By Scott Shaw
This article first
appeared in the July 2002 issue of Taekwondo Times.
As
anyone who has studied or researched the Korean martial arts readily
understands, Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido are two very different systems of
self-defense. If one were to compare these systems, the differences would be
overwhelming. Yet, as they were both born in post World War II Korea, there are
many instructors who teach both of these systems in their schools.
How
is this possible? To understand how these systems have come to interact over
the decades, we can begin by defining their origins, their differences, and
then move forward into a discussion on how each system can aid in the
self-defense applications of the other.
The Foundation of Tae Kwon Do
Tae
Kwon Do began its formation at the end of World War II when the Korean
Peninsula was liberated from the occupying forces of Japan. With newly acquired
liberation, the Korean people vowed to never again be overthrown by a foreign
power. Thus, they began to develop not only a powerful military but to focus
upon the realms of personal self-defense as well.
As
the practice of the indigenous Korean martial arts had been banned during the
Japanese occupation, the majority of the ancient manuscripts on these systems
had also been destroyed. The Korean people had very little to link them to
their historic systems of self-defense. In reality, during Japanese occupation,
the only system legally practiced in Korea was Judo.
During
this era, many Koreans relocated to Japan during the occupation. While there,
many studied various systems of Japanese martial arts, most commonly, Shotokan
Karate. Upon Korean independence, several of these practitioners returned to
their native land and began to teach the system of self-defense they had
studied abroad.
Won
Kuk Lee, a Shotokan black belt, opened the first school of self-defense in the
newly liberated Korea. It was known as Chung Do Kwan. Sang Sup Chun, founder of
Yung Moo Kwan, quickly followed him. Chun originally studied Judo in his Korean
homeland and while attending college in Japan, became a Shotokan black belt as
well. Byung In Yoon, a black belt in the Okinawan based system of Shudokan
Karate, taught at Chun's school for approximately one year until he left and
founded his own school, the Chang Moo Kwan.
While
living in China and working on the Southern Manchuria Railroad, Hwang Kee
founded the system that eventually became known as Tan Soo Do Moo Kuk Kwan. Kee
is said to have studied systems of Japanese and Chinese self-defense that laid
the foundations for his art.
Song
Moo Kwan, founded by Shotokan stylist Byung Jick Ro opened a school soon after
Hwang Kee. Ro had earlier attempted to open a school of self-defense in
occupied Korea. He did not succeed due to the repressive conditions laid down
by the occupying Japanese military. He successfully reopened his school post
World War II.
With
these initial kwans, all established by 1946, the birth of Tae Kwon Do was set
in motion. When General Hong Hi Choi, also a Shotokan black belt, began to
unify these varying systems under the banner of Tae Kwon Do, there were more
similarities than differences. This is in no small part due to their common
Japanese heritage.
Tae Kwon Do: The Japanese Connection
At
the root of Tae Kwon Do is Japanese Karate. Though many historians wish to
negate this face, historical Tae Kwon Do began this way. Once the newly born
Korean schools of self-defense began to take hold, however, several of the
founders did reach back into Korean history and integrate any remaining
knowledge of the ancient Korean martial arts into their twentieth century
systems. As with many systems of self-defense, Tae Kwon Do practitioners have
continued to expand upon the roots of the art and have taken Tae Kwon Do to a
new, more expansive level than what can be seen in traditional Japanese Karate.
It is for this reason that only rudimentary similarities remain between the
Japanese and Korean martial arts.
The Foundation of Hapkido
Yong
Sul Choi formalized the art that eventually became known as Hapkido. While
living in Japan for nearly forty years, Choi worked for the patriarch of Daito
Ryu Aikijitsu, Sokaku Takeda. He learned and mastered the art of Daito Ryu from
this source.
After
the death of Takeda, Choi returned to Korea and worked as a roadside rice cake
salesman and hog farmer. As fate would have it, one day he went to a brewery
owned by Dong Jin Suh. His son, Bok Sup Shuh witnessed Choi, then in his
forties, rapidly defeat several young men who attacked him. When Suh inquired
about this style of self-defense, Choi told him that it was Daito Ryu. Choi's
abilities so impressed Suh, who was already a black belt in Judo, that he
became his first student. This set the development of Hapkido in motion.
