Differences in techniques between Aikido & Hapkido

To be fair, one is a testing (and their tests are on a tight set of requirements... not a lot of 'freeplay' during testing) and the other is a bit of instruction. Neither are purporting to be 'fighting' or 'sparring' or anything. I posted them more to show some of the range of technique that they do.

In their defense, I have worked with Faust Sensei with myself as a seminar student and with him as a student in our seminars/classes. I have been impressed with their ability when we ramp up the speed and intensity. A lot of it, I think, comes from their constant work on the same techniques and hammering the footwork and reactions over and over (the curriculum seems fairly small, with emphasis on a collection of techniques being used from a wide variety of situations).

The benefits of cross training are clear. I know Faust Sensei comes from a standup background (and his strikes/kicks are still very good) and most of his senior students do some sort of cross training.

In our interactions, other students have mentioned the same concerns as you and Faust Sensei (and his students) are always willing to open up the level of intensity and range of attacks. To compare with our (Combat) Hapkido students, I think our students learn earlier how to deal with digressions but I think the Aikido students tend to grow a much firmer base of footwork and technique by similar levels - one of the tradeoff's of a more regimented training arrangement and one that opens up more to variety earlier.

These guys don't purport to be the 'd3adly', they teach Aikido as they have learned it. Students can expect to spend a long time studying the basics and working before promotions (promotions are pretty slow in this group). They will happily recommend people to other local schools if their goals don't match up (e.g., MMA or RBSD, etc)

 

I was a brown-black belt in Kuk Sool, which is part of the Hapkido lineage and had to stop about 15 years ago, and recently started doing Aikido (ASU branch) and summed it up to my instructor this way:

My previous training was focused largely on the idea that, if the person you were doing the technique on didn't comply, or resisted, then apply enough pressure to either assure compliance, or break the joint/bone/etc. If the throw is not working, apply more power, more speed, until it does. (Obviously not actually breaking your partner, but that's the gist). In Aikido, if the lock is not working, slow down, focus on finding that center and find the point of balance so you can go past it without hurting ANYONE. Make your Uke fall, but not actually throw them.

Hapkido/Kuk Sool: applying force to get results
Aikido: applying movement to allow gravity and biomechanics to get results.