Hwarangdo for self-defense?

[tkd2000]

I wanted to know if Hwarangdo is a good martial art for self-defense, because I don't know much about it?

[Goju_boi]

I've heard it's great being that the millitayr over there used it,but i don't know about all those jumping kicks that they do.You might want to put this in the korean ma section

[Hansen]

I've been to Korea and have met quite a few black belts in TKD , Hwa Rang Do, and military folk. I was surprised to learn that none of the Koreans who were ranked in TKD (or Hwa Rang Do) viewed it as a fighting art. They saw it as a form of exercise, conditioning, discipline, and sport. But stated that the art was not for real fighting, though they acknowledged that there were some useful fighting elements to these arts. It seems only us westerners see it as a martial art. They looked at TKD and Hwa Rang Do in the same manner as we see sport judo.

Hwa Rang Do is the invention of the 20th century by Joo Bang Lee. Hwa Rang Do itself was long deceased, much like the typewriter, until he came along and tried to reconstruct what he thought the art was like back during the Silla dynasty. Whether he did an adequate job of it, I cannot comment on. But if you really look at it, at its core it is not much different from TKD, although it does have other dimensions and elements to it such as grappling and weapons. Yet still it is not tremendously different.

Personally, I think there are much better arts out there to train for street practical application. And the fact that the Koreans don't view it as a fighting art would make me concerned. But in the end I think it matters less what art you train in as opposed to whether you are given opportunities to spar against a live, resisting opponent. If all you do is train with a compliant partner, then every art will be useless when you really need it during a real encounter.

[Goju_boi]

why does it make u concerned that koreans don't view tkd and hwarang do as a martial art

[Hansen]

Goju-boi - Perhaps "concerned" was not the best choice of words. But my point was that if the people who invented and propagate the art don't view it as a street practical method of combat then someone who is seeking to learn a practical system of self-defense should think twice and re-examine TKD and Hwa Rang Do if they are pursuing these arts as useful methods of self-protection. That's all I'm saying.

Hapkido is a bit different. I still don't think it's the best, but I do know of a couple people who've utilized actual techniques and ended confrontations successfully. In both cases, the adversary was placed into a joint lock of some kind.

[Goju_boi]

Goju-boi - Perhaps "concerned" was not the best choice of words. But my point was that if the people who invented and propagate the art don't view it as a street practical method of combat then someone who is seeking to learn a practical system of self-defense should think twice and re-examine TKD and Hwa Rang Do if they are pursuing these arts as useful methods of self-protection. That's all I'm saying.

Hapkido is a bit different. I still don't think it's the best, but I do know of a couple people who've utilized actual techniques and ended confrontations successfully. In both cases, the adversary was placed into a joint lock of some kind.

I agree with you on the hapkido,and as for the other comment I think the tkd people might get offended being that a lot of people aren't too fond of it,although I agree with what the koreans said about the arts of their country

[Hansen]

Yes, I was surprised to see how knowledgeable the Koreans were regarding fighting versus martial art (with the exception of the women, of course). TKD and Hwa Rang Do was definitely viewed in the same line as we see Judo or wrestling. Elements were combative, but they were not fighting arts. And none of the Korean TKD black belts or Hwa Rang Do black belts that I met would use these techniques (most of them, anyway) in actual fights. They had a total different thought process and group of techniques when it came to the down and dirty world of street fighting.

[Goju_boi]

why do you say that the women weren't knowledgeable?There are women that are as knowledgeable as men if not more when it comes to fighting or martial arts

[Nick_sam]

i was introduced to martial arts by a girl..

[Goju_boi]

i was introduced to martial arts by a girl..

great example