Articles
Kukjae Hapkido and Other Martial Arts
This article was provided by Master Callum Forbes, 6th Dan, Chief instructor Kukjae Hapkido. Callum is also the instructor for the Upper Hutt Martial Arts Academy.
Hapkido is an eclectic martial art meaning that it shares many similarities with other styles. In this article I would like to cover Hapkido's similarities with other main stream martial arts and our points of differentiation.
Aikido
Hapkido and Aikido share a common origin through Daito-Ryu Aiki JuJutsu. It is also because of this association that a close relationship between both styles is inferred although in actual fact both styles have much different philosophies.
Both Hapkido and Aikido teach their students to receive an attack with minimal resistance, move it away past the defender then add the defender's own force to it. This results in the opponent becoming unbalanced and vulnerable to throws, locks and other takedown techniques.
However unlike Aikido, Hapkido teaches offensive techniques as well as defensive techniques. It is this philosophical difference that sets both styles apart.
Boxing
Hapkido also employs some of the jabs and hooking punches employed in boxing.
Wrestling and Ground Fighting
Wrestling and some modern martial arts styles teach only ground fighting techniques on the assumption that most street fights end up on the ground. Kukjae Hapkido also employs an effective ground-fighting syllabus.
However it also recognises that ground fighting techniques alone are not effective when multiple opponents are involved. Therefore Hapkido students are also taught to fight at all the other close combat ranges as well so that they can adapt their defence to whatever situation they find themselves in.
Judo
Both Hapkido and Judo share similar throwing and take down techniques using the same basic principle of taking control of the opponent's balance and then throwing the opponent using one's body or legs. In addition Hapkido students are taught to use pressure points and striking techniques to help to take control of the opponent's balance.
Ju-Jitsu
At close range Hapkido and Ju-Jitsu techniques are very similar. Both employ painful joint manipulations and pressure point applications to control opponents regardless of their size or strength. While these techniques are very effective at close range they are not so useful against longer range kicking and punching attacks. Hapkido students also practice these longer-range attacks quite extensively so that they can either use them themselves when required or to defend themselves more effectively against such attacks because of their familiarity with them.
Karate
Most of the kicking and striking attacks of Karate are very similar to those taught in Hapkido but unlike Hapkido most Karate styles do not cover close in self-defence techniques or ground fighting in any great detail.
Kendo
Black belt Hapkido students are taught the basics of Kumdo - the Korean version of Kendo. While Hapkido only teaches the very basic principles of this art, this gives its students a greater awareness of distance, timing and entry - which are critical elements of unarmed combat as well.
Kung Fu
In Hapkido senior students are taught smaller, circular hand techniques and body shifting as a means of close in self-defence and counter-attack which resemble similar techniques taught by some of the Kung Fu styles.
Ninjitsu
Both Hapkido and Ninjitsu share similar joint locking and throwing techinques. Like Ninjitsu, Hapkido also teaches using everyday items as thrown weapons to distract or soften up the opponent.
Military Style Unarmed Combat
While these styles teach many of the same techniques to Hapkido, they often do not take into account the legal requirements to use "Reasonable Force" in a self defence situation. However, most of the military style techniques are designed to be used in battlefield situations where the intent is either to incapacitate or kill the opponent.
This may mean that their practitioners may find themselves charged with assault rather than their attackers (see Dean Tobin's article on Self Defence and the Law). Hapkido teaches a wide range of self-defence options that can be used according to the situation so that the Hapkido student can use 'reasonable force' in all self defence situations.
Also, by removing the "traditional" elements of martial arts training, students of the military styles may not be getting the physical and mental benefits offered by Kukjae Hapkido and other traditional styles.
Tae Kwon Do
Because it is also a Korean style, Hapkido shares most of the kicking techniques employed in Tae Kwon Do. However, in Kukjae Hapkido we emphasise low-section kicks and knee attacks as opposed to high kicks in self-defence situations.
As Tae Kwon Do developed into a modern Olympic sport it also shed from its teaching many of the self-defence techniques that it previously shared with Hapkido.