hwa rang do?

[God]

i heard this was a korean style "very" similar to hapkido.

who has heard of it, and if you are in a position to make such a comparison, how is it similar to/different from hapkido?

[hwardo]

I practice Hwar do (no rang) and it is a Korean style that seems to have many elements from hapkido in it, primarily in the joint locking and take-downs we practice. Also, much of the technique is circular, which is also hapkido-like.

[SoKKlab]

The Lee Brothers who founded Hwa Rang Do,
Trained in hapkido in the 1950s and gradually went in their own direction and came up with Hwa Rang Do.

Have a look at their Official Website.
http://www.hwarangdo.com/

Also take a look at

www.hwarang.org

which is Bob Duggan's site (He broke away from HWD-there's some choice stuff on his website about contentious issues, tittle-tatle and also some good technical notes on Joint Locks, how to throw Hook Kicks with Max Power etc).

HWD and Kuk Sool Won are Hapkido spin-offs and share much in common with it.

[tomek]

yes, there is a lot in common between some HKD schools and HRD... the difference is in weapons.
HKD and HRD broke away long time ago, in 70's and 80's the way of teaching and training HRD was really tough.

[davjohns]

Hwarang Do is one of the names that came out of the nationalist movement after Korea was liberated from Japanese occupation after WWII. There were many names for the styles that sought to represent the new Korea. Hwarang Do was named after the Hwarang (Flowering Manhood) which was a group of Korean youth selected from the nobility who were then trained in dance, music, all forms of arts and martial skills. These individuals were comparable to the Japanese samurai. They are credited with allowing the kingdom of Silla, the smallest of the three on the peninsula, to reunify the peninsula under one leader.

The art is very similar to HKD and may be indistinguishable depending on which instructor of Hwarang Do you are comparing to which instructor of HKD.

[Sandy]

Hi - I currently kickbox, which is great but I'm be interested in learning a broader syllabus. I heard that Hapkido ranged from TKD-style kicks to throws and locks, without any forms. Is this true?
Would Kuk Sool Won be the same? I'm unsure of the differences - is Kuk Sool Won more gymnastic???
Many thanks for any info and advice.

[davjohns]

HKD does have forms for the most part. GM Pelegrini of Combat HKD has eliminated forms.

Kuk Sool is the name of an ancient Korean art which has long since been lost. The name was adopted as one of the contenders after WWII. It contains many of the same techniques as HKD which is usually similar to Hwarang Do which is similar to Aikido which is similar to.... The techniques are often similar. Some theories will vary. The formalities of teaching classes, testing proceedures, uniforms, etc. will vary. There are even six sets of forms/kata within TKD. None of them go back further than about 1947 when General Choi Hong Hi came up with the 'Blue Cottage' forms.

HKD is even more splintered than TKD is. All of these styles claim deep roots and have them. None of them, however, can claim any direct connection to the past. The Japanese prohibited all Korean arts during the occupation between 1911 and 1945. That is part of the reason so many Korean techniques look like Karate. The Koreans often went to Japan during the occupation and trained there. You also see the Chinese influence for the same reason (Tang Soo Do means way of the China hand).

Also, recall that all of the arts can be traced from China, through the Korean peninsula and then to Karate through the Budhist, Confucian and Taoist priests who carried their religion/philosophy and martial arts via this route.

[shinguards]

i do hwarangdo in australia - it doesn't completely focus on the tournament part of taekwondo as in some other tkd clubs. there are some elements of hapkido in it, in the way of the self defence techniques.

we do tkd techniques (sport side and martial arts side), hkd self-defence techniques and weapons. our master used to be in the korean security service, so he combines techniques from there that aren't in tkd and hkd. we do grappling and some gumdo (the korean kendo)

i've been to normal tkd and hkd, but each stick to their own techniques, but i have found that our hrd has more of the korean military secret service techniques that most clubs don't teach

[Kenpo Kicker]

There are some tkd schools cross-trained with kickboxing. If you find one you would probly enjoy that.

[Sandy]

Many thanks for the info and advice everyone!

[Olorin]

I have just recently started Tae Soo Do (basically an undergraduate program for Hwa Rang Do) and am very much enjoying it. It is a very comprehensive style.
If you are interested in checking it out, have a look at the website.
www.hwarangdo.com (http://www.hwarangdo.com)
http://hwarangdo.com/Academy.htm (list of Hwa Rang Do schools around the world.)