Hapkido Commitment

[Split_level]

Hi All

I used to do TKD but felt it wasnt right for me anymore, didnt feel its princples suited me, felt alot of the techniques relied on strength.

So i began to look for HKD schools, have more belief in the effectivness of its techniques and 3 principles

I while ago i asked for a HKD school near me in Manchester, the nearest i found was in Worksop Nottingham, training with Master Sam Plumb. The club is great, but its nearly 55miles away from my house, takes me about 1 hour 45 mins to get there. :cry:

I enjoy the training while Im there but the distance puts me off going, i have to drive across snake pass ( miles of dark unlit country roads with no one around ) I find it really off putting and hate driving there am affraid i might break down and be stranded in the middle of nowhere in the pitch black. It has quite bad weather conditions and in severe weather will be closed

Kind of the start of a good teen horror movie, young woman driving alone, car breaks down, no phone reception, its raining, vampire jumps out from woods... loud scream etc etc... :eek:

HKD is something i really want to do :)
but the driving really depresses me and i hate it!

I would have liked to have trained twice a week but would only be able to train once a week due to distance

Just wanted your views.......

Do you think I should persist with HKD even though i am really put off by the driving there?

Or should i look for a similar MA closer to home which would enable me to train twice a week?
:confused:

[Dave Boy]

Hi Split Level,

Your current commitment is admirable, but you're not alone in having to travel time/distance to train.

We are limited in the availability of clubs and their location in the UK - I travel across London to train, and although not the distance you travel it still takes about an hour and a half on public transport. Every other weekend I make a 240 mile round trip to Norwich so I can train with my instructor at our main club.....

If you are enjoying training with Sam, then try to stay with it....it might not always be the case that his will be the closest club. If you can only make the one class a week due to the distance, you may want to train in another style closer to home to complement your HKD training - TKD or Judo....

Also, have a chat with Sam about you concerns - I've always found him very approachable and open on the times that I've met him. He may well look to give you some more intensive training, or spend a little more time with you on a 1-2-1 basis.

I you manage to hang in there, I'm sure that you won't regret in later on.

Best regards,

Dave....

[Silentmonk]

Hi sorry for invading your forum. However a thought has just come to me though I'm not sure how you'd go about this. Manchester has a high population of students that are residents there for several months a year. Now there maybe some of those that train in Hapkido and if as you say there is no school there would welcome someone to train with during term time. Obviously being a young lady be careful how and when you meet these people but i would think that you must be able to make contact through their student unions or the like. This would maybe give you an opportunity to practice your techniques etc with someone there and then be able to train at the club that you mentioned aswell. You never know they may even appreciate a lift to the school you train at, afterall students are notoriously tight lol and it would mean you would no longer have the worry of being stranded alone. I only mention this because several members of my club (I train in Kuk Sool Won) have been away to university and found it very hard to find people to practice with when they have been there. Its just a thought, and don't know if it will be any use to you. It would be a shame if having found a style and instructor that you like that you felt you would not be able to continue the training. Good luck and hope it all works out for you. :)

[iron_ox]

Hell all,

I agree with Dave Boy, try and get some intensive training, or even see if you can do a "mini" seminar in your neck of the woods and create a training group - eg get a few people that can train together in a small group in a center near your home - always a productive way to get a full fledged club running.

I used to travel twice a year from Chicago to Norwich to train with Grandmaster Fred Adams (Master Sam Plumb knows him well I believe) but eventually found it easier to bring Master Nial Adams to me in the States.

Try a small training group, I think you will be really happy with the results combined with your travels - it will keep techniques fresh between visits to your instructor.

[Split_level]

Thanks for all of your suggestions, I do like the idea of a training group, maybe creating a bit of interest in HKD then get Sam to do a seminar to get a group going. Then maybe he come down once a month or something.

The problem i see is that on "normal training days" when Sam isnt there, there is no one with enough knowledge to take the class, so who would pay to attend a class with no instructor? and there would by health and safety issues if anyone was hurt.

Maybe a small group of say about 4-5 would be better, who would be prepared to travel every week to see sam at his club?

Failing all that I'll just have to bite the bullet and go all by my lonesome :cry:

[iron_ox]

Hello all,

Normal training days would be run as a collective - if you have to pay for space, everyone chips in, and no one person is the instructor, instead, the person with the most kwwoledge of a technique leads the group. See if Master Plumb will let you video some stuff for memory retention, then just work those few techniques every week - this will build interest, and eventually a club is born...

Eventually, the few techniques worked on every week will build into a large repetoire. Remember, as a beginner, the basics are a small group of movements, but also include things like breathing, breakfalls, stikes and kicks - all of which can be learned fast and practiced easily by a group of novices.

Give it a try - I cannot believe a city as big as Manchester has no clubs....so hey, you may be the first.

[Split_level]

I see what your saying, running a HKD club is something I wanted to do in the future. Maybe I will wait until I have had more lesson and have more knowledge. I have only had 4 lessons myself, dont think I am particularly qualified at the moment.

Think Manchester would be a great place to start... there are no HKD clubs, could be a good way to raise the profile of HKD in the Northwest.

Thanks
Joanne