The
system that Choi initially taught was a very pure form of Daito Ryu. It later
became integrated with the Judo knowledge that Suh possessed. Thus, one can
trace many of the Hapkido sleeve and lapel grab defenses to Suh's mastery of
Judo.
Though
many people wish to falsely date the origin of Hapkido to centuries ago in
Korea, this is not the case. Choi never made that claim. Initially, he called
his system Dae Dong Ryu Yu Sool. This is the Korean translation for Daito Ryu
Jujitsu.
Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido: The
Differences
At
the root of the differences between Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido is their defensive
methodology. Tae Kwon Do, particularly the style practiced by the World
Taekwondo Federation, is essentially an offensive art. its techniques are
devised to encounter an opponent, penetrate his defenses, and offensively
strike him in the most powerful manner possible. Hapkido is just the opposite.
The
basis of Hapkido is founded upon defense. Even at its most elementary level,
Hapkido techniques are designed to teach the student to deflect punches or
remove themselves from the various holds an attacker may have upon his body,
and then send the opponent to the ground with a well-placed joint lock, throw
or a powerful counter strike.
The Stance
The
stance is the next highly differing element that separated Tae Kwon Do from
Hapkido. As detailed, the root of Hapkido is Daito Ryu Aikijitsu. Daito Ryu is
very different from many other forms of the Japanese martial arts, particularly
Shotokan, that influenced the birth of Tae Kwon Do. The fighting stances of
these arts demonstrate the differences. Whereas many hard style schools of
Japanese karate use a very stiff and firm stance, Daito Ryu is just the
opposite, it employs a very free flowing from of movement – with less reliance
upon the firm and locked stance.
To
understand the differences between the stances of the two arts, all one needs
to do is observe the formalized stances practiced in Tae Kwon Do forms. In Tae
Kwon Do, almost every offensive or defensive movement is delivered by first
entering into a very firm front, side, or back stance – only then is the
defensive or offensive movement deployed.
Conversely,
Hapkido allows its practitioner to move in a free flowing, natural stance
pattern. This allows the Hapkido stylist to effortlessly flow from one
technique into the next until an opponent is defeated. This is not to say that
Hapkido uses no stance. This is the mistake many make when attempting to define
Hapkido. Hapkido does use stances – they are simply far less rigid than those
employed by Tae Kwon Do. For example, the Hapkido practitioner does not enter
into a deep front stance before performing a straight punch.
Linear Verses Circular
The
final defining difference between Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido is their style of
movement. Tae Kwon Do uses a linear pattern of movement while Hapkido employs a
circular structure for its defense.
Many
Tae Kwon Do stylists will immediately comment, “We use circular techniques. We
have the roundhouse kick, the spinning kick, and so on.” Though these
techniques are circular in nature, the overall delineation of the art is to
move in a linear, straight-to-the-target pattern. This is especially
illustrated in the way WTF Taekwondo has redefined several of its elementary
kicks. No longer is the sidekick or roundhouse kick swung out and then in
towards its target. Today, it is initially brought up in essentially a front
kick pattern and then it is unleashed from the central axis of the body, making
it more rapid and directly targeted.
Alternatively,
Hapkido embraces a circular pattern of movement as the source-point for its
techniques. What this means is that the Hapkido practitioner is taught to never
encounter an opponent directly. Instead, by circularly pivoting out of the way
of an attack or by side-stepping and then circularly deflecting an attack, the
practitioner of Hapkido maintains control over an opponent by utilizing the
attacker's own expended energy. The Hapkido stylist emerges victorious from a
physical altercation without ever entering into a blow-by-blow fight.
Merging Tae Kwon Do and
Hapkido
Now
that the differences of Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido have been defined, the question
can understandably be asked: How are these two very different systems of
self-defense be taught as one art? The simple answer is by synchronizing the
best of what both of these arts have to offer.
