Deluxe Martial Arts Forums - View Single Post - Seikido (akido and tae kwan do) or Hapkido

Ollis · 11-02-2004, 12:45 PM

It all depends on whose teachng you. I have found that arts like hapkido take a long time to get a basic understanding of and when first introduced end up confusing you more than anything else. Having said that, if you have a good grounding in a more "basic" art, the learning curve is a lot easier. I've been training in tkd & hapkido for over 7 years now and have only really started to get to grips with the specific hapkido techniques in the last three years or so. It takes time to get an understanding on how to spontaniously apply pressure to a joint, but punching & kicking require a lot less studying. Of course, you can spend years perfecting any technique, but the basics are usually applicable for more situations.

In Korea, Hapkido is usually taught to students who already have a good knowledge of a striking art (usually TKD or TSD) so that the instructors don't have to spend years re-drilling the students on the basics. Remember, pretty much EVERY technique found in TKD, regardless of affiliation, is also found in Hapkido.

At the end of the day it's all down to how the schools train you. If you join a TKD school who only train Olympic/semi-contact or points sparring, you will get good cardio, good flexibility but little in the way of solid SD. If you find a gritty old school TKD instructor who remembers when how it used to be, chances are the class sizes will be smaller, but you will be trained properly.

I've met quite a few people who wanted to train in hapkido, because they wern't into competition fighting & that kind of training, but when they realised they had to train just as hard (at least in my school they do) & pain was definately on the agenda if you wanted to learn, you couldn't see them for dust.

The best advice is go along & have a look at the schools. If the instructor seems happy to tell you about what he teaches and doesn't come accross as an arogant prick, it will be usually easier to make a decision. Word of warning though, more often than not, when someone is advertising a hybrid art like they've discovered the holy grail, you normally get a watered down version of the source arts, while the instructors laugh all the way to the bank.

11-02-2004, 12:45 PM	#37 (permalink)
Ollis Registered User Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: UK Posts: 17	It all depends on whose teachng you. I have found that arts like hapkido take a long time to get a basic understanding of and when first introduced end up confusing you more than anything else. Having said that, if you have a good grounding in a more "basic" art, the learning curve is a lot easier. I've been training in tkd & hapkido for over 7 years now and have only really started to get to grips with the specific hapkido techniques in the last three years or so. It takes time to get an understanding on how to spontaniously apply pressure to a joint, but punching & kicking require a lot less studying. Of course, you can spend years perfecting any technique, but the basics are usually applicable for more situations. In Korea, Hapkido is usually taught to students who already have a good knowledge of a striking art (usually TKD or TSD) so that the instructors don't have to spend years re-drilling the students on the basics. Remember, pretty much EVERY technique found in TKD, regardless of affiliation, is also found in Hapkido. At the end of the day it's all down to how the schools train you. If you join a TKD school who only train Olympic/semi-contact or points sparring, you will get good cardio, good flexibility but little in the way of solid SD. If you find a gritty old school TKD instructor who remembers when how it used to be, chances are the class sizes will be smaller, but you will be trained properly. I've met quite a few people who wanted to train in hapkido, because they wern't into competition fighting & that kind of training, but when they realised they had to train just as hard (at least in my school they do) & pain was definately on the agenda if you wanted to learn, you couldn't see them for dust. The best advice is go along & have a look at the schools. If the instructor seems happy to tell you about what he teaches and doesn't come accross as an arogant prick, it will be usually easier to make a decision. Word of warning though, more often than not, when someone is advertising a hybrid art like they've discovered the holy grail, you normally get a watered down version of the source arts, while the instructors laugh all the way to the bank.