Hapkido
Hapkido (합기도) is a comprehensive Korean martial art that equips you with practical self-defense skills for real-world situations. This versatile system combines joint locks, throws, and grappling techniques with dynamic kicks and strikes, giving you options at any fighting range. Beyond empty-hand techniques, Hapkido also includes training with traditional weapons like staffs, canes, and knives, making it one of the most well-rounded martial arts available. Whether you’re looking to build confidence, improve fitness, or develop effective self-defense skills, Hapkido offers a complete approach to personal protection.
A Comprehensive Martial Art
Hapkido, like mixed martial arts, trains in all ranges of combat; however, Hapkido is a comprehensive martial art that also includes the philosophical and ethical dimension associated with traditional martial arts.
All ranges of combat
- Safety: Break falls, rolls and joint-lock escapes for safe practice and injury prevention
- Striking: Powerful kicks and precise hand strikes for distance fighting
- Clinch: Close-quarters defense and offense using joint locks, sweeps, and dynamic throws
- Ground and grappling: Practical groundwork with emphasis on escaping and returning to your feet
- Weapons: Defense against and training with traditional weapons including staff, cane, knife, and rope
Affiliation
- International affiliation with the original Korea Hapkido Federation in Seoul, South Korea
- National representation with well established instructors
- Exclusive access to design insights.
Hapkido can be considered an early form of mixed martial arts because it deliberately synthesized techniques from multiple fighting disciplines when it was developed in the mid-20th century. Its founder, Choi Yong-Sool, combined Japanese Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu (which he learned during the Japanese occupation of Korea) with traditional Korean kicking techniques, and later practitioners incorporated elements from other arts including Judo throws, weapon techniques, and striking methods from various sources.
The art explicitly embraces a comprehensive approach to combat, teaching joint locks, throws, kicks, punches, pressure points, and weapons training all within a single system. Unlike many traditional martial arts that focused on a specific range or methodology, Hapkido was intentionally designed to be effective at all fighting ranges – from long-distance kicking to close-quarters grappling – making it a truly “mixed“ martial art decades before the modern MMA movement began.
Annie Steiner
CEO, Greenprint
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