Introduction

Korean hapkido ("the way of harmonious energy" or "the way of coordinated power") is a contemporary martial art with ancient roots. Hapkido shares with other Korean fighting systems a lineage which dates back roughly to the time of Christ. Along the way, the art now known as Hapkido has been influenced by Japanese and Chinese martial arts and thought. Hapkido today is a multi-faceted martial art, blending hard and soft techniques. Like traditional styles of Karate-do ("the way of the empty hand"), Hapkido employs strong linear (ie hard) techniques such as strikes and kicks. Like Aikido or Aiki-JiuJitsu, it also uses circular (ie soft) techniques, such as off-balancing or throwing, which re-direct an attacker's energy to his or her disadvantage.

Korean Martial Arts: Ancient Beginnings

Entombed wall-paintings (circa 50 BC) showing men in what appear to be fighting stances form the basis of the assumption that Korean martial arts predate Christ; although these may also have been pictures of men dancing.(World Hwa Rang Do Association, 1996). Nonetheless, the subsequent events in Korean history would tend to suggest that martial arts appeared fairly close to this time.

The history of Korean martial arts is tightly intertwined with that country's centuries-old struggle for unity from within and independence from without. Prior to the unification of the people of Korea under the sovereignty of King Chin-Heung 1300 years ago, their country was torn apart by feuds and insurrection. Three kingdoms had struggled for supremacy of the land now known as Korea:

Koguryo (37 BC to 668 AD)

Paekje (18 BC to 600 AD)

Silla (57 BC to 936 AD)

It was the Silla kingdom that prevailed, having defeated Paekje (668 AD) and Koguryo (670 AD). A key to the success of Silla was a group of young nobles known as the Hwa Rang warriors. Hwa Rang Do ("the way of flowering manhood") was not just a martial art, but a strict moral code by which its members lived collectively and individually, not unlike that of the Arthurian Knights of the Round Table or the Samurai of ancient Japan. One of the most famous legends of Hwa Rang Do is that of sixteen-year-old commander Chang, Kwan, (1- See notes section) who was captured in battle but returned to Silla lines by a Paekje general, who could not bring himself to execute the young officer. Chang, Kwan, son of Silla General P'umil, asked his father to return him to the front, where he was again captured after a day of battle:

...but after he was disarmed, he broke loose from his guards, killing both of them by hand and attacked the Paekje general's second in command. A leaping, spinning heel kick killed the commander as he sat on his horse, a full eight feet in the air. Finally subdued, he [Chang, Kwan] was taken before the Paekje general. Much distressed over the loss of his chief commander, he told Chang, Kwan, "I gave you your life once because of your youth, but now you return to take the life of my best field commander." This time the Paekje general returned the boy's head attached to the saddle of his war horse. At the Silla line, General P'umil grasped his son's head and wiped off the blood with his sleeve. "My son's face is as when he was alive," he shouted to his men. "He was able to die in the service of the king. There is nothing to regret." The King rode back into battle to defeat the Paekje general and the story became legendary in the Korean culture. (World Hwa Rang Do Association, 1996)

At the end of Silla came the Koryu dynasty of 936 AD. (Koryu was abbreviated from Koguryo and would later become the name Korea.) The Koryu period marked the beginning of a cultural renaissance for Korea, and the Hwa Rang turned their attention to gentler pursuits such as poetry and music. It is important to remember that Hwa Rang warriors were recruited at a young age from elite families. Not only were they great fighters, but they were also highly literate and well-educated. Thus they were well-suited to telling the stories of their own exploits, stories which would form the backbone of Korean culture for centuries to come. (This also reflects the genius of Silla and Koryu, for they endeavoured to do what many modern Western nations have not -- to find a place for their warriors in peace time.)

It was during the period of the Koryu kingdom that the martial arts began to fade to the cultural sidelines. The art of Soo Bakh Do enjoyed popularity as a sport, but was later consigned to military training. When Koryu gave way to the Yi kingdom (1392 AD to 1910 AD), military training -- and with it, martial arts -- disappeared. King Taejo, founder of Yi, replaced Buddhism with Confucianism as the state religion. The latter held that elites should devote themselves to art and music. Those who clung to the old ways were banished to monasteries high up in the mountains.

