Chris from CT Posted October 13, 2001 Share Posted October 13, 2001 This is a post I had written in another forum about the kicks in Hapkido. (Sorry, There is a little overlap from another post of mine on this forum.) Hello. I train in Hapkido can offer one point of view. Korean martial art history is foggy to say the least and nothing seems to be etched in stone. Take what I, or anyone else, says with a grain of salt. Research and decide for yourself. The founder of Hapkido is Choi, Yong Sul and he trained in Japan for over 30 years with Takaku Sakeda in Daito Ryu Aikijiujitsu. Originally, there were very few kicks in Hapkido (originally called Yawara or Yu Sul) when Grandmaster Choi came back to Korea. The ones that were taught were low kicks. The higher kicks came into play from GM Choi's students. Most of his students had other martial art backgrounds in Tae Kwon Do, Tae Kyon and other such Korean arts. What you learn is dependent on who you learn it from. Traditional Hapkido can be different things to different people depending on if you consider Choi, Yong Sul the founder or one of his students. This is a touchy subject for alot of people. This is my humble opinion of where the amount of kicks in Hapkido came from. Everyone has a different story. If nothing else... enjoy the story. Chris LaCavaJung Ki Kwan of Connecticut"Man is born soft and supple,in death he is hard and rigid..." LaoTzu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hapkidodude Posted October 13, 2001 Share Posted October 13, 2001 Good post Chris. I am under the impression that Ji Han Jae had much to do with adding some of the kicks we use today. Sin Moo Hapkido is known for having alot of kicks. The style that I train is Dae Moo Hapkido. This is an off shoot of Sin Moo as Master Kwon was taught by Ji Han Jae. I have been told that there are still some styles of Hapkido that do not utilize alot of kicks. Some styles still closely resemble Daito Ryu Aiki Jujutsu. Personally I am 6'4" and love using my kicks. BrettThe Hand is quicker than the eye! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taezee Posted October 14, 2001 Share Posted October 14, 2001 hapkido being a korean /japanese hybird the japanese side being akido/jujitsu style combined with tae kyun kicking,,alot of the current taekwon do kicking styles..the korean side,,makes it a most effective martial art style..a combination of the best of grappling..joint locks and takedowns with the superior kicking techniques of taekwondo..a very good combination for actual combat....just reiterating the common disinformation that korean style only encompasses modern sport taekwondo the sport aspect that is only a small portion that the public is exposed to Javier l Rosario instructor taekwondo/hapkidounder master Atef s Himaya"whenever youre lazy enough not to train .someone, somewhere is training very hard to kick your *" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angus Posted October 14, 2001 Share Posted October 14, 2001 People seem to be oblivious to the fact that Yon Sul Choi had his blackbelt in Tae Kwon Do (or Tae Kyon) at the age of 12. This is where the kicks come from. He then went later in his life to study Aikijujutsu or however it's spelled. I don't know how HapKiDo is practiced over the world but in Australia it is primarily striking with a self-defense component that includes locks, grabs, and throws. we don't rely as heavily as TKD on kicks, but kicks ARE a vital part of our art. Ji Han Jae was Choi's desciple, and i know my info from an American dude that trained with Ji Han Jae. Angus Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris from CT Posted October 14, 2001 Author Share Posted October 14, 2001 See there are alot of different versions out there. The version I got was from interviews with Choi, Yong Sul and Suh Bok Sup (GM Choi's first student) that were conducted by Master Mike Wollmershauser. As long as people can respect each other opinions that's ok. We all don't have to agree with them, but when we start to belittle people because we "think" we have the truth is a little much. I am glad this isn't turning out like that. Take care Chris LaCavaJung Ki Kwan of Connecticut"Man is born soft and supple,in death he is hard and rigid..." LaoTzu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris from CT Posted October 23, 2001 Author Share Posted October 23, 2001 I wanted to double check my info so I e-mailed Master Geoff Booth in Australia (7th degree in Hapkido under the Korea Sin Moo Hapkido Association and Grandmaster Ji, Han Jae) in which he said, "Choi, Yong Sul's total exposure to martial arts training was in Daito Ryu Aikijujitsu which has a extremely limited kicking arsenal, most of the kicks we associated with Hapkido came from GM Ji who did study Tae Gyeon and adopted many of their kicking skills." I hope this helps. Master Booth has a really good website. http://hapkido.netro.com.au/main.html Take care _________________ Chris LaCava "Man is born soft and supple, in death he is hard and rigid..." LaoTzu [ This Message was edited by: Chris from CT on 2001-10-23 05:10 ] Chris LaCavaJung Ki Kwan of Connecticut"Man is born soft and supple,in death he is hard and rigid..." LaoTzu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBN Doug Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 Kuk Sool Won is quite similar in these aspects. We focus mainly on the locks and throws, but we still practice a good variety of kicks. Most of the high kicks are reserved for after we have the person in a lock, to eliminate the potential for a painful counter. Kuk Sool Won - 4th danEvil triumphs when good men do nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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