tufrthanu

I think you missed the point of the thread Useo. Anyone can be hurt doing hapkido I don't care how proficient or flexible they are or how quickly they tap. I think lapulid was wise to ask the question. Otherwise, "I know what I'm doing!" wouldn't be such famous last words.

Now wait a minute Orion...myself and a few others told you that 200 was out of line when you first asked about this. I hope this will serve as a learning lesson for people to not sign contracts of over 6 months to a year. And that only if you are somewhat experienced and know you will be there awhile. Just as an aside most health clubs require first and last months dues up front on any contract...I think this may be due to the fact that contracts like this might be somewhat unenforceable. I'm sure if the illness excuse doesn't work out you can find some online lawyer forums that may be able to offer you free advice on breaking the contract.

If your instructor asks for it go ahead and perform it. My worry with those people that supposedly have very flexible limbs is that they really don't have super flexible limbs they just don't feel it as much. So when you get a lock on them that a normal person would stop you at say 50% the super flexible person will stop you at 98%...which might be too late if it's a fast move.

200 a month seems like an awful lot to me...mine was only like 90 under contract.

A friend of mine is looking for a movie and he doesn't know the title. I was hoping if I gave a brief synopsis you guys could come up with some likely suggestions. It's about this kid who's father studied Tiger style kung fu and whose mother studied Crane style. And the kid would get up on his fathers shoulders and the father couldn't get him off and thats how he learned to defeat his opponents. There was also a statute with some type of balls on it. And the balls move when the statue is hit a certain way. The movie starts with two old guys fighting. Thats about all he can remember. If anyone has any ideas please let me know.

Well hmm, Shotokan karate is mostly going to be striking and forms work. Kuk Sul Won will have grappling and striking and all that jazz. Mostly it depends on your preference although most good schools will allow you to take a class for free which I recommend you do. As for fitness levels MA is basically designed for any fitness level. If an instructor wont take someone who is out of shape then they just arent that good. I also assume since you are in the military you are in some sort of physically fit state. As to training times it doesnt really matter. I mean if they have 1 hour a week but you practice 6 hours a day outside of class you will be further ahead than somewhere that offers 5 classes a week where you dont practice outside of class at all. I would add that most MA practitioners in the us probably dont train more then 2-4 times a week. Hope this helps.

Well the style I study now is a little more complete...plus its at a better school. I think the jhoon rhee stuff is fine. But some of the instructors are a little suspect.

I have studied it in Eden Prairie MN...we didnt do all his forms though.

There were some kicks and punches used in TKD that were not used in Sin Moo HKD. And yes you can do TKD standing and on the ground. It's just that most people never try it from there. As far as not preparing to have your legs swept...if the rules were the HKD guy can use his entire repertoire than that is the fault of the TKD guy for not being prepared. Has nothing to do with the art. The problem is alot of modern TKD schools have taken out the Ho Shin Sool curriculum...which taught most of the things you are speaking of. That is why alot of them have added back in the HKD.

Well of course they wouldn't teach TSD and TKD at the same school those are similar arts. TKD and HKD are complementary arts. This means that they fill in the gaps of the other arts. Some kicks and strikes used in TKD are not used in HKD and then of course all the grapples from HKD are not used in TKD. I went to a school once where all they tought was Sin Moo HKD and while they had alot that TKD didn't they were missing some stuff too.

You would think all TKD taught was a kick to the head to listen to some of these posts. I would think alot of these people haven't been to very many dojangs.

Thats just false. Many...MANY good dojang teach both tkd and hkd. Especially since many korean instructors have rank in both.

Um no. That was Philip Rhee...and his brother as Dae Han. Jhoon Rhee is one of the most famous tkd practitioners ever.

It's basically what Jhoon Rhee taught in this country. Although alot of schools teach it as more of a freestyle system with karate and tkd mixed together.

No he never said verbatim " I don't like karate". But it was very apparent from his attitude and his movies that he did not like japanese styles. You will notice that in almost all of he ones he starred in the kung fu practitioners were superior to the karate practitioners. And his writings and quotes on the issue seem to back this up.

Well seeing as how bruce lee was very anti japanese and anti karate I can't say I really trust his judgement on the difference. Furthermore was he referring to wing chun kung fu or kung fu in general? I'm sure there are styles of kung fu that are much more hard line than wing chun.

Actually Way of Coordinating Internal Power. Do = Way in both instances Ki= internal energy in both instances Hap=Ai Ai can be translated several ways...love, duty, coordination or harmony as you said. Hap is the same way. So it could also be translated as Way of Harmonizing Ki or Internal Power.

It is true. But after they were developed they went kinda different ways I think. BTW they have the exact same meaning. Aikido in japanese means the same as Hapkido in korean.

Lot its true though goju. I mean some of the techniques you can modify so that there is only pressure. But alot of them require the person to do something to get out of it to avoid injury. Alot like Aikido.

The only guys I've known that sparred Hapkido style were excellent at falling. By and large I would think the practice would be frowned upon do to the high probability of severe damage due to moving incorrectly. At my current place we basically do traditional sparring and some of the higher belts can decide if they want to grab legs and trip but thats about it. Of course you must realize the focus in Hapkido is NOT to submit an opponent but to actually break their limbs and cause them pain.

Yeah alot of modern houses have plaster cielings unfortunately. You are lucky in one regard...in that there are alternatives. Currently on the market there are: Standing heavy bags...where the base is weighted with water or sand. The only problem with these is that they may not move when you kick them which can be hard on your body and bad for jump kicks. If they aren't weight enough however they will move all over and you will spend alot of time just putting it back in place. I'm not a fan of these. BOB. Century came out with a foam rubbereque half man called BOB that works like the standing heavy bags. These are good for picking targets on a real human but dont give the hardness of hitting a real human. I'm not a fan of these either. They also have standing heavy bag holders. Lots of companies sell these. Basically its just a framework that sits on the ground and holds the hanging heavy bag. Drawbacks are they tend to be low. And kicking into them can be dangerous do to the dimensions of the frame. Century makes one called the cornerman which is specifically for karate tkd type heavy bag work. It looks like it would work well but Century isnt known for quality and I've never tried it so I can't say. It's also quite pricey. Hope this helps mantis.

The only 9th degree I know of locally is GM Ro. His father created Song Moo Kwan TKD. Unfortantely he was visiting korea the one time I went to his dojang to view a class so I didn't get to meet him but he is supposed to be a good guy.

Whats scary is not just that some schools will say it will cost about 4000 dollars to reach black belt...but that some people will plunk down that sum up front for ridiculously long contracts.

I beleive tree you just reiterated what I said in my first post. But I could be wrong.

I don't think it matters what art he studies if the guys too sweaty and they arent wearing much its not going to help. You have to figure out tactics that dont involve holding on to bare skin. Of course most grappling arts arent meant to be used on someone who's already glistening with sweat.