Korean Martial Arts: The Modern World

With the dawn of the twentieth century the ancient arts, refined by centuries of practice by dedicated monks, began to re-emerge. (Buddhist monks of China and Korea had maintained a dialogue and shared their fighting techniques with one another.) At the same time, however, Korea had been dominated by Japan from 1910 until the end of World War Two. The occupying forces forbade the practising of Korean martial arts, but did permit Koreans to study Japanese systems. Many Koreans, however, practised their own arts in secret. This lead to a further blending of arts. Notably, the Koreans were influenced by the Japanese use of linear stances and techniques.

By the beginning of the Korean war of 1950, several styles of Korean arts had been created, including:

Chung Do Kwan (2-see notes)

Moo Duk Kwan

Yun Mu Kwan

Chang Moo Kwan

Oh Do Kwan

Ji Do Kwan

The styles were united in 1955 as Tae Soo Do and later, Tae Kwon Do, for its similarity to Tae Kyon. Chung Do Kwan founder, Grandmaster Won Kuk Lee (born Korea, 1907), now a US citizen, explains:

In 1952, my students gave a [martial arts] demonstration for [South Korean] President Syngman Rhee... [who] referred to their martial art as "Tae Kyon." Several of the demonstrators...and others felt a new name was needed to reflect the Korean origins of the martial art but without association that Tae Kyon had as a martial art practised by gang members. The name "Tang Soo Do" means "Tang hand art" and carries with it an association with China's Tang Dynasty. The students consulted a Korean word book to come up with the name "Tae Kwon Do." (Tae Kwon Do Times, March 1997)

In the years that followed various associations sprang up in an effort to continue the re-unification and growth of Tae Kwon Do. These included The Korea Tae Kwon Do Association (KTA), The World Tae Kwon Do Federation (WTF), and The International Tae Kwon Do Federation (ITF). In 1980, The International Olympic Committee (IOC) officially recognized WTF Tae Kwon Do, which became a demonstration sport in 1988. In the year 2000, WTF Tae Kwon Do will be introduced to the Olympic Games.

But what about Hapkido?

Grandmaster Choi, Young Sool

Some Hapkidoka regard Grandmaster Ji, Han Jae (1936-) as the true founder of Hapkido. Certainly Hapkido would not be what is today without him; however, Master Ji, Han Jae himself gives much of the credit to Grandmaster Choi, Young Sool (1904-1986) for the creation of Hapkido.

There are many questions surrounding the early life of Master Choi. Following is the account Choi himself gave throughout his later years: Master Choi, was born Chung Buk province of Korea in 1904 and was orphaned at the age of eight or nine. He was then brought to Japan by a candy maker who later abandoned him. Left to wander the streets begging for food, he was adopted by a Japanese man who gave him the name Tatujutu Yoshida.

Life in Japan had been difficult for Choi. On the streets, he was regularly beaten by other children, no doubt because he was a foreigner. After his adoption, his time in school was equally unhappy. Yoshida (Choi) spoke little Japanese, and thus found his studies frustrating, and was getting into fights with classmates. Reportedly, his father offered him a choice: attend school or study martial arts. Yoshida (Choi) opted to learn to fight and was enrolled in Daito-Ryu Aiki-Jutsu (pronounced Dae-Dong-Ryu Hap-Ki-Sool in Korean.) His sensei was Sokaku Takeda (1860-1943) (3-See notes), with whom Yoshida claimed to have trained for nearly thirty years. With the end of World War Two and of Japanese occupation of Korea at hand, Yoshida returned to Korea in the winter of 1945 and changed his name back to Choi, Young Sool.

