Eagle Hapkido in Toronto, Canada.

Hello Guys, I just moved to the danforth here in Toronto, Ontario. There is a hapkido school near my house that teaches Hapkido. The name of the dojo is eagle hapkido. I don't really know what to expect from a "good" hapkido school, and was wondering if any of you heard of this place on the danforth. If you have, what exactly have you heard about it?

Thanks for your time.

Joseph

 

I think you should go there and tell us what you see and what you think.

Wednesday would be the best time to drop by...maybe around 7:30-8:00 pm...

 

That's some really good advice! I know where I would be on Wednesday at 7:20!

I don't know the school but I would recommend checking it out. Take a look at this thread (http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5506) and read the original post and the discussion that follows for some ideas of what to look for. Let us know how it goes.

 

Joseph, are you kidding?

eagle hapkido is the dojang of gm hwang in-shik. it's a true hapkido school. gm hwang was in numerous m.a. movies - check him out in "young master" with jackie chan. the 15 min. fight at the end is the longest hapkido sequence in a large movie. you'll also be able to see gm hwang's amazing kicking prowess. gm hwang is a direct student of ji han jae. my understanding is that he no longer personally teaches but i'm not sure. anyway, check them out - i'd be surprised if you are disappointed.

 

No Danjun, I'm not kidding. Just new to TMA'S and kinda iffy about their affectiveness in Self - Defense situations. Having said that, I really don't know much about Hapkido - I.E. Do they spar? If so, how exactly? Is it TKD with joint locks?, etc. I've been pretty busy with work this week, but have made time this coming Monday to stop by the school and check it out. It's been my experience, however, that word of mouth is often a more reliable source of finding a good school than speaking with an instructor about a martial art one knows little about. Kinda puts one at a disadvantage, if you know what I mean. This is why I decided to post my question. Thanks for your reply.

 

Depends on the school. Eagle Hapkido? Yes. Full-contact minimal protection.

Monday is as good a time as any...observe and then decide for yourself if it is club that is suitable for you and your goals.

In case you haven't noticed, it is not advertised, you can't notice the sign unless you walk by it, and it is in a non-descript basement.

 

OK Joseph

i have never been to that dojang but unless someone tells me otherwise, i would think that eagle hapkido dojang is one of the best (if not THE best) places to train/learn traditional hapkido in canada.

as for hapkido's effectiveness in self defense, gm hwang is of the generation when they regularly proved themselves and hapkido in "real life" situations.

check them out and consider yourself lucky that you have access to gm hwang's dojang.

 

East West Hapkido

There is another Hapkido club that teaches true Hapkido and the name is East West Hapkido. It is in the King and Bathurst area, the address is 577 King St phone number 416 595 0617.Once you check out Eagle Hapkido and East West Hapkido, you would have the information to make a good decision. If you have any questions just drop a message or if you have MSN messenger let me know what your handle is.

Good luck
Eddie

 

Two Hapkido dojangs, 504 King & other fight clubs

One ride on the TTC practically connects you to both dojangs. A short walk west from GM Hwang's (last spoke with him in his curtained-off office two yrs ago; was still teaching then; looks like Yip Man ), closer to Jones, takes you to Broadview Station. From there, just hop on the 504 streetcar that goes along King St. W.

Almost 30 mins. later (give or take a few), if memory still serves me correctly (please correct me if I'm wrong; it has been a while), East-West should just be a couple of doors away from For Your Eyes Only strip-club (not that I've ever visited while in T.O.!!!). You should see the club & the dojang on your left side and just get off either before or after you see it coming up.

FYI, there is also a relocated White Tiger BJJ gym (Marcus Soares affiliation) on the right/north side of King, down a short alley-like lane, just a few blocks away from the Hapkido dojang. Further west, just after Shaw/before Dufferin, is a Goju-ryu dojo in a commercial bldg on the left/south side of King. Eggerton Marcus' boxing gym is also around Lamport Stadium; he's making a comeback at 40. If you're open to other styles, these are a few things that could make your trip along the 504 interesting.

