Balancing Mind, Body & Spirit
Big Horn Hapkido is located at the base of the Bighorn National Forest just outside of Sheridan, Wyoming. As an 8th degree Black Belt and instructor of Hapkido, the goal of my teaching is to balance your mind, body, and spirit through martial art training and principles. After more than 30 years of training in Korean Hapkido, along with other disciplines, I have realized many benefits beyond possessing self-defense skills. The personal growth and impact on my life in every aspect has been an unexpected benefit and become the goal when teaching my students.
Hapkido can be broken down into three words. Hap means unity or harmony. Ki is the life force that is everywhere in the universe and our source of power in Hapkido. Do means The Way. So, if you just want to learn self-defense a couple of times a week, you may learn to defend yourself over time, but you will miss the deeper benefits that a martial art way of life can generate. When you truly embrace Hapkido, you will learn the way of unifying yourself with your opponent and, more importantly, unifying yourself with the universal energy.
The benefits of a Hapkido way of life have a positive impact on your health and well-being, on your relationships, your interaction with your community, your work and every aspect of your life.
One of the principles of martial arts is to learn stillness, how to be calm in the event of an attack. We achieve this through breathing exercises and training consistently enough to develop confidence in your abilities. This ability to stay calm when being attacked translates into all aspects of your life. When you learn to use your breathing to achieve a calm state of mind, it becomes a tool for any of the stressful challenges life throws at us all.
My goal for my students is to teach them that they are more than they think they are, they are better than they think they are, and they can overcome any challenges they encounter. Developing the Spirit of a Warrior will allow us to stand up to whatever life throws at us.
Training & Lineage
I have trained under Grandmaster Myong Yung Kim, the founder of Jin Jung Kwan Hapkido, for over 30 years. Hapkido is a Korean martial art that has its roots in several Asian martial arts. Besides its Korean roots it was influenced by Chinese and Japanese martial arts. It includes strikes, kicks, joint locks, throws, punching defense, kicking defense, weapons defense, short stick (Dong Bong) techniques, cane techniques and breathing techniques.
Breathing techniques provide health benefits as well as building a practitioner's Ki. This is the universal energy, the life force found in Chinese medicine. The center of your power is three fingers below your navel and from there, the energy travels through the body by way of the meridians. Along these meridians there are spots where the energy travels closer to the surface of your body. These points can be used as targets to inflict pain on an opponent, or these same points can be used for healing. The breathing techniques aid in keeping the meridians open and the energy flowing to the most important parts of your body. This promotes health and a sense of well-being.
I have also trained under Ralek Gracie in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He is the Grandson of Helio Gracie, one of the founders of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. His father is Rorion Gracie who began the UFC and cage fighting. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu focuses on ground survival tactics and, while it includes joint locking and choking techniques, it is the many principles connected with this martial art that I find so valuable.
Sharing what I have learned with others brings me great joy. Seeing students embrace their own journey and grow in their strength, resilience, flexibility, and self-confidence is my reward. I like to say that I teach students how to balance mind, body and spirit and the byproduct is being able to protect yourself in the rare occasion you could be attacked.
Our Training Space
Big Horn Hapkido is located in the foothills of the Bighorn National Forest with a breathtaking view of the mountains. Our training space is safe, warm and inviting. We offer private training or group classes and welcome any age. Injury-free training is a priority and respect for your fellow students is a core principle.
Martial Arts has a long and rich history in so many countries around the world. The depth of knowledge that has been passed down is enormous. The journey we embark on when we first start training in a martial art can be a journey without an end. It is the learning, the training, the practice, the study that give you the benefits, not the destination. I hope to see you on the mat at our dojang in Big Horn, Wyoming!
