About HanGookDo

Korea Hapkido Central Demonstration Team

Hapkido is a uniquely comprehensive, traditional Korean martial art of self-defence, which focuses on the simultaneous development of the body, mind and spirit.

Literally translated, Hapkido means the 'Art of Energy Co-ordination'.

Hap - Co-ordination/Harmony

Ki - Energy

Do - Way/Art

Hapkido has the most varied types of techniques and is an extremely integrated art consisting of extensive joint locking and pressure point techniques, takedowns, submissions, ground-fighting, throws, dynamic kicking techniques, strikes, punches, falling-down skills, breathing techniques, and an array of weapons techniques, including the sword, the cane, the fan, short stick, and belt skills. The vast array of techniques equip the student to defend against any situation, and the full array of possible holds, grabs, punches, kicks and weapons attacks. Falling down and rolling skills are vital for self-protection in real-life situations. Training in Hapkido is also a very effective way of promoting good health. As the practitioner becomes more skilled, special breathing techniques are also developed, in order to enhance inner understanding and appreciation of one's own body.

The philosophy of Hapkido focuses upon the harmonious co-ordination of three principles: Won (Circle Principle), Yu (Nature/Water Principle) and Hwa (Principle of Non-Resistance).

Won - In Hapkido, external fluid circular movements are used in order to manipulate and utilise an opponent's weight, strength, movement and line of balance, with minimal effort.

Yu- Hapkido techniques should be executed like water flowing down a mountain. In order to move naturally, movements are soft, fluid and move together with nature.

Hwa - Rather than opposing force with force, Hapkido techniques move with the direction of an opponent's force, in order to re-direct the accumulated energy. For example, as an opponents pulls you towards him, you should push backwards. Equally, as an opponent pushes you, you should pull him towards you. This is basically the principle of push-pull which should be developed throughout Hapkido training, in order to efficiently unbalance an opponent and execute techniques with minimal effort, by utilising an opponent's own force against him.

Above all, Hapkido is a practical method of self-defence that is suitable for everyone. It is such a highly developed and practical art, that it can be executed skilfully, without regard to the size, strength, age or sex of the practitioner or opponent. The secret is in its precision and in its ability to unlock the hidden wells of self-strength and confidence that lie deep within us all.

Hapkido History

In the Far East, Korea established a cultural base earlier than other Eastern countries. So to speak, the Orient was the source of culture and the source of culture was from Eastern people. Therefore, the origin of civilisation on the earth was Eastern countries.

In ancient times, Han-In (the King of Heaven and ancestor to the very 1st generation of Korea) played with Ki energy. Energy is completed from Hapki which combines Ki. Han-In achieved a magical art which attained the exquisite principle of controlling Ki in his own way.

Han-In's son, Han-Ung Cheon-Hwang (the Great King), watched the earth from above and observed human life. Han-Ung wanted to ensure a bright future for human life and Han-In agreed that humans did indeed deserve to gain happiness. So, with 3,000 followers, Han-In descended to Mount T'aebaek. From there, he governed the people, taking charge of 360 areas of responsibility, attending to matters such as agriculture, illness and medicine, punishment, and good and evil. By establishing his Bedal dynasty, he sowed the seeds for the nation of Korea.

Han-Ung Cheon-Hwang practiced the important Korean philosophy of Hong-Ik-In-Gan (giving for the benefit of others) received from Han-In.

In Han-Ung times, in Su-Do Je-Dan, people trained their body, mind and spirit from Cheon Buk Kyeong, a book comprised of three parts. One of the parts, Cham Jeon Gae Kyeong, was about methods of controlling one's own mind.

After learning everything from Cham Jeon Gae Kyoung, that person would have gained a lot of clear knowledge. They would then be ready to obtain the principle of Sam-Hwa-Gi-Il from another part, that of Sam-Il-Shin-Go. This involved meditation. Through meditation, a person could enter the Su-Do world and become a perfect human.

Han-Ung had a son named Dankun Wangom. Dankun succeeded his father and formed the very 1st Generation of Korea by creating the 1st Korean Dynasty, Choseon (now known as Ko-Choseon (Old Choseon)).

Sam-Rang was the title of distinguished position in the (Ko-)Choseon Dynasty. On the island of Kanghwa in Korea, there is a place called Sam-Rang-seong (Sam-Rang castle). This castle is a place where Sam-Rang lived and it was also the place where people could protect the Sam-Shin (the Three Gods) who protect Korea, Han-In, Han-Ung and Han-Gum (also known as Cho Hwa Shin, Ko Hwa Shin and Chi Hwa Shin respectively) or, together, known as Hanalim (One God).

Sam-Rang was the name of a person who protected Sam-Shin. Originally, they were called Sam-Shin-Shi-Jong-Ji-Rang. The public protection of Sam-Shin was passed on from generation to generation and, hence, the Sam-Rang castle became known as the place for protecting Sam-Shin. In addition, as well as guarding the castle, Sam-Rang were known as bodyguards who protected the King himself.

