Hapkido Check In

Discussion in 'Hapkido' started by Thomas, Sep 23, 2003.

  1. Thomas

    Thomas Combat Hapkido/Taekwondo

    I really like how the Taekwondo section has an ongoing check-in where other forum readers can learn a bit about other practioners out there and I'd like to steal that idea for the Hapkido forum.

    If you train (or trained) in Hapkido, please post a bit about what style you study (or even kwan), where you study, how long and your grade. If you could say a bit about your school, I'd sure be interested.

    For me, I began studying under Combat Hapkido in 1994 as a cross training opportunity within the Taekwondo (WTF) school.

    In 1997, I went to Korea and trained in Korea for 4 years. I studied with Moo Moo Kwan and eventually earned my 1st and 2nd dan black belts in IHF Hapkido. I also trained with the Korea Guards Martial Arts group and earned my 1st dan... (Korea Guards is a type of Korean Hapkido that also trains in bodyguard type of skills)


    In 2001, I returned to New York and found that my previous master had chartered up with the ICHF (Combat Hapkido) and was a certified instructor. I rehoined the TKD school and began full time training in TKD and ICHF Hapkido.

    At our school, we do a lot of Hapkido, ranging from breakfalls to joint locks to striking and so on. Most of the techniques that I learned in Korea fit very closely in with the ICHF style and the ICHF offers really good cross training ranging from ground grappling to weapons. The main reason I am happy where I am is because my master is the best instructor I've ever had the opportunity to work with, bar none.

    (P.S. Our school is located near the Ontario/Quebec/New York State Border in Potsdam New York. If you are in the vicinity, contact me by e-mail if you would like to visit and train. )
     
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2003
  2. John_IHF

    John_IHF New Member

    Well I study At IHF in south florida, I'm a highschool student and I have my fair share of using techniques in real world combat only when needed I try my best not to get into conflict and I do that pretty well... but there are always the people that continue to presist and I do enough to make them leave me alone with control so as not to harm them too bad but to let them know "Back off and leave me alone". Our school comes directly from the headquarters in korea. My instructor is Master 5dan Allen, Jeffrey. I have been doing hapkido for a year and a half and loved every moment of it. I was going to test for my black belt in October but I don't want to rush and I would like to test for my black belt when our Kuksanim 9thdan GM Jang Young Shil comes to america for a second time. He was going to come in october but for unavoidable reasons I do not think that will happen so he will be coming during the spring of 2004. How I got into Hapkido was my dad. He was in the Army and was assigned to goto Korean and was stationed near Pyongteak where the IHF headquarters is stationed. He really wanted to do Hapkido but I'm sure his actions while staying there destroyed his opertunity. I've done other martial arts but I believe that Hapkido is the most real world martial art due to the fact we don't do backflips, backflips off walls, rolling on the ground with an oponet doing chokes/armbars/etc... not assuming that another person will attack you while your tied up, and kicks (within the technique but we practice kicks so that we know how a kick functions allowing us the "know how" on defense against kicks). The way we basically do our techniques are Daito Ryu Aikijujutsu the exact same thing Choi Young Sool did.
    http://www.hapkido-info.net/html/hapkido_family_tree.html Jang Young Shil is under Chang Young Shil
    we will be having Seminars November 14 and15.
    www.hapkiyoosool.com
     
    Last edited: Sep 25, 2003
  3. Jointlock

    Jointlock Valued Member

    Hello all. Born and raised in Lincoln NE, and have been involved in martial arts since 1991. For my 13th birthday I began learning Tae kwon do with the ITF Chang Han forms (Chun-gi, Dan-gun, etc). My first school was actually a McDojang and I recieved my first dan in under 2 years and my 2nd in less than 3. Since the instructor there was also a second dan I didn't feel like I was learning anymore, and did more helping with the class on basics.

    A friend of mine from work also studied tae kwon do in his home town and told me that he was going to check out this Hapkido instructor in town. I decided to go along and see what it was all about, because I was ready to do something new. I was immediately blown away. I began to learn things about vital points, controling the opponent, jointlocks, throws, meditation, and attitude that I didn't even know were covered in the martial arts. Also I found out that my kicks weren't as proficient as I thought they were and were actually pretty sloppy. In addition my instructor Mr. Mike Burnett (5th dan Hapkido, 4th dan traditional Tae kwon do) was amazing at techniques and an excellent teacher. Three years of rigourous training 2 hours 4 days a week and I finally earned my black belt.

