Hapkido has its roots in ancient Korean martial arts as well as influence from Japanese martial arts. It is a comprehensive and effective system of self-defense resulting from centuries of development. Hap means Unity in Korean and Ki refers to the life force that we all possess. Do is a reference to "the Way." Hapkido references the way of unifying your life force. My interpretation of that is twofold. First, it is the way of unifying your life force with your opponent, using his energy efficiently with your own. The other interpretation is unifying your life force with the universal life force through developing your Ki.
Jin Jung Kwan Hapkido was established by Grandmaster Myung Yong Kim in 1967, and he has been teaching Hapkido ever since. I began training under GM Kim in the early 1990's and continue to learn from him to the present. My early training began under a young martial artist, Grandmaster Christopher Garland. He was fortunate to train in Korea and experienced the hard training that Hapkido was known for. Together we established his school and trained under Grandmaster Kim as well as his instructor and founder of Hapkido, Dojanim Ji Han Jae.
Chairman of Jin Jung Kwan
After almost 30 years of training under GM Kim, he appointed me Chairman of Jin Jung Kwan and asked me to accompany him to Korea to be appointed Chairman of The Korea Hapkido Federation USA by President Oh Se Lim. While there are many practitioners in the US with more knowledge and skill than myself, I believe they chose me because of my desire to see Hapkido in the US be promoted with a respect for its roots and for all practitioners and instructors. GM Kim refers to Hapkido as a gentleman's martial art and promotes using only as much force as necessary to control an opponent but as much force as necessary to survive an attack from a more determined opponent.
What You'll Learn
Hapkido is a martial art with many components and requires many years to learn the full range of self-defense techniques and principles. You learn how to fall without injury, how to defend against punching and kicking. It includes striking techniques, sophisticated kicking techniques, throws and weapons training. Grandmaster Kim has published three books that share his Hapkido with photographs and explanations.
As Chairman of Jin Jung Kwan, I have worked with GM Kim to formalize the curriculum shared in his books. The first book includes techniques that will qualify you for Black Belt. The second book covers 1st degree to 4th degree Black Belt and the third book is Master level techniques for 5th degree Black Belt and beyond.
The Power of Breathing
One of the most important aspects of Hapkido is the approach to breathing and the breathing exercises that GM Kim teaches. He has continually reinforced to me the importance of these exercises to your overall health and to the development of Ki. Ki is the lifeforce that comes from universal energy. Developing your Ki teaches you how to tap into your most effective power. One of the principles found in martial arts is the ability to release your power at the moment of contact to a defined target. This is the power that facilitates a smaller individual to defend themselves against a larger opponent.
The Heart of the Practice
As I continue both learning and teaching Hapkido, I am extremely grateful for my relationship with Grandmaster Kim. Besides benefitting from his incredible teaching, we have developed a friendship and loyalty to one another. He is a wonderful family man and shows unlimited kindness to his students while teaching the painful techniques that are Hapkido.
The connection of mind, body and spirit that Hapkido teaches creates a balance in the student that impacts the quality of their lives. This has become the priority of my teaching as I hope that no student will have to defend themselves on the streets. I attempt to prepare students to defend themselves against an attacker while generating benefits that they can experience in their daily lives.
