Been taking Hapkido for 6 months. Loving it. Past martial arts experience - wrestled in college and took 2 years of Kung Fu. I have also been taking Kyokushin Karate for 8 months.
Hello my name is Jon Ferguson. I've been studying Hapkido for 21 years. My original instruction was through a group called Pil Sung Warriors. In 2004 my instructor tried Combat Hapkido out and enjoyed it so I did that for a couple of years. We have since both moved on to Tactical Hapkido as taught by GM Rodemaker. I am currently unaffiliated but have friends in various schools. I teach a small class of primarily military students. I founded a continuing education site called Hapkido Online so that I could continue teaching my students who transfer to other bases worldwide. Glad to be here. Jon
My name is Willie Lau. I lived in Mississauga, Ontario, a suburb west of Toronto. I obtained my blackbelt in Chitoryu karate and I started cross-training in Hapkido when I was a brown belt in karate in mid-90s. My style in Hapkido is Chukidokwan, a style developed by Grand master Charles Platten. The name of the school is Combat Chukidokwan. Besides joint locking, submission and throw we envelope other style as a front end before you can lock up an attacker. We include techniques from Wing Chuen, Chinese Kenpo, Arnis, karate and Taekwando. I earned my master about 5 years ago and teach twice a week in a fitness club. I am sixty-seven years old and will still be teaching until I drop dead.
A little surprised I hadn't posted here yet. Anyway, I've been training in Jin Jung Kwan Hapkido for a year now. I had about 2 or 3 months with another local mish-mash Hapkido school a few years back, so Hapkido has stuck with me for the few years it took me to get back to it. Previously trained in BJJ for about a year, and some dabbling in Aikido, as well as the Modern Army Combatives Program during my time with the Army. I'm a big fan of Hapkido and how comprehensive an art it is. I hope to be able to enjoy it for many more years.
Absolutely! Done right, Hapkido will grow with you, change with you and remain with you as long as you give it its due. Good going. Best Wishes, Bruce
Thank you, Mr. Sims. I really enjoy reading about what has come of your journey, and that of all the other senior Hapkido-in on here and other forums. It's an influence for me. I also really enjoy the site that you've put together. I tend to research my interests quite a bit, and I've spent more than a little time sifting through the information on your site.
Thanks for the KUDO-s. I am a big fan of the "8 Pieces of Brocade" and the "TAM TUI 12" sequence for conditioning. If you have questions you catch-up with me here or send along a PM. Best Wishes, Bruce
Kung fu forms? I'm sure this is oversimplifying it, but I'm generally curious. What benefit do you see yourself getting from something like that?
The benefits I have found depend on the sort of form that I am working with. 1.) In conditioning forms such as TAM TUI 12, the forms demand that I use my body in ways that I would not normally put together for myself. Its not just that I am using a muscle group or using it in a particular order relative to other muscle groups. There is also the demand that I use it over extreme ranges of motion. 2.) In like manner to One, I have also found that Training/Teaching forms such as the basic LONG FIST forms force me to study the biomechanics to consider how they inter-relate to each other. 3.) The more historic forms (see: WU SONG BREAKS MANACLES) often force me to execute known techniques from odd angles or inconvenient postures. I have found that after spending months trying to execute a technique out of some contrived position the technique has become most natural in less "exotic" situations. I think this last situation is where a LOT of the modern forms put together by Korean "masters" drop the ball. If you look at modern Korean forms, in order to get this sort of thoughtful challenge one must invariably go to Japanese or Okinawan KATA precursors to Korean material. Best Wishes, Bruce
I guess I find it interesting because one of the things that attracted me to Hapkido was a lack of forms/kata/hyung.....etc, and I thought other Hapkido-in feel similarly. Naive I suppose.