On the way home Chung-Buk province, however, Choi had lost his suitcase containing all of his money and his certificates from Takeda Sensei, leaving him stranded in Tae Gu province. Again Choi was forced to earn a living on the streets, but now he had a family to support. After a year of selling rice cakes, he earned enough money to buy some hogs, which he fed with free leftover grain he acquired each morning from the Suh Brewery Company. On February 21^st, 1948, during one of Choi's early-morning visits to the brewery, a group of men tried to steal his place in line for grain after he had volunteered to help draw water from the brewery's underground spring. A fight ensued, and Choi dispatched his attackers with the techniques he had learned in Japan.

Suh, Bok Sup (circa 1924-), the manager of his family-owned brewery witnessed the battle and sent his servant to summon Choi to his office. Suh, a black belt in Judo taught by Choi, Yong Ho (193? -), hoped to learn about the strange martial arts style he had witnessed. Fearing he would lose his alottment of grain, Choi refused, until Suh, Bok Sup assured Choi that he would get it. Suh asked Choi to take him on as his student and invited him into his dojang in the brewery offices:

I said to him that since I had no objection to money, please teach me whatever you know. I was able to judge his financial situation just by looking at him. I stood up and I took him to the room next to my office. I opened up the door and it was a big place with Tabor min mats, Japanese throwing mats. That's where I asked him to please show me the techniques. Since Choi, Yong Sool knew I was a first degree Judo, he told me to throw him. I didn't really feel like throwing him because he was much older than me [GM Choi was about 42 years of age]. I was somewhat hesitant to throw him yet I lightly grabbed him and he immediately used a pain technique on me. It happened all of a sudden, without explaining anything, he just did it. I got angry. Here I was, very gentle with Choi and I felt he wasn't too nice to me so I got mad. I wanted to take time but Choi, Yong Sool gave me no chance so I decided to fight back. I decided to throw Choi, Yong Sool and grabbed him on the shoulder. I found myself in trouble. In Judo, usually one person has touched the other person's body in order to throw him, but this time there was no touching involved. So, I was deeply impressed. So that's how the two of us got started. (American Hapkido Association Homepage, 1997.)

In return for private lessons, Suh provided Choi with grain, money, and the use of his private dojang to teach other students. Choi called his art Yoo Sool (Korean pronunciation for JiuJitsu), and began modify Takeda Sensei's style with some kicking and weapons techniques.

Suh continued to train with Choi for many years. In 1951 Suh and Choi opened a school outside the brewery called Yu Kwon Sool Hap Ki Dojang. (4-See notes) In 1954, Suh's father, Suh, Dong Jin, ran successfully for the Korean National Assembly. Suh, Bok Sup prevailed in a physical confrontation with Chun, Se Daek, a brother-in-law of one of his father's political opponents:

He is a big man for a Korean. My eyes would be at his chest level. He had a vicious reputation of killing two people, before 1945 and after 1945. One week before the election, Chun, Se Daek and I had a fight.... He had heard much about the reputation I had... He wanted to have some kind of fight with me. So, as I said, one week before the election we finally had a fight at a speech area where he was giving a public speech... That's when I ran into this man named Chun, Se Daek... That's when Chun, Se Daek grabbed me by the neck... I had thought about bending his wrist, but was afraid I would break it. He was such a strong man. I had considered throwing him using Judo, the man was way too tall for that. That's when I lowered my body and kicked him in the side and knocked him back away... He was a little scared. The crowd came to break up the fight. Chun, Se Daek sent policemen to my home for reconciliation...

He wanted me to come to his office to make peace... That's when a fist flew from Chun, Se Daek's brother. He had tried to trick me and I sprang up, stepped away and reposed getting ready to fight. We both stood up and I'd noticed that this man was taller than me. The man was about to use his boxing.

Instead of fighting back, I just avoided the fists. Not one fist struck me. Now the man tried Judo, so I had decided to use his power. Each time the man grabbed me, I showed him another Hap Ki Do technique. That's when everyone in the office became in awe of my techniques. They knew it was definitely not Judo. That's the incident that made Hap Ki Do famous throughout the city of Daegue. (American Hapkido Association Homepage, 1997).