    Imediately after highschool I joined the Marines for four years. It was difficult to train on a regular basis, but I made due with teaching some of my Marine buddies. After my four years was up I returned to Lincoln in 2000 and got back into Hapkido. I teach privately with the help of my instructor, and will hopefully test for my 2nd Dan within the next couple of months.

    You'll probably notice that I'm pretty long winded in most of my posts and replys. Hopefully I can learn alot from the people here and maybe you can learn something from me.
     
  4. SilverQ

    SilverQ New Member

    Hello. I began Hapkido on September 18th, 2003, (so not very long ago indeed!), and have so far been occupied with it in thought and skill.
    I train in Calgary, a city in Alberta, Canada (home of the annual Calgary Stampede) three times a week and am just learning the basics (of stances, rolls, kicks, etcetera).
    I train under Master Ki C. Yoon, who was born and raised in Korea, and came to Canada a year and a half ago. He is a 9th Dan in Hapkido, and was a Seoul president bodyguard, who also trained 2000 military paratroopers to 1st Dan in 30 months. (He was recongnized by General of the squadron with an award of achievement.) He is an amazing man in general, and on a personal level I respect him greatly.
    I, myself, am an average girl in ninth grade, who devotes herself to her work (this, very specifically, being hapkido presently) and I enjoy it. And yes, I like this idea of a check-in, too!
     
    Last edited: Sep 28, 2003
  5. Thomas

    Thomas Combat Hapkido/Taekwondo

    Really neat to see the backgounds of those who have shared them here so far. Nice to "meet" you and if any of you are in the New York State - Ontario - Quebac border area, PM me and come in for a class or so! Nice to "meet" you all.
     
  6. SaJooNim

    SaJooNim New Member

    Born and raised in Nebraska also. My father earned a black belt in Shotokan Karate back in the mid-1950's while he was in the Marine Corps. He later became a State Trooper and was heavily involved in developing the defensive tactics program that they used.

    In the late 1960's, he was approached by a gentleman who had trained in Taekwondo in both Viet Nam and in South Korea -- and was asked if he would be interested in assiting with starting a dojang. They trained together for some time and eventually attended a demonstration being held by Master Instructor Kun-Man Lee. After the demonstration, they approached Mr. Lee and asked if he would be willing to train them in Taekwondo -- he accepted.

    My father and this other instructor became the first of Mr. Lee's students to earn black belts in Taekwondo here in the U.S. I was born right about this same time -- so needless to say, I've literally been around martial arts my entire life.

    At about the time that I was old enough to begin officially training, my father got away from teaching (because of work), and so Mr. Lee became my biggest influence as a martial artist. His teaching style was incredibly strict -- he demanded 100% effort from his students. I trained in Taekwondo a minimum of 2 hours, four days a week for a little over three years before earning a conditional black belt (you were not allowed to test as an official 1st degree until the age of 16).

    Mr. Lee's father was, for a time, the highest ranking Yudo practitioner in South Korea. Interestingly enough, Mr. Lee did not ever train with his father -- the senior Mr. Lee felt that the father-son relationship would detract from the training. Mr. Lee's father also operated one of the Kwan's that was run sort of like a college. All of the members had to train in Taekwondo, Hapkido, and Yudo -- you couldnt just pick one. There were numerous instructors in each of those styles... so those that trained there got a very well rounded education.

    One of Mr. Lee's requirements here in the U.S. was that you had to first earn a black belt in either Taekwondo or Yudo before he would begin training you in Hapkido. So, this is what I did -- after earning my black belt, I began to training as a white belt in Hapkido. Mr. Lee kept the two very seperate and made the differences very distinct and clear.

    For quite some time, there were no pads on the floor -- so it was common to go home from class with sore and bruised hips and ankles from hitting the hard floor after throws or joint locks. I must admit that although I liked Hapkido, I HATED not having pads. Eventually, the pads came -- but even then, my main focus remained with Taekwondo.

