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Often I hear the comment, “Oh, we do Hapkido too,”
from someone who trains in TKD or some other art.
The problem is not with people who have trained in more
than one art, but in that many places teach a few joint locks
and hoshinsul techniques from a Hapkido curriculum, and then
claim they “do” or “teach” Hapkido too.
It seems that these people do not realize the fact that
Hapkido is a complete martial art, and not something you just
“add” onto another style.
The schools I trained at in
Korea
were Hapkido schools, and Hapkido schools only.
Hapkido was not a few joint locks added on the side,
but the complete martial art that it is, including training in
breathing, falling, blocking, striking, kicking, joint locks,
throws, forms, weapons, and more.
We did Hapkido every class, every day.
(And for me, it was two classes a day Monday through
Friday and then one on Saturday)
To advance through the ranks of Hapkido, you must train
in all these areas.
I do not have anything against a TKD instructor who
wants to teach some joint locks or self-defense techniques
from Hapkido to help his students be better martial artists
and more rounded. But
it should be called what it is.
“We practice some techniques from Hapkido,” not
“We do Hapkido too,” and advertising as a Hapkido school.
There really is a big difference in adding a few things
on, and training at a Hapkido school where that is all they
do.
Now there are
some people that have earned the rank in both arts and can
teach both. The
programs will be different, and not really interchangeable,
since a TKD class and HKD class are different, since they are
different arts with different emphasizes.
And it is interesting that so many TKD schools add HKD,
where I have not seen a HKD school that added TKD.
I’m not knocking TKD, but it is sort of interesting,
don’t you think? And
it is TKD schools that seem to “add HKD on” the most.
If you are a TKD
instructor, and you teach some Hapkido techniques that you
have learned in the self-defense or hoshinsul portion of your
class, great. Just
be sure to let your students know that these are just a
portion of what you would learn in a Hapkido program.
If you want to learn Hapkido, I recommend a Hapkido
program, not just a little added on to something else.
The Hapkido program should have its own curriculum and
teach all of the things listed above.
Note, a school can have a TKD program and a separate
Hapkido program, and if you go to both you will find they are
quite different, or at least they should be.
Or, as I did in
Korea
, and as you can do elsewhere too, you can go to a school that
is Hapkido only. The
main thing is to realize that Hapkido is a complete art and
not just the addition of a couple joint locks and throws to
something else.
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