GM Hwang is a living legend & his senior students have a reputation for being tough, capable security at local nightclubs, etc. Don't expect anything fancy; its unfinished-white-basement-look (the last time I was there, anyway) hides the lethality of the art being practiced within. There are no special decorations; no special traditional HKD doboks; just sabumnims & students training in simplistic white t-shirts & white dobok pants; that's it. Think of it like in boxing: where do you think that you'll get to taste the true art? In a fancy-shmancy health spa that caters to executives? Or in a more run-down, basic type of gym where there is nothing extraneous other than the smell of sweat & hard effort?

East-West trains hard, too, from what I've heard. You can't go wrong at either one, regardless of where you eventually choose to join.

Happy trails to you...

 

What a great, well thought-out and useful post! Thanks

 

i checked out Eagle Hapkido, but didn't see too much of the class since i got lost and wasted alot of time looking for the dojang. lol. i was impressed with what i saw, and with what Grandmaster Hwang had told me. there's a good chance that i will be attending this dojang soon.

 

Youth classes?

I've heard nothing but excellent things about this place and I live like right down the street.

Does anyone know if they have youth classes, like for 5 and seven year olds?

Thanks.

 

Hey all.

Just thought I'de let you all know I dropped by with my son after dinner near by to check it out, just after 6:30 PM.

I met the master himself, and was very impressed, despite the fact I left a phone message and e-mail with no response. He informed me that they no longer teach children, but from what I saw the adults doing it looked good. Can't say more because I only observed for about 20 minutes, but all the students seemed very dsciplined and serious, and the master certainly commands respect... everyone calls him sir. He does seem to talk a lot when teaching class, and had some interesting things to say. He talked about mcdojos giving away yellow belts in two months, and a black belt in one year if you bring two friends. You could tell this guy doesn't just give away ranks. He was talking about how students who don't work hard, take it seriously, etc. shouldn't bother to come. I saw him do some impressive bench pressing and challenged a bigger student to pick him up, which he couldn't.

Just thought I would share.

 

The best way to decide is to watch a class,as done,then take a introductory class or two to help you decide if it is for you.

I do not understand why a Hapkido school would speak of McDojo,unless they teach Tae Kwon Do,I have never heard the term Mc Dojo applied to Hapkido.

An instructor speaking alot is not uncommon,especially when they have visitors as they must use those few minutes they have the person there to make an impression to get you to come back and then hook you inrto being a paying student.

I do not know what bench pressing has to do with teaching class,but I know that Tiger Kim ,(of the Bronx ,New York),would do a similar demo ,just not during the class.

The immovable man is a demo found in many Aikido and Tai chi schools,to show the power of internal Ki/Chi energy,again it is a demo to impress the new potential student.

Again,if interested take a trial class or two,see if it fits your needs.
Talk to other students see if they are happy with the instruction,are they happy with contracts(if the school uses them)

A few questions I would ask the Instructor and the other students:

How long has the Instructor been teaching?
If he/she has been around a while is the school all lower belts?
If so that maybe a sign that no one stays around for some reason.

If the instructor has been around a while does he have many Black Belts,2nd,3rd and 4th degrees?

Are there senior belts or a few Black Belts who participate in the classes?
If so what is their instruction like?
Are they allowed to help teach?
Do the other students like their method of instruction?

In the end the choice of joining or not is up to the person/potential student,weigh the facts of what is taught and what you want from your training.

Good Luck

 

Darn you, I wanted to say that....

 

Heh heh heh

 

Ha-Ha on me...This having to work crap really cuts into my time here...LOL

 

Aha, I had to find this again. I read this a couple days ago, and wouldn't you know, today my instructor brought in a video saying it was of his old instructor, and it was Young Master. I loved the part of that fight scene where any time Jackie Chan would grab, he would put him in a different arm lock, heh.

 

Out of curiosity, who is your instructor?

Austin

 

i had to buy the dvd just to watch it. i'm one of Master Hwang's white belts by the way .