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History of Hapkido

The History of Hapkido seems to be obscured and difficult to follow.  The general concensus is that a young Korean by the name Yong Sul Choi spent approximately 35 years in Japan from his childhood forward.  During this time it is unclear what position he held officially(servant or assistant), but Mr. Choi was trained by Master Sokaku Takeda in the art of Japanese Daito-Ryu Aiki Jujitsu. 

Later near the end of World War II Mr. Choi returned to Korea and opened a small school in Taegu, the third largest city in Korea.  There he began informally teaching students his martial art.  Yong Sul Choi has been credited with the founding of modern Hapkido.

In Hapkido circular movements are commonly  used to redirect the force of an opponents attack, either opening a counter strike opportunity or joint lock.  Force is never met head on, but deflected, redirected, and used against the attacker.  Well executed Hapkido techniques require minimal energy from the Hapkido practitioner as he use his opponents strength and momentum against him.

Because of the striking taught in Hapkido as a defensive option, it seems that Hapkido falls somewhere in the middle between the terms “Soft” or “Hard Style.” 

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