King Ga-Rol was the 3rd Generation descendant of Dankun Wangom. During King Ga-Rol's reign, the King talked to Sam-Rang Ul-Bo-Rok and ordered him to create an alphabet. Sam-Rang Ul-Bo-Rok invented Ka-Rim-To-Moon, the old Korean alphabet comprised of 38 characters.

King Shol-La was the 25th Generation of the Dankun family. In his 47th year as King, King Shol-La had many Generals but wanted to know how to distinguish between those that were good and those that were bad. He asked Sam-Rang Hong-Wong-Sun for his advice on making a distinction. Sam-Rang Hong-Wong-Sun replied that if the King did something unscrupulous, there would be two types of General - those that would agree and bow to everything that the King did and those that would not.

"A good person would not be afraid of anything, including direct talk with the King. They would talk to the King if something was wrong and not just obey everything he said."

As he explained, the King is like the beginning of water flowing down. The King, together with the General, is at the source of the water that is flowing down to the people and so the moving water must be clear. Most importantly, if the King is correct, and then the Generals are correct, then everybody is safe and well. It is also stated in a document that"If the Holy King is good, the General will also be good."

Sam-Rang did a lot of Ki training, so that they knew how to control the energy of their own body. They still had a connection with the sky and they were sometimes possessed by the Gods from above. They were human but they were perfect humans. They reigned over human life and were considered Bedal Gods, or Gods of the Korean People.

Dankun ruled Korea for 1500 years. Then, from 57 B.C., three Kingdoms of Korea were formed - the Shilla Dynasty (57 B.C. - A.D. 935), the Koguryeo Dynasty (37 B.C. - A.D. 668) and the Baekje Dynasty (18 B.C. - A.D. 660).

Ki martial arts spread throughout the age of the Three Kingdoms and evidence of the practice of Korean martial arts during these ancient times can still be found all over Korea. The wall paintings from the Koguryeo Dynasty found on Sam-Shil-Chong tomb mound, Su-Beok-Ta from the Baekje Dynasty and the statues of A and Um (also referred to as Kumkang-Yuksa) erected during the Shilla Dynasty inside Seokgulam cave in Bulguksa Temple are historical examples of expressions of power from the skill of controlling Ki in ancient times.

During the Baekje Dynasty, Sam-Rang continued to be the position of distinction. The equivalent position in the Shilla Dynasty was that of the Hwarang. The Hwarang were made up of the sons of the rich and noblesse and they had been sent by their families to train. In comparison, in the Koguryeo Dynasty, everybody who was single and young, regardless of wealth or family status, could train at Kyoungdang.

In Kyoungdang, they trained in horse-riding, archery practice, manner, singing, reading and Hapki. These practices were very strict and systematic. They were not allowed to be ungrateful to their parents, be disloyal to their nation or be disrespectful to a Master. Such behaviours were called Sam-Jeok (Three Enemies), so that it was an important attitude for them to avoid. Moreover, they were strongly against being lazy in their task, being disobedient to order and ignoring one's mistakes. This was called Sam-Bo.

The old theory of Sam-Shin practice also spread rapidly as everybody respected Shin-Si-Han-Ung. Sam-Shin practice spread from the Koguryeo Dynasty, then expanded across the Shilla and Baekje Dynasties. The higher-level Buddhist monk He-Yang introduced Pal-Kan-Kwe to the Shilla Dynasty.

Pal-Kan-Kwe is a traditional Korean ceremony of Sam-Shin admiration (totemism). After this ceremony, people went up on Oo-Re-Roo-Gak and, from there, watched a competition called Bak-He which was part of the Guk-Joon national festival. The Korean scholar Dan-Je Shin Che-Ho shared some information about some of the one hundred skills that were used in this competition:

"First, Han-Meng involved fighting against two people using stone strikes in water. The fighter stood in water with a person on his left side and a person on his right side. The winner and loser were decided by a series of stone strikes against one another.

Second, Su-Bak involved empty hands fighting. That is, fighting an opponent without a weapon. This skill was introduced to Japan, where it was known as the art Yusool, and China, where it was known as the art of Kwanbop.

Third, sword techniques were a main ability for a warrior of the Buyeo Dynasty, a Sun-In warrior of the Koguryeo Dynasty and the Sam-Rang of the Shilla Dynasty.

Forth, Kung-Sul involved archery and was very popular in Korea. In ancient times, the Chinese admitted that Korean archery was great and excellent.

Fifth, Kyeok-Goo involved demonstrating ball-skills in a ball ground.

Sixth, Kum-Hwan involved fighting people by throwing them.

Seventh, Ju-Ma involved horse-riding.

Finally, eighth was Hae-Reop, which involved going out hunting.

