on pain and Pressure Points... Certain points are normally more or less reactive(painful) than others at any given time. This depends on a person's state of health. Of course some points like Large Intestine 4 and Sanjiao/Triple Heater 17 are usually reactive on most people. Not all points work on everyone. It's not because they don't have them... everyone has the points, it's just that they aren't reactive. Depending if a person's health will make the points more or less reactive. When properly exceuted, points may not have an immediate effect of a person. But I have to say, if I was in a confrontation I want to be sure that if I use points that they have an immediate result. To me, pressure points are like the Special Forces or the SEAL Teams. Special Forces are great for small, intricate tactical assaults, but ineffective against an entire country's army on the open field. That's why we have the Army, Navy, AF and Marines. Pressure points are just like the Special Forces and the foundation of our martial arts training is like the major branches of the military. It would be foolish to have one without the other. Bottom line.... The right tool for the right job. Take care

Hey Jack! Welcome aboard Bro.

I know that Master Todd Miller orders his custom swords for himself and his students from our teacher, GM Lim, in Taegu, South Korea. He may be able to help you out. You can get a hold of Master Todd at... hkdtodd@ttlc.net or at his dojang at... 603-742-0604 I hope it helps you out. Take care

That sounds great! I would love to get down there for it. Unfortunately, I am hosting a Jung Ki Hapkido Seminar with Master Todd Miller on the 19th. Please let me know of any future dates that you do it. Do you have any guys from GM Rim's or Master Boruki's dojangs? I just met Master Instructor Boruki down in Jackson, MS and he seemed like a very nice guy. He's from Hampstead, MD. Take care

Welcome aboard Allen! The KHF do have numerous kwans under their organization. Grandmaster Lim, Hyun-Soo is the head of the Jung Ki Kwan and it's not affiliated with the KHF. The organization's full name is "The Korea Jungki Hapkido & Guhapdo Association." There are other kwans in the KHF that have similar names to it, so it is easily confused at times. Take care.

There are two organizations that are registered through the Korean government. Korea Hapkido Federation http://hapkidokorea.org/index-start.htm This is another KHF site, but there is some discussion of it not being ligit. http://khf_hapkido.tripod.com/ Kidohae http://www.kidohae.com/ I am 85% sure that these two are the only ones registered through the Korean government. I don't believe that any of the IHFs are. To be totally honest with you, there is no one governing body for Hapkido. Unlike TKD, it's not as big of a thing as people make it out to be. There are some organizations that are registered through the Korean government and some are not. More important is who your teacher is and where they learned from. A piece of paper and someone saying, "Yeah, this person is a 'X' degree black belt" doesn't do a bit of good when someone is in your face and about to end yours or your family's life. There are a few IHF's. None are affiliated with eachother. Here are some of their websites... Bong Soo Han's IHF http://www.bongsoohanhapkido.com/ James Benko's IHF http://www.itatkd.com/ihf.html Jae Nam Myong's IHF http://www.usa-hapkido.com/ Just enjoy and learn where ever you go. Take care

Sure, you can buy it. Check out this link... http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/502482/026-0612316-9672459 Enjoy & take care.

Oh, definitely not my friend! Take care

I know I have posted this somewhere before, but I'll just throw it here for ease of hunting for it. I made a quick webpage off of our site that gives a basic explanation of how Korean characters are organized and read. There are also links that you can use to get more information. It's at... http://lmaa.bravepages.com/korean.htm I hope you find it useful. Take care

I hear ya. I had the same thing done when I was around 22. In medical terms I had a horseshoe tear of the medial meniscus. Not ony did it tear, but t flipped over too. The doctor said, "I got good news and I got bad news." Good news - it can be reattatched so you can keep your "shock absorbers" and live a more comfortable life later on. Bad News - you'll be in bed for a week and a half to two weeks. (if they took it out I would have been up and walking in two days.) It takes longer because cartillage doesn't have a great amount of blood running through it, which makes for slower healing. More blood flow=faster recovery. I couldn't straighten my leg for a while either . The doctor and the PT would give me exercises to do at home. Each visit they would measure the range of motion and strength of the leg. I can remember doing a whole bunch of leg raises for my quads! Sounds like your doing well. If I could make one recommendation it would be, even though you may not want to do the exercises they give you, DO THEM ANYWAY. I almost didn't do them, but now I am glad they did. It's not like a broken bone that can be reset. You get one shot at recovery for this. Make the most out of it Wishing you the best.

Hi. I study Hapkido and there are different styles of Hapkido. There have been posts here on KarateForums that discussed the high flashy kicks and where they came from. The abridged version... Depending on who you concider the founder of Hapkido (Choi, Yong-Sul or Ji, Han-Jae) the high flashy kicks came from the students of Choi, Yong-Sul which would include Ji, Han-Jae. So, if you concider Dojunim Choi as the founder, then the "high flashy kicks" are not from traditional Hapkido. Another point that should be mentioned is that probably 98% of Hapkido practitioners with tell you that Hapkido was never "Sport." Don't let anyone fool you otherwise. One thing that marks Hapkido is how effective your technique is without a "fake, "distraction" or hitting the opponent. The use of body manipulation and off-balancing were essential to Choi, Yong-Sul's Hapkido. If you watch any of his student's that are alive today (Ji, Han-Jae, Lim-Hyun Soo, Chinil Chang, etc.) you can tell the technique is key and they make the most out of it. They aren't overly strong, but even a strong person resisting has little chance of stopping the oncoming technique because they are using natural laws that apply to anyone with two arms, two legs and head on top. Don't get me wrong, I like to smack people around just as much as others, but if the majority of a person's techniques rely on a strike or "fake" on a resisting person then I would wonder about the depth of a person's Hapkido. As far as ground work, there is some, but as Doug and Heckler83 said, it's not as in-depth as a BJJ fighter's. Niether lineage of Choi, Yong-Sul's or Ji, Han-Jae's had much back in the day. It was added afterwards. Once again that depends on the teacher whether there is a lot of ground work or not. Take care.

You know I'm there for you both if you want some Hapkido. Seriously, I hope you two can work things out so you're both happy. Wishing ya the best.

Hey Deb! Kirves, congrats on finding a Hapkido dojang/"school"! From what I hear, Master Geoff is a fantastic teacher. I have asked him questions in the past and he's always helped me out. I'm hoping he will be at Master West's Seminar in March to finally meet him face to face. Depending on how adventurous you are, the Jung Ki Kwan has some videos of techniques on the site. (reasoning: the links are all in Korean!) http://jungkikwan.com If you hunt around the links in the blue area you can find some more. There is even footage of Dojunim Choi, Yong-Sool in there! (depending on what history you hear, he is the founder of Hapkido) Beside the ones mentioned above, check this one also. http://www.hapkido-info.net/ Also for an interview with Dojunim Choi you can go here. http://www.rimshapkido.com/ysc.html I hope this helped and you have a great time training Kirves! Take care.

That's great! Enjoy it! Like H@pkid0ist said, what you learn depends on your teacher and her background. In general, you'll probably be in for... warm-ups and calisthenics, basic striking and kicking, rolling and breakfalling, ki development and a whoooole lot of self defence work! Let us know how goes. Take care.

Hey Luarie. Good luck with that contract and a big "congrats" on the new dojang! Take care

uh.. oh boy! Take care