Hapkido

Hap ( 합 ): “harmony”, “coordinated”, or “joining”;
ki ( 기 ): internal energy, spirit, strength, or power;
do ( 도 ):”way” or “art”

Literally translated as, “joining-energy-way”, it is most often translated as “the way of coordinating energy,” “the way of coordinated power” or “the way of harmony.”

Much like aiki-jūjutsu, from which Hapkido is a direct descendant, Hapkido is as art that allows the practitioner to counter other martial art techniques as well as untrained attacks. Hapkido emphasizes circular motion, non-resisting movements, and through these control of the opponent. Practitioners seek to gain advantage through footwork and body positioning to employ leverage, avoiding the use of strength against strength. Hapkido practitioners frequently view their opponent not as a physical being, but one of energy. So the bigger the entity is, the greater amount of energy to control. In Hapkido, the truism, “the bigger they are, the harder they fall” stops being a cliche.

Hapkido is an eclectic martial art, and does not focus on any particular technique or fighting style, instead employing a wide range of tactics. It uses a variety of strickes and kicks for long-range fighting, and joint manipulation or strikes, throws, joint locking and ground fighting techniques for close-range. The focus of these techniques is to take the opponent’s balance, redirecting the attacker’s energy against himself so that the defender can quickly control the situation, subdue or neutralize the attacker, and get away.

On the soft-hard scale of martial arts, hapkido is about in the middle. Using soft techniques similar to judo or aikido, hapkido can turn an attacker’s own force against him by leading the attacker into a position where the defender can employ a technique to subdue the attacker. At the same time, hapkido uses hard techniques, meeting force with force, as in a direct block or kick. Through all the the techniques, both hard and soft, circular movement is emphasized. The three guiding principles of hapkido are

• Nonresistance (“Hwa”, 화 or 和): simply the act of remaining relaxed and not directly opposing an opponent’s strength.
• Circle principle (“Won”, 원 or 圓): a way to gain momentum for executing the techniques in a natural and free-flowing manner
• The Water/harmony Principle (“Yu”, 유 or 柳): the soft, adaptable strength of water. Hapkido is “soft” in that it does not rely on physical force alone, much like water is soft to touch. It is adaptable in that a hapkido master will attempt to deflect an opponent’s strike, in a way that is similar to free-flowing water being divided around a stone only to return and envelop it.

Since hapkido is a form that focuses on the redirection of an attacher’s energy and strength, it is not very difficult for a smaller practitioner to effectively control a larger opponent. It takes a good deal of physical and mental control, as well as understanding the physics of the forces at work: redirection, leverage, etc. For this reason, hapkido is a martial art that is not suitable for children.