    I simply prefered they training style of Taekwondo -- with the forms and sparring. I continued to train in both and eventually became a Taekwondo instructor and opened my own dojang.

    Mr. Lee moved to California and turned control of his dojang over to another Korean master. The training was immediately changed to the WTF style and he rapidly lost all of the original students (including myself).

    In the mean time, I began training wtih Grandmaster Jun-Suh Yi (who is a cousin of Mr. Lee's). It was really under him where I developed more of an appreciation for the techniques and philosophy behind Hapkido. He actually taught Yoo-Sool at his dojang, but also holds rank in Hapkido. His training was also incredibly rigorous -- he was HUGE into dynamic break falls. It wasnt uncommon to perform, for example, literally dozens of roll-outs by first jumping over a 6' tall person with their head tipped forward --- or do backwards break-falls off of a folding table.

    Back in 1992, after getting out of the Marine Corps, I decided to abandon the idea of teaching Taekwondo (for several reasons), and I began to devote my teaching and training to Hapkido. I remain in contact with my original instructors and train with them when I can. I've also trained several times with Grandmaster Ji, Han-Jae, Dr. He-Young Kimm, as well as some seminar time with several of the other noted Hapkido teachers around the U.S.

    During the mid 90's I trained for a period with Dom Maldonado, who is a 6th degree black belt under the late Shinjo Sensei -- who was the founder of Shobukan Goju-Ryu. Mr. Maldonado had trained for several years in Okinawa and before that in Taekwondo for several years back in the early 70's with Henry Cho from NYC. The training that he put his students through was also very traditional and intense.

    Anyway -- after reading far more than any of you could ever have wanted to know, the skinny of it is that I hold a 5th degree in Hapkido, and a 4th degree in Taekwondo, along with training in Yoo-Sool, Goju-Ryu and Shotokan.

    My activity in the martial arts over the past several years has been pretty much restricted to Hapkido. After 24 years of training, each day passes with a greater understanding and appreciation for what Hapkido has to offer. I try to pass on to my students, the intensity and core values of my teachers, and I work very hard at trying to maintain the art in the way it was presented to me.

    As you see by my 'signature', I've chosen to use the name Shin Koo Hapkido, Yoo-Sok-Kwan to define what I offer. It is NOT a new style -- I'm not planning on promoting myself to 10th dan anytime soon -- I just wanted a name that fit my philosophy. Shin Koo basically means "the old and the new." I teach the techniques and philosophies that I was taught -- and if something useful comes along that I feel will compliment our training, then we use it. I never detract from -- only add to. Yoo-Sok can be translated as "handing down traditions for posterity."

    Now that you're all sick of reading this, I guess I should get outa here.

    Before I go, I will say that I am excited and interested in hearing about the training history of some of the rest of you out there. :)

    Take care,

    Mike Burnett, Sa Joo
    Shin Koo Hapkido
    Yoo-Sok-Kwan
    Lincoln, NE
     
  7. Thomas

    Thomas Combat Hapkido/Taekwondo

    Big Welcomes!

    Oso Oseyo (Welcome) to SaJooNim, SilverQ, Jointlock, and John_IHF! It's really fascinating to read about different Hapkido schools!

    By the way, I posted some pictures in the PHOTO section: one under "Instructors" (I'm on the right in the TKD uniform) in the Taekwondo section and one under "Hapkido Students" in the Hapkido section (I am the guy in the center in the black uniform).
     
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2003
  8. Thomas

    Thomas Combat Hapkido/Taekwondo

    Update on Check-In

    So far, 5 people have "checked in" and shared a bit about themselves...
    Don't be shy, let people know how many Hapkido artists are out there and how different some of them are!

    1. Thomas - New York (USA) / Moo Moo Kwan IHF and ICHF (Combat Hapkido)

    2. John_IHF - Florida (USA) / IHF

    3. Jointlock - Lincoln, NE (USA) / Shin Koo Hapkido

    4. SilverQ - Alberta (Canada)/ Hapkido

    5. SaJooNim - Lincoln, NE (USA) / Shin Koo Hapkido
     
  9. Kosh

    Kosh New Member

    My name is Marc, Kosh is my nickname.

