Hapkido network and Hapkido forum: Make friends, share photos & more!
New Members, Introduce Yourselves
Hello and welcome to those who have joined recently. We'd love to know more about you. How about replying here, or starting your own forum topic? Also feel free to share photos and videos of yourself and your school. Hapki!
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by lbetson on -
Hello:
My name is Larry and I am a new practitioner to Hapkdio, specifically Sin Moo Hapkido. I am not new to martial arts. I've studied Tang Soo Do, Goju Ryu, and Aikido when I was younger. I've been out of martial arts for about 15 years. I studied alot when I was younger and have decided to get into it again because I really missed it and I have the time to do it again.
I decided on Hapkido because I always had an interest in it but never had good luck finding schools in my area that offered it until recently.
I am really enjoying it. It is unlike any martial art I've trained in before with the exception of Aikdio which is similar but not near as circular. I've noticed the techniques in Hapkido are more like a corkscrew as opposed to a circle in Aikido and the movements are more on an X pattern.
Definitely alot of techniques to wrap my head around footwork, hand position, flow, balance, etc.
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Permalink Reply by Wael on -
Hello Ibetson. My experience was similar to yours in that I studied martial arts in my youth (Karate in my case) then I stopped for 20 years, always wanting to get back but never getting around to it. I finally resumed training at the age of 40 and chose Hapkido because it is so comprehensive and scientific. I'm very happy with my choice.
I like your illustration of Hapkido locks as corkscrews rather than circular.
There is a lot to learn but like any art once you begin to grasp the fundamentals and to see the patterns, it gets much easier. Definitely enough to keep you busy for a lifetime, though.
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Permalink Reply by Brian Currie on -
Hi
My name is Brian and i have been doing hapkido for about 2 years and i really enjoy it.It can be hard sometimes and there is a lot of things to remember and sometimes i go home and throw my unifrom in the corner and say "i'm not going back!" lol but i always do.I love hapkido because it doesn't reli on strength and it covers all aspect of defense.
i like the ki training and the meditation but find the concepts hard to understand for example the circle,water principle,harmony etc.I'm going to stick it out and see it through even though it does take about 20 years to master the system!
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Permalink Reply by Richard Hackworth on -
My name is Richard and I look forward to getting to know more about all of you. Feel free to e-mail me anytime.
Best Regards,
Richard Hackworth
www.actionradio.net
www.worldmartialartsmagazine.com
www.haemukwan.com
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Permalink Reply by Wael on
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I'll kick start this discussion again by saying that my name is Wael. It's an Arabic name. My parents immigrated from Egypt to California and I was born in Sacramento. I studied Shotokan Karate for several years when I was young, then I let my martial arts training lapse for a long time, but kept meaning to resume.
I worked many jobs, including literacy tutor, bike messenger in San Francisco, taxi driver, corporate researcher, and finally web developer. In my late 30's I gained weight and had health problems and I realized that if I was ever going to get back into martial arts it was now or never. I began visiting schools of all styles all over the Bay Area, and reading up. I discovered that Hapkido was very comprehensive, covering all fighting ranges. I was also very interested in Silat but there were no good schools that I could find. I lived in Oakland and the nearest Hapkido school seemed to be a place in San Leandro. I tried to find it one day and could not.
My wife's nephew was living with us temporarily and I used to pick him up after work at the San Leandro BART station. One day I picked him up and said, "Let's go for a ride, I want to try again find this Hapkido school." So we drove around until I found it but it was closed. I got out of the car and stood peering in the window when suddenly a car pulled up and a man got out. It was Erik, the Hapkido instructor. I told him I was interested and he said, "Let's have a class right now. I stammered that I wasn't really ready but he insisted, so both me and my nephew went in and took a class with him, and that was it. I was hooked and I continued attending that same class for as long as I stayed in California.
In 2005 I moved to Panama and found a Hapkido school there as well and I attended for several months, but the style was not right for me. I did create a website for the Master there - it's PanamaHapkido.com, and Master Navarro if you are out there you need to update your site! I showed you how, remember?
In addition, after some time in Panama City I moved out to a small village in the mountains. So I used to train at home and sometimes convinced locals to practice with me for brief periods of time but no one ever stuck with it, except for one fellow who had trained in Silat under Dutch master Willem de Thouars. He lived three hours away but we used to meet halfway and I would teach him Hapkido as he taught me Silat. I found that the two meshed amazingly well, though Silat is somewhat more brutal in its approach.
My daughter Salma was born there, in Panama, but in 2008 my wife and I divorced and she returned to California with our daughter, so I returned as well to be near my daughter.
