Culture | Etiquette | Food | History | King's Tomb | Martial Arts
| Masks | Traditional Clothing |Village

HAPKIDO HISTORY
Its earliest developments date back 1300 years to 7th century A.D. during the Silla Dynasty. It was during this period that a group was formed by the ruler Chin Hung. This organization was known as the Hwa-Rang-Do, literally translated as "The Way of the Flower Youth." This movement closely paralleled European knighthood in its structure and philosophies. It was composed of young sons of noble families who dedicated their allegiance to the ruling system.

They were protectors of the downtrodden and advocates of the martial and intellectual arts. The fighting techniques they developed, although unnamed, were the first evidenced organized martial art study in Korea. Various forms of this fighting system are still found on stone walls and tombs dating back to the Silla Dynasty.

As a class, Hwa-Rang-Do eventually dissipated into a token set of dandies. The study of fighting techniques slowly disappeared from mainstream noble society but was kept alive, to some extent, in isolated monasteries. It was during this period that there were exchanges of ideas between Korean Buddhist monks and their Chinese counterparts.

The Chinese influence is evident in HAPKIDO'S circular blocks, its low and spinning kicks. And its heavy emphasis on the mental aspects of concentration and control. During this period, the evolving fighting art gained the name of TAE KYUN mainly kicking techniques that ended being the foundation of today TAE KWON DO.

When the Japanese invaded Korea in 1910, they outlawed all Korean martial arts. They did allow the study of Japanese JUDO and KEMPO. TAE KYUN could only be studied in secret in remote mountain monasteries. It was shortly after the Japanese occupation's beginning that Choi Young-Sool (Korean names are formed with the family name first ,i.e., Smith John Lee), the founder of modern HAPKIDO, emigrated to Japan. Having already mastered TAE KYUN in his youth, Grandmaster Choi studied a Japanese system called DAITO RYU or DAI JU-JUTSU.

This system of JU-JUTSU is said to be the forerunner of JUDO and AIKIDO. Grandmaster Choi returned to Korea after the end of WWII in 1945, and founded the first HAPKIDO school in Taegu, Korea. HAPKIDO is one of the first truly integrated arts that use the combination of kicking techniques from TAE KWON DO and the joints locks, throws and grappling from JU-JUTSU recognizing the effectiveness of combining the best aspect of an "Hard" and "Soft" styles into very powerful combinations of techniques and theories.

Is Hapkido the same as or similar to Aikido? No. They are very different in several respects. In Korean Hapkido fo example techniques are done with small circular motions, to fast complete conclusions. Some Kicking is practiced. In Japanse Aikido on the other hand, techniques use large, fluid circles, and wider motions, with much more graceful steps.