    As my sig says i train in Hapkido under Master Kim Boem, who was in turn taught by Grand Master Kim who was taught by the guy that taught Jacky Chan Hapkido, which is nice.

    I have been learning Hapkido for just over a year and am a 1st dan.

    I have also done a little Capoeira and am trying to get a teacher to open a Capoeira club in Sunderland.

    I also have a big passion for movie martial arts and fight scene choreography.

    You might think from this post that the Hapkido i learn is some sort of movie stunt martial art, but it isnt. My teacher is a respected self defence and subject control expert and regularly teaches the police.
     
    Last edited: Dec 16, 2003
  10. Paratus

    Paratus aka Mr. Rue

    My name is Mike
    I train at Chang's Hapkido Academy in Darien, Illinois, United States. Our grandmaster is Gedo Chang, I haven't trained under him, but I learn from a 2nd Dan. I've been training in Hapkido for about 9 months and am as of today a 4th Kup Brown Belt.
     
  11. Chan Fan

    Chan Fan New Member

    Hey Marc - Welcome!

    Just to clarify, Jackie Chan was a student of Grandmaster Kim, Jin Pal.

    I understand he will be visiting your Grandmaster in England later this spring with Bong Soo Han for a charity seminar in England.

    You guys are very fortunate to have three (!) grandmasters available to you at one time for training. Yes I am turning green with envy!
     
  12. Kosh

    Kosh New Member

    yeah thats the guy.

    He is friends with our Grand Master and sends our academy letters and stuff.

    Im looking forward to the festival, it was fun last year and should be much better this year.
     
    Last edited: Dec 16, 2003
  13. Chris from CT

    Chris from CT Valued Member

    Holy Sign-ups!!!! I went to the TKD section and looked at how many sign-ins they had, it was close to 100 people!!! Here's one more for us. ;)

    I'm Chris and I'm a martial art-aholic

    **Hi, Chris**

    I started in 1983 with Shaolin Kempo and moved around within TKD, Kempo, Arnis and Yang Style Tai Chi. I would try to spend every waking moment training or devising some plan to train.

    Once I got into Hapkido I was hooked! I originally got into Hapkido when I was working at an out of town YMCA. I moved out of my hometown to be closer to work and eventually faded out of my Kempo training because of distance. (Eventually, I found that my Kempo teachers’ teachers weren’t that far away so I began training with them. But I digress.) Master Art St.Armand, the martial arts instructor at the YMCA, taught TKD for the kids’ program and Hapkido for the adult program. Master Art was my first Hapkido instructor and is a very talented man. He was taught by GM Jung Hwan Park. I spent years training with Master Art and he eventually gave me permission to start teaching in the town I was living in. Soon after that he retired from teaching. This put me in a predicament. I had a class of students, but no teacher for me to learn from. I didn’t think this was fair to my students so I started to think about who should be my teacher. Luckily, I had done some traveling and got to experience many different styles and teachers of Hapkido. Now this was also unlucky for me because I had come to know many talented Hapkido practitioners and deciding was not going to be an easy task.

    I eventually decided on taking a long shot. I had decided to ask Grandmaster Lim, Hyun-Su to be my teacher. For more info on GM Lim please see…
    http://lmaa.bravepages.com/gmlim.htm

    My choice came from many get-togethers with Master Todd Miller. He was very respectful and had some fantastic technique. Through all that time, he understood I had absolutely no intentions of leaving Master Art and he was always respectful and very open with what he knew. The style he taught was Jung Ki Hapkido and it was different from a lot of the Hapkido I had seen. People were grabbing on full force (myself included) and ridiculously painful and/or controlling techniques were being applied with little effort. All of these techniques were applied without any type of distraction or fake. This style answered a lot of questions I had about Hapkido without me ever having to ask the questions. So after quite a bit of thought, I talked to GM Lim and he wanted my entire background, why I didn’t have teacher and what I wanted from the martial arts and life. He replied that he would consider it. I guess that GM Lim talked to Master Todd for a character reference and I eventually received word that I had been accepted. I couldn’t explain how happy I was at that moment.