Its unbelieable the amount of ignorance there is about the role of forms in MA training. Most of this is a condition that is passed from an ignorant teacher to his ignorant students. Hapkido arts, as commonly practiced by Koreans tend to breakdown into two general lines....one related to Chinese influences and one related to Japanese influences. Both the Chinese and the Japanese influences use forms as part and parcel of their training. The Hapkido arts related to the Japanese lines generally do not use HYUNG. I happen to belong to a KWAN that is an exception to that rule but thats for another thread. Those Hapkido lines related to Chinese influences use forms, but most of the time the proponenets of these forms have not a clue what they are doing. They simply make stuff up, or borrow from somewhere, so as to make their devotee think they know more than they do. The bottomline is that MA is a lot more than what one sees and there is a lot more to learn than "teacher says..." Trying to get folks to do this....well....THATS the real challenge. Out of the thousands of MA people who follow KMA how many train in KWON BEOP, GEUM BEOP, Ssireum or SIP PAL GI?? These are much more traditional practices and are much more deeply related to Korean culture and tradition. So, how many Koreans are training in these......? Best Wishes, Bruce
I'm definitely not one to blindly accept what I'm told, especially regarding the MA. That is one of the reasons I frequent forums such as this. Thanks for sharing Bruce. It's always interesting hearing about others experiences, as this being the only school I've been a part of I'm insulated from just about everything else.
Youngster of Sorts (haha) Greetings! I am currently studying Hapkido under Master Fred Roskens, owner and founder of the American Martial Arts Federation (AMAF). Our headquarters is located in Norfolk, NE, but we have several schools throughout the Unites States. I study at the Wayne NE location. I admit out-right that I don't know all there is to know about Hapkido, though the principles behind the style are straight forward. I'm an 8th gup (yellow belt) in Hapkido currently, and already I'm nothing short of addicted to learning everything I can about the style. The AMAF's ranking system in Hapkido similar to a modified TKD ranking system. We have ten colored belts before 1st Dan. In order, they are white, orange, yellow, green, purple, blue, brown, red, high red (red with black stripe through it) and high white(white with black stripe through it.) As I have said I'm an 8th gup yellow belt, and I aspire to learning everything I possibly can about Hapkido, and one day will become one of the greats. I have other martial arts experiences, first and foremost my 4th degree black belt in Oppgijutsu, a style created by Master Erik Folden. What's that, you've never heard of Oppgijutsu? Well, neither had I until I met Master Folden at an expo in Sioux Falls, SD. The style was created by him, and aside from him, there are four other certified instructors in the art, including myself. It is a very rigorous training process, and testing is complex. I plan on starting Taekwondo soon, and I've delved into boxing, Thai boxing, and various other martial arts styles. Hapkido however is my favorite so far, its useful, practical, and all in all a fun style to learn.
Sounds like people in your area make a lot of stuff up. Is the Hapkido you are studying also something that was put together? Best Wishes, Bruce
Not at all, but thank you for the gesture, Bruce. Though I admit, I am relatively new to Hapkido, I know scrappy MA when I see one. I do not take force-fed information, unlike a lot of people. Though the methods of the school I am proud to be a part of may be a bit more "modern" than others, we are not lacking in tradition or honor of our styles' cultural background.
I will do the best I can. We start each practice by stretching, and those of us who are dedicated to the art begin also with Danjun breathing techniques. A Charyot and Kyungnae are served to the flags, the instructors, and eachother at the beginning and end of each class. The ladder two I believe are traditional Korean practices. When a Master is present, all students bow on their knees, and our foreheads go to the floor, arms extended forward. I will reiterate that I am very new to Hapkido as of yet. I would also like to throw it out there that I joined this forum to learn, not to argue. If you've got any suggestions as to what I can do to make my experience in Hapkido as fulfilling as possible, I would very much like to hear them. I am not in martial arts to represent anyone or anything other than myself and the pride of the culture from which they originated. If I am in any way doing that incorrectly, please help me understand how to do so more proficiently. I'm here to be the best that I can be, not learn what korean words spelled out in american letters mean, though that'd be nice also haha.
So I guess I'll chime in here. Started taking Judo from Karl Geis when I was 10. Moved on to TKD in college under Master Ralph Jaschke. Then Wing Chun under Joseph Purcell. And now after all these years, I have stumbled into Hapkido and will be testing for my 1st Dan under Master Dwight Rush very soon.