It was during this time that Assemblyman Suh engaged Choi as his personal body guard. Grandmaster Choi and Suh, Bok Sup continued train together and give demonstrations and Hapkido gained in popularity and respect.

Grandmaster Ji, Han Jae

Grandmaster Ji, Han Jae was born in Andong, Korea in 1936. When he was three, his family fled Japanese-occupied Korea for China. After the war, Ji, Han Jae's family returned to Korea In 1949, thirteen-year-old Ji began training full time Yu Kwon Sool with Grandmaster Choi, and remained with him until 1956. Training under a master known as "Taoist Lee," Master Ji learned Tae Kyon kicking, jang-bong (Korean for six-foot staff), the dan-bong (Korean for short stick), and meditation. Master Ji also studied spiritual power for five years under a woman monk known as "Grandma."

In 1958, Ji left Daegue city and returned to Andong where he opened his first two Yu Kwon Sool dojang which he named Sung Moo Kwan. (The second of these was located in a neck tie factory!) He kept the schools for nine months before relocating to Joong Boo Shi Jang, Seoul, in 1958, and remained there until April of 1960. There began the martial arts careers of two of Ji's first and greatest students. In 1958 Bong Soo Han, who later founded the International Hapkido Association, began training under Master Ji, until he left for the United States eleven years later. Myung Kwan Sik, who began under Master Ji, would also move to the United States, where he founded the World Hapkido Association.

The following account identifies Ji as the first person to use the term hapkido:

...Ji began to piece together the Yoo Sool (Yoo Kwon Sool) teachings of Grandmaster Choi, with the methods of meditation, the Tae Kyon kicking techniques, and the weapons techniques learned from Taoist Lee, along with the spiritual training he received from "grandma," to formulate his own style of martial art, for which he chose the name "Hapkido." He had originally thought of calling it "Hapki-Yoo-Kwon-Sool," but decided against that, feeling it was too long of a name. He thought of other martial arts he had heard of, such as Tae Kwon Do, Kong Soo Do, Soo Bakh Do, etc., where the word "do" was being used instead of "sool". He liked this idea because the word "do" means a path to follow, or a way of life, rather than simply meaning "technique", as "sool" implies. The name hapkido was chosen in 1959, and has been used ever since. The word itself can be translated as the "way of coordinated power." Where "hap" means to unify or coordinate, "ki" means mental and/or physical energy, and "do" means a way of life, or the "path" or "way" of coordinating your mental and physical energy into one entity.

During a conversation I had with Grandmaster Ji, Han Jae...it was related to me that after he chose the name Hapkido to represent his art, he gave this name to his teacher, Yong-Sool Choi to use -- out of respect. Choi taught under the name Hapkido until his death in 1986, even though he did not teach the complete curriculum -- leaving out the majority of the kicking techniques, and a lot of the weapons techniques. (Sin Koo Hapkido Homepage, 1997) (5 - See notes)

In May of 1961, the Korean government was overthrown by General Park, Chung-Hee (1917-1979), who would later become the president. In 1962, Ji opened another dojang, in the Hwa Shin department store. Soon he would be hired as an instructor to Military Supreme Council and the presidential security forces. He held the latter position until President Park's death in 1979.

From 1962 to 1979, Master Ji was a bodyguard to Korean President Park in the Blue House. In 1969, Master Ji was brought to the United States to teach Hapkido to FBI and Secret Service agents, and other officials. In 1984, Grandmaster Ji moved to the United States and founded Sin Moo Hapkido. He later promoted his early students to the rank of ninth degree black belt -- Bong Soo Han in 1984 and Myung Kwan Sik in 1986. Grandmaster Bong Soo Han is credited with popularizing Hapkido in the West and bringing it the big screen. His first film appearance was in the 1971 feature "Billy Jack." Master Han doubled for star Tom Laughlin and choreographed the film's fight scenes.

It is interesting to note, that Hapkido is not organized under the KTA, ITF or WTF, perhaps the only Korean art with this unique status. Hapkido in Korea is overseen by three organizations: The Korea Kido Association, The Korea Hapkido Association, and The International Hapki Federation.