    I teach Jung Ki Hapkido here in Westport, Connecticut (USA) and if any MAP’er is ever in my neck of the woods please stop in to train or to just say,”hi.”

    Take care. :)
     
  14. shadow warrior

    shadow warrior Valued Member

    Check in.

    My name is Keith Stewart
    aka Shadow Warrior
    aka Sir: To my students.

    A brief backround.

    I have trained in Hapkido and applied the art since the mid 1970's under two primary and numerous other second generation Hapkido Masters. I am a student of second generation KOREAN Hapkido reflected in the state of Hapkido in the mid 1960's.

    My two main teachers were Master Chung Kee Tae (retired President Canadian Hapkido Association) and Master Hwang In-Shik (former Head Instructor Korean Hapkido Association, Presidential Bodyguard, action director, movie star).

    Among MANY other second generation Hapkido instructors, I have taken students and trained at the Dojangs of Masters Chong S. Kim, Bong Soo Han and Kwang Sik Myung.

    I was a professional 'front line" undercover and general investigator, (specializing in international drug and theft networks), 3rd party protection team leader, security team (eviction, ejection, arrest and tresspass enforcement) team selector, trainer and manager as well as a corparate, personal security profile consultant and threat assessment specialist for fifteen years. I worked for numerous respected international security- investigation firms (owned and operated by various retired members of the SAS and CID from the UK) and was invloved in government sub contracts as a specialized operative and private technical consultant. Retired early 1992 after accumulating many hundreds of 'incident reports' and burning a 1000 life chances.I used to tell people I was a 'contractor'. I have taught Hapkido to selected students since that time.

    Note:

    Although Master Jin Pal may be the source of some of Jackie Chan's formal Hapkido training, the ONLY Hapkido Master to have appear in Jackie Chan films is Master Hwang In-Shik. (Young Master and Dragon Lord)

    In his own biography Jackie rates the fight with Master Hwang (in Young Master), in his TOP TEN movie fights of ALL TIME. They spent more than a year together making the two films in the late 1970's, early 1980's. During this time period Master Hwang taught many of Chan's stunt people as well as Jackie himself.

    Keith Stewart
    Head Instructor
    www.eastwesthapkido.com
     
  15. Thomas

    Thomas Combat Hapkido/Taekwondo

    Update on Check-In

    We've doubled our list in a short time! Sign up and maybe we'll beat the TKD Check-in List by the year's end.

    1. Thomas - New York (USA) / Moo Moo Kwan IHF and ICHF (Combat Hapkido)

    2. John_IHF - Florida (USA) / IHF

    3. Jointlock - Lincoln, NE (USA) / Shin Koo Hapkido

    4. SilverQ - Alberta (Canada)/ Hapkido

    5. SaJooNim - Lincoln, NE (USA) / Shin Koo Hapkido

    6. Kosh (Marc) - NE England/ Hapkido

    7. Paratus (Mike) - Darien, Illinois (USA)/ Hapkido

    8. Chan Fan - Regina/ Jin Pal Hapkido

    9. Chris from CT - Connecticut (USA)/ Jung Ki Kwan Hapkido

    10. shadow warrior (Keith Stewart) - Toronto, Ontario (Canada)/ Hapkido



    If anything is incorrect, PM me and I'll fix it!
     
  16. hapkiyoosool

    hapkiyoosool Valued Member

    Hello to All!!!!

    Hello!!(Anyonghihaseyo!!) Welcome! (Hwanyanghamnida!) I am Master Jeff Allen(5 dan) who began training under Koreans at the age of 7 and lived/learned/taught in Korea at the headquarters under Grandmaster Jang returning to the US in 2000. I have around 26 years in Hapkido. I never studied anything else. Becareful, my opinions may be biased! :love: LOL I recieved my teaching certification from the Korean Government under GM Jang and am proud to say that I am GM Jang's very first student to open a school outside of Korea. I read, write, and speak both Korean and English. I majored in Asian Studies while attending Seoul University and Maryland University's Asian Division while living in Korea. I got to have fun working with Korean Movie Director Woo-Song Park(Richard S. Park, "Gang Justice","3 Ninjas","JaeSong Lee Story") as an actor, stuntman, and Martial Art/Action Director in Korea. I am also prior Military Intelligence and instructed Hostage Rescue/Counter Terrorist Teams. I have volunteered my time instructing Department of State-DSS, CIA, AFOSI, Korean & U.S. Secret Service, Navy SEALs(DoD), and other governmental bodies. I also had the honor of providing joint forces personal protection to the Korean President Young-Sam Kim. The real honor was training under GM Jang in Korea.