Although there were one hundred skills during the Shilla Dynasty, in Pal-Kan-Kwe competition, the eight skills mentioned above were the most famous skills used."

It may be added that, such customs were not limited to Korea. Indeed, during its Yo, Kum and Cheoung Dynasties, China also held similar martial arts festivals.

The popularity of Korean martial arts continued to grow. During the Koryeo Dynasty in Korea, national Hapki was so popular that the instruction of martial arts was made by King Jeong-Jo's order. Even before that, Ki martial arts had greatly expanded throughout the three Kingdoms age of Korea, and then spread to other neighbouring countries. In particular, people from the Koguryeo Dynasty in the North emigrated to China and people from the Shilla and Baekje Dynasties in the South emigrated to Japan. With them, Korean martial arts were exported.

In his book, Domiki from the University of Waseda in Japan explained history in the following way:

"In the age of Kamajula, original Hapkido was from the Sam-Rang Won-Eoi-Kwang. They then taught it to the Japanese Minamoto family and the Minamoto family passed it on to the Takeda family. It stayed in the Takeda family and, after seven generations, it was introduced to Takeda Sogaku, who was the 35th Generation of the Takeda family. Takeda Sogaku then handed it down to Takedaga who was also his best student."

More recently, for 90 days Takeda Sogaku taught Morihei Ueshiba some of the external and circular skills of Hapkido, and, from this, Ueshiba later founded Aikido.

Thus, original Japanese Hapkido was from the Sam-Rang Won-Eoi-Kwang who were a Korean noble family of the Shilla Dynasty. Indeed, such has been confirmed by books which were written by Japanese scholars. It is also reported that the Sam-Rang Won-Eoi-Kwang family introduced the magical art of combining Ki to Japan.

The origin of Hapkido is Korea. Japanese Hapkido originated from Korean Sam-Rang. Sam-Rang protected Sam-Shin and trained in the principle of Sam-Shin, so that Sam-Rang and Sam-Shin have an inseparable relationship. Sam-Shin philosophy and the reasoning behind Sam-Shin practice is like that of Hapkido. Thus, Sam-Rang and Hapki have an inseparable relationship too.

Over the years, we can notice that Hapkido has continued to expand and be exported to China and Japan.

Back in the period of Dankun, the Great King of (Ko-)Choseon, Chi-Woo Cheon-Hwang, conquered Yum Je Yu Man, the 8th Generation descendant of Yum Je Shin Wan. Chi-Woo took over Yu Man's land and Yum Je Yu Man fled to Ta-Lok castle. From this time, Chi-Woo went to war in Ta-Lok castle with the owner of the castle, the Great King of China, Hun Won. This war is known as Ta-Lok's greatest war and lasted ten years, during which Chi-Woo and Hun-Won fought more than 70 times. Unfortunately, one of the casualties of war was Chi-Woo's general, Chi-Woo-Bi, who had been arrested by Hun Won and died.

According to Chinese history it is claimed that Chi-Woo died in the same war. Yet, in fact, Chi-Woo lived for a long time after the war, controlling He-De land, before eventually passing away years later. His grave is in San Dung castle.

After his death, Chi-Woo's sons divided into 10 groups, with each group expanding and controlling many parts of China. The Dong-Hi tribe also established the custom of an annual ceremony, in honour of Chi-Woo. The ceremony was held every year and was respected by all Chinese people including the noblesse and royal family until the Jin and Han periods.

In addition, Ki energy martial art progressed impressively and developed into several different kinds of styles of martial arts. Indeed, overall, we can recognise that the basics of many Japanese and Chinese martial arts did in fact originate from Korea.

The Korea Hapkido Federation

The Korea Hapkido Federation is the longest running Hapkido organisation and considered the most famous in Korea. They have been well established for many years and were the first official governing body of Hapkido in Korea and throughout the world.

The Chronology of the Korea Hapkido Federation

1965 - The Korea Hapkido Federation, Dae Han Hapkido Hyup Hwe, was established
1973 - Unification - Renamed Dae Han Min Kook Hapkido Hyup Hwe
1984 - Renamed Dae Han Hapkido Hyup Hwe
1985 - Unification - Renamed Sae Ma Ul Hapkido Hyup Hwe
1985 - Unification - Renamed Dae Han Hapkido Jung Ang Yun Hyup Hwe
1986 - Unification - Renamed Dae Han Chae Yuk Jin Hung Hwe Dae Han Hapkido Hyup Hwe
1990 - Renamed Sa Dan Bup In Dae Han Hapkido Hyup Hwe
2005 - It has remained as Sa Dan Bup In Dae Han Hapkido Hyup Hwe

Today, the Korea Hapkido Federation is a global federation aiming towards the unification and expansion of Hapkido, introducing the art to whole continents. They send top qualified masters throughout the world in order to ensure it is taught in the correct manner and to the level required in order to expand on such a large scale.

Merry Christmas

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