Undoubtedly,
one of the first practitioners to begin the integration of Tae Kwon Do with
Hapkido was notably Grandmaster Han Jae Ji. After studying with Yong Sul Choi
for a number of years at Hapkido's base near Taegu, South Korea, Ji relocated
to Seoul in 1957 where he opened a school. Central to the location where the
various schools of the modern Korean martial arts were congregating under the
banner of Tae Kwon Do, Ji began to integrate the various understandings
utilized by Tae Kwon Do into Hapkido. He was the first to add the advanced
kicking arsenal, commonly associated with Tae Kwon Do, into the Hapkido
curriculum. Keep in mind, Choi never taught this style of elaborate kicking
offense within his schools of Hapkido.
Integrating The Stance
Now
that it is understood how the birth of Tae Kwon Do – Hapkido integration was
set in motion, we can now take a closer look at how certain factors of each art
may aid the other and help the practitioner become a more refined martial
artist. To begin this process, we can view the stance.
As
described, Tae Kwon Do focuses primarily upon a formal “Hard stance” for the
majority of its techniques. The Hapkido practitioner can benefit from this
understanding when entering into certain joint locking, throwing or striking
techniques. The more formalized stances of Tae Kwon Do can be very useful to
the Hapkido stylist because as one enters a firmer stance, a technique, such as
a joint lock or throw, can be delivered in a more substantial and deliberate
manner.
Traditionally,
the Hapkido practitioner executes many of his joint locks or throws from a low,
informal stance or one that has him place one knee upon the ground. Though this
style of stance is very useful for certain types of throwing techniques, there
is a limitation to its usage. First of all, as the Hapkido stylist placed
himself low to the ground, he must raise himself up to his feet in order to
rapidly reestablish himself, if for example, his opponent quickly moves or
releases himself from the impending joint lock or throw. This takes time, which
is not always available in a fight.
If
the Hapkido practitioner locks into a more rigid footing, such as a front
stance, when delivering a strike or a throw, he is then more upwardly mobile as
he has not gone on one knee or positioned himself low to the ground. if he must
rapidly redirect his actions, he can do so in a much simpler pattern of
movement as he has remained standing on his feet.
Though
a rigid stance may help some techniques, just the opposite is true of others.
This is where the Tae Kwon Do stylist may use the Hapkido natural stance. For
example, it is not always necessary for a person to enter into a formal front
stance when delivering several of the more common strikes, such as the straight
punch, front kick or sidekick. The Tae Kwon Do stylist therefore can use the
Hapkido understanding of the loose natural stance for many of these offensive
actions. They will then be able to move in a more rapid and less restricted
pattern.
The Form
Traditional
Hapkido does not possess forms. many modern practitioners of Hapkido exposed to
Tae Kwon Do integrate the practice of teaching a prescribed pattern of movement
into their overall Hapkido curriculum.
There
has been a long-standing debate in the martial arts as to the effectiveness of
form training. It is not the purpose of this article to discuss this
controversy. None-the-less, form training has been proven to be effective in educating,
particularly novice students, in some of the ways defensive actions may precede
offensive techniques. This stated, the Hapkido student may learn the advanced
precision of executing and perfecting fighting techniques that can be mastered
by performing a prescribed set of formalized movements.
Hand-To-Hand Self-Defense
In
the early stages of Tae Kwon Do's development, hand-to-hand combat techniques
were a staple. As time progressed, especially among WTF stylists, joint locks
and throws have virtually disappeared from Tae Kwon Do training. This is where
the traditional Tae Kwon Do student can gain enormous depth in his
understanding of self-defense - integrating the vast knowledge of deflection,
joint locks, ground fighting, and throws inherent to Hapkido into defensive
methodology.
Conversely,
Hapkido possesses a plethora of advanced throwing techniques. Though many of
these techniques are beautiful to watch in a demonstration environment, many of
them are useless in the random kill-or-be-killed confrontations that happen on
the street. For this reason, the Hapkido stylist can learn from the Tae Kwon Do
stylist how to streamline techniques and use only the most rapid and
penetrating of offensive and defensive methodologies by removing any
application that is too slow, too elaborate or too difficult to perform.
The Evolving Korean Martial
Arts
As
you now understand, though Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido are highly developed,
individualized arts, they can each benefit from integrating their defensive
ideologies. As we progress into the twenty-first century, these martial arts
will continue to evolve. However; there will obviously be some controversy
among the traditional hard liners about this fact. Nonetheless, as the
integrating of Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido has already been set in motion, this
pattern will continue with each art learning from the other.
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