    The man I study under in Korea is:
    Our President, Grandmaster Jang, Young-Shil(9dan). Grandmaster Jang began teaching Hapkido in 1960 in Pyongtaek, South Korea which serves as our headquarters. He recieved his ratings from Choi,Young-Sool the founder of Hapkido. Grandmaster Jang taught Korean Military and Special Forces in the 1950's with Bong-Soo Han, Presidential Body Guards, as well as numerous other Korean Governmental Agencies.

    OH YEAH! My wife is a great cook! ^_^
     
  17. KickChick

    KickChick Valued Member

    Welcome to MAP hapkiyoosool ... nice bio you have there, it's an honor to have you now as an official MAP member! ;) ....

    I would be very interested, as I am sure others would also (and not only the Hapkidoists), if you might in the future elaborate on some of your past experiences for an article contribution.

    .... (no way you are going to beat our populace over in the TKD forum Thomas ... but its a good start! :) )
    See I am a good cook also and we have some awesome get togethers over there! LOL
     
  18. Chan Fan

    Chan Fan New Member

    Re: Check in.

    I will have to pick up that Biography... sounds very informative (Young Master is an awsome movie!).

    WOW - excellent credentials and experience! Kudos to yourself for the years of training and teaching. I visited your website and it looks like you have very good standards and high expectations of your students.

    Regards,
     
  19. Thomas

    Thomas Combat Hapkido/Taekwondo

    Re: Christmas Update on Check-In

    Here's our updated list... we're only behind the Taekwondo sign-in by a few (depending how you count)... if you practice Hapkido, sign in and get on the list... good numbers are going fast! (Kickchick: I refer you to the story of the Tortoise and the Hare... :) )

    1. Thomas - New York (USA) / Moo Moo Kwan IHF and ICHF (Combat Hapkido)

    2. John_IHF - Florida (USA) / IHF

    3. Jointlock - Lincoln, NE (USA) / Shin Koo Hapkido

    4. SilverQ - Alberta (Canada)/ Hapkido

    5. SaJooNim - Lincoln, NE (USA) / Shin Koo Hapkido

    6. Kosh (Marc) - NE England/ Hapkido

    7. Paratus (Mike) - Darien, Illinois (USA)/ Hapkido

    8. Chan Fan - Regina/ Jin Pal Hapkido

    9. Chris from CT - Connecticut (USA)/ Jung Ki Kwan Hapkido

    10. shadow warrior (Keith Stewart) - Toronto, Ontario (Canada)/ Hapkido

    11. hapkiyoosool (Master Jeff Allen) - Ft. Lauderdale, Florida (USA) / Hapkido, Hapkiyoosool



    If anything is incorrect, PM me and I'll fix it!
     
  20. hapki_18

    hapki_18 New Member

    alright somebody add me to that short, but still growing list.
    my name is Yoky. i joined my hapkido classes 3 weeks ago. i know im barely a beginner, but i really enjoy my classes and really feel like i've learned something worthwhile.

    i live in LA and luckily my dojo is 4 blocks from my house and across the street from my gym. I've seen that school many times, but have always been skeptical of it, never heard of hapkido, nor am i interested in it.

    then one day i was walking outside the dojo when they were sparring(which is only once a week) i was curious but doubtful that im into this sort of stuff since i've never been in a martial art.
    what i saw that day amazed me, the lower colored belts were sparring against the black belts and getting thrown around. my blood started rising and i was getting really excited just by watching them spar. i then talked to the teacher and joined immediately, and have been hooked ever since then.

    oh btw, i train under gm chong s. kim(well, not really under him, but really his black belts students
     

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