So I'm back here in Fresno California because my parents live here, but there is no Hapkido school. I have already started a "Hapkido in the park" practice session and we are meeting three times a week. I am essentially teaching them, which is funny since I'm just a colored belt, but they all know that. I'm also planning to start at a local jujutsu school that teaches a style similar to Hapkido.
I'm still a web developer and this site is one of my pet projects. It doesn't make any money, but I'm very happy that the site is growing and proving useful to people. That is exciting to me.
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Permalink Reply by Erik Medeiros on -
I would like to add that Wael is exceedingly modest. He was easily the most dedicated student that I ever had. At each class, he took detailed notes. He must have spent a lot of time practicing in between classes, because whenever I taught him a new technique, by the next class he would show a remarkable advance in his ability to execute the new maneuver. When another of my students tested for chodan, Wael took the falls and completely amazed the panel of judges. Wael is most certainly not "just a colored belt".
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Permalink Reply by SteelyJan on -
Hi Everyone,
Just joined the network....been involved in martial arts for almost 12 years and I am presently studying Hapkido....will be going for my red belt in June. Love this style of MA, I find it very diverse. Our school has a variety of weapons which I am very interested in learning....I have also studied Mixed Martial Arts, Shotokan Karate and presently started Judo.... Looking forward to making new friends and discussing training with everyone....
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Permalink Reply by Paul Meek on -
Greetings from Country Australia - Im Paul, Ive been studying Hapkido for about 6 years, a late starter at 40 yrs old I had always wanted to study martial arts but for some reason, never found the courage to make the start...... I wish I had started at 20 but despite this, Hapkido is now a way of life for me. In our dojang our Master has embraced the true philosophy of hapkido and we practice elements of grappling and MMA which means we have a dynamic curriculum.
I have been surprised at how little information is available on our art and hope this changes in the future, and agree with previous strings, that Mark Tedeschi's book on Hapkido is sensational !
I look forward to learning more about my MA through this forum, thanks
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Permalink Reply by Wael on
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Good to have you here, Paul. I also started late (in my late 30's) and yes, I wish I had started younger, but I'm glad to be doing it now. It has given me my youth back in some ways.
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Permalink Reply by felix fremlin on -
hi im felix from fiji im into karate but i have friends who have their own hakido club and im helping them out so if anyone who has videos or is comming to fiji for holiday please contact me as they would love to learn more as they are limited in the knowledge.
thank
felix
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Permalink Reply by Wael on
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Hello Felix. I've been aware for some time that Fiji is a center of Hapkido disproportionate to its size. Fiji actually has several high-ranking Hapkido instructors. See this PDF document:
http://fijihapkido.com/index.php?view=article&catid=30%3Athe-co...
Instructors listed are:
Tavite Korovau, 4th degree black belt, teaches the Fiji Military Forces Hapkido academy
Semi Dromonasiga, 2nd degree black belt, teaches the Fiji Police force Hapkido academy
Vosataki Kolinisau, 5th degree black belt, teaches the Black Hapkido Club at the Foreshore near the old GPH in Suva, for black belts only
Jonasa Tonawai, 4th degree black belt; and Jare Lalakai, both teach at the Young Mens Christian Association
Leonard "Archie" Aitcheson, 4th degree black belt, teaches at the Hyundai fitness center Hapkido club.
Wow! I'm curious how all this came about. Did some Korean Hapkido master emigrate to Fiji in the 60's or 70's and train all these black belts? Maybe the fellow in the photo, Master Kim Dong Jin? (Who has now relocated to Salt Lake City). He is a Hapkido 8th Dan, Jujutsu 8th Dan, Kendo 7th Dan. Formerly the Major in the Fiji Military Forces and Combatives Chief Instructor. He is pictured above with the SLC SWAT team, which he instructs.
That's how it happened in Panama, where I lived for three years. All five of the Hapkido schools in Panama City are run by students of one Korean master (Park Il-Sung) who moved to Panama in the 70's.
O/C Lautoka Prison Acting CPO Seremaia Bakeiyasawa attending an introductory Hapkido training course at the FPCS Academy at the Naboro Prison Complex, Fiji.
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Permalink Reply by Paul on
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Hey, I'm Paul, I just joined a free Hap Ki Do class a couple weeks ago. We can only go once a week, and I only get to go once every other. So far I have went to two classes and have finally acquired the white belt that you begin with, and just bought my Gi. I am greatly looking forward to my next meeting to be able to join the students that have there Gi instead of being one of the students that appear to have just come in off the road. I love it already, please wish me luck that I don't get hurt too bad, though if I do I will at least learn something.
© 2012 Created by Wael.
