(( Hapkido Effectiveness ))

[blade_cs]

I've watched a few classes at a Traditional Hapkido school and they mostly practice kicks. It's similar to Tae Kwon Do because they also jumping kicks. And they hardly do any ground. I've always thought that all the techniques they do are practical. I mean, can you actually jump kick a guy or do a reverse heal kick on the street?

So what do you guys think?

Is is supposed to have what it claims? Street effectivness meaning: joint locks, pressure point strikes, and ground fighting?

Are "street effective" techniques supposed to be taught later?

The instructor said we kick first to keep a distance between the opponent and defender (most useful when there's multiple opponents). Also, if the guy has a knife, we wouldn't want to use our hands cause it's too close.

[Brokenmace]

Hapkido can have a lot to offer, depending on the teacher. How many classes have yous seen? That might have just been a kicking night. I've seen classes concentrate on different things at different times. Many martial arts work that way, if not most. I went to look in on a Hapkido school and they were doing defenses against the roundhouse and front kick most of the night. There are surely many locks, throws, and takedowns in Hapkido. Most of its techniques are a blend of TKD and Aikido (some say Aikijutsu, but I'm not sure).

That bit about the knife and multiple opponents is hogwash, IMHO. Have you ever seen a real fighting knife slice through a side of beef? I have. It's no joke. This is your leg we are talking about. That side of beef will be your calf, and then you can't walk, and trying to stop the bleeding will leave you incapable of fighting at all.

When faced with a knife or multiple opponents, the same principle applies: run or overmatch. You don't just want another knife in a knife fight; you want a gun or a club, something that gives you reach advantage. A chair works too.

When faced by many foes, run or get buddies. If you can't do either, start throwing heavy objects, like chairs and bottles. Get them all lined up within a 30 degree swath in front of you. Slide against walls (but not into a corner) towards the door.

[crazyjoe380]

ive seen a knife slash and stabbing.. .. the following..


a face

a throat..

stomach..

arm..


few more.. but those are the big ones..


very bloody indeed! i suggest RUN!!!

[ryanhall]

stay away from anything traditional for real self defense. kicking at a knifer like that teacher said is the most bogus idea i have ever heard. i'd like to see him try it on someone other than his 'too respectful to really try' students

[H@pkid0ist]

Traditional Hapkido is a combt martial art. There is no modefying of techniques required to make them street effective. What you may have saw was a person who passas TKD with Hapkido based defense techniques as Hapkido, but this does not make it Hapkido. We start students off with hand techniques, and we do have a hand technique and striking night, and a kicking and sparring night. It gives the student an opportunity to practice everything with equal amounts of time and not let one or the other become neglected.

[ryanhall]

hkdist,
the school i attended did no sparring. the teacher, a 6th dan, was trained by grand master park--someone you have probably heard of. i was wholly unimpressed. he seemed to think he was a real badass though.

kicking combinations and punching from the hip with a low guard is the opposite of what is necessary to survive a real confrontation with a formidable adversary. literally everything i saw violated cwct (closest weapon to closest target) and economy of motion, and as a result, was very telegraphic and had no power. i did spar every black belt in the school outside of structured class (all were older by at least 6 years, and all outweighed me), and they did not fare well--ever. i was a yellow belt with thai boxing experience. i doubt that it was because i was that good, but because they were that bad. it's interesting that the highest ranks do the worst against the lowest. fighting's tough when you don't know the other person's limitations.

i don' t care for 'hand techniques,' or techniques in general. techniqes fail--especially under pressure. the mind does not. wrist twists and the like only work when you are dealing with someone who does not intend to hurt you. one does not need 15 ways to escape a wrist grab. if deescalation fails, just jack the dude in the nose--i guarantee he'll forget about your wrist.

finally, the knife defenses were some of the most ridiculous things i have ever seen. even at half speed, they failed 95% of the time--for the advanced students as well as myself. it was not a pretty picture.

hapkidoist: on a different note, i think i know the school you train at. mercury blvd, hampton, va? the grandparents live about a block away. mind if i stop by the next time i'm in town to take a look? i wonder if the school i studied at was not typical of your art, and i don't want to judge based upon one bad experience.


ryan

[Suzuki_Fanboy]

OK, well...if I went to see a few classes at a Hopkido school, what kinds of things should I look for to make sure its a good dojo?

[H@pkid0ist]

ryanhall,
Your more than welcome to stop by anytime you feel like it. We enjoy having visitors. We are one big family there and always strive to make our family bigger. What you described though is quit different. One thing I have found out is that there are very few true Hapkido schools out there. They are changed so much for whatever reason that they become something else with a Hapkido influence. As for our basic guard, it is a boxer's guard for the most part. We like to utilize elbows a lot so it works very well.

Suzuki_fanboy, If you want to find a good school, then attitude is everything. If they are arrogant and cocky, then you will have a hard time truly learning, also you want to find a school that is very fluid and natural. They need to focus on nothing more than another. The focus should be equall on all aspects and ranges. It should not be a system of some kind with a HKD influence. True HKD focuses on all ranges and aspects of fighting, and strives to be as good at everything as a specialty fighter, like TKD, Wing Chun, Ju Jitsu, etc. Also If they snap their kicks then they are Karate or Tae Kwon Do influinced. We do not snap our kicks. Even if you never hyper-extend your knee it can cause problems on the knee in the long run. As I said above, there are few true Hapkido schools out there. Most have let some other arts influince them in one way or another, but as long as they follow the over all idealology then you should be good to go. One more thing. A good school will get into hand techniques from white belt and not nessecarialy teach you to strike from everything from the get go. All Handtechniques have punch defense applications, but the basic technique is what is most important. You must first learn and understant the technique before you can use it with any high degree of efficiantcy from any other defense. We teach grab defenses first, proper striking exercises and 10 basic punch and kick defenses to 1st Dan. If you have not begun to understand The inner workings of the hand techniques then they can be dangerous for you if used in other ways. We are a very technical art that can for some take a lot to understand, comprehend, and develop. But even the most hopless practicioner can use Hapkido when the truly study and give it a shot. Hell not everyone out there is even ok at the MArts. But you only have to be good enough to protect yourself from the punk on the street. Its not often that the average person will ever fight a trained fighter.

Well good luck all. If there are ever any questions please feel free to ask. If I don't know the answers I will do my best to find them out for you.

We all have a common bond in our passion, desire, sacrafice, and love for the part of our lives spent in the MA.