HAPKIDO Korean Martial Art of SELF DEFENSE
Hapkido is a Korean martial art oriented to street fighting or defensive tactics rather than competitive or sports oriented training. Hapkido techniques include strikes, punches, kicks, joint locks, chokes, pressure points, throws, pins, grappling, and ground fighting. Hapkido was used as a basis for teaching hand-to-hand combat to Special Forces Troops (Green Berets) in Viet Nam. Modern Hapkido is 100% self defense, there are no forms. All kicks are directed to the lower part of the body, and no acrobatic skills are required to use these kicks	Hapkido training is ideal for anyone who is looking for training that is focused on self protection. This training deals with how to defend yourself in real situations; in the street, a parking garage, or any place you need to defend yourself or the people you care about. . Modern Hapkido employs throws in a very limited manner and does not require any unusual strength to execute its techniques. It obviously is better to be strong than weak, but awareness and good technique will improve your chances of surviving/escaping regardless of your size/strength.
For Men and Women	Realistic Training

100% Self Defense that teaches you:

• How to avoid/capture punches and kicks

• Fighting when on the ground

• Hand strikes and when you use them

• Kicks and when you use them

• Chokes, how you can escape/use them

• Wrist/Arm grabs, how to escape/use them

• Hair pulls, how you can get away

• Joint locks, pressure points, throws/sweeps

• Clothing grabs, how to escape

• Escapes from Bearhugs – Front and Rear
• Knife Attack Responses – Safe Escape
• Falls and Rolls - How to Land Safely

Now you can learn a martial art that is designed for real people with normal athletic ability:

No Acrobatics!	No High Kicks!
No Fancy Moves!	No Nonsense!

Surviving depends on skill, not strength.

Hapkido, Korean Art of Self Defense, uses tactics that rely on the major principles of balance, speed, and leverage to help overcome an opponent’s perhaps superior force. These tactics are available to both men and women. Hapkido does not require the brute strength and muscle mass of some martial arts.

Three main principles guide us: (1) Non-resistance/Evasion:         We get out of harm’s way.  If pushed, we will give way. If pulled, we go toward the attacker.  If punched at or kicked at, we will add some surprises of our own, such as a quick throw.          (2) Circular motion:          We always try to circle and spin our opponent to get him/her off balance.  We block attacks with softer, more deceptive motions than some of the harder styles of karate. We twist, and turn our attacker’s body/limbs to unbalance him/her and cause pain. We use skill, not raw muscle to survive.                                                                     (3) Water principle:       We act like water by flowing around our attacker and by shifting our weight like waves splashing down on him/her. We also kick and punch as if we were shaking hot water off the end of our limbs. Speed helps generate power, so we want to be relaxed and flow like water as we counter attack and escape.

What will the training cover?

You will learn how to respond to real threat situations with specific, easy to learn techniques You will engage in effective training in those techniques. You will learn to do what it takes to survive (when the situation is such that you cannot use reason). The assailant on the street or campus who attacks you isn’t using logic or mercy and will not respond to common sense or verbal commands, especially if impaired by alcohol or drugs. In those cases, you need to come out of the confrontation intact while controlling or escaping from the subject with whatever level of force you are able by law, your skills, and the situation to use. Hapkido has kicks and strikes/punches like Tang Soo Do /Tae Kwon Do along with joint locks like Jujitsu as well as basic throws and chokes like Judo.

This makes Hapkido a versatile martial art designed for self protection.

Hapkido can be used by both men and women to defend themselves in those situations where flight or escape is not possible.

	Attacker grabs from behind wrapping up defender’s arms.   She slams back into him, then turns (strike to groin may also be inserted), and escapes from his grasp.
	. She then throws him onto pavement. At this time, if he is stunned enough, she can make a safe escape.
		100% Self Defense for Today's Society

 

	Attacker punches with right hand. As he does the defender intercepts or blocks and also strikes. The defender then grabs the neck of attacker and pulls him down into a front knee.
	The defender then spins and throws attacker to ground and makes a safe escape.
		100% Self Defense for Today's Society

What happens in class?

	You may do some light warm up exercises and stretches that will loosen up joints and the large muscles in the body that you will be using in certain techniques.
	We will examine how to avoid dangerous situations and also to recognize them before they are a threat to you. We will show you what to do, if you must fight. You will learn how to protect yourself from sexual assaults.
	We will talk frankly about how to reduce your risk of attack. We demonstrate and explain specific techniques that can be used to control events in your favor. You will practice techniques in a way that teaches you to move your whole body as you escape, control, and eliminate threats. We work on specific techniques in each class. These techniques are chosen to broaden your skills.
	We will do selected hand strikes, evasions, blocks, kicks, joint locks, chokes, and escapes. You get a variety of techniques so that you can choose the ones that will fit your size, skills level, attitude, etc. We will vary techniques to avoid boredom, and we repeat them so that you can really learn. You may not soon need to defend yourself on campus (perhaps ever) , but it is a good thing to know, just in case you do. After all you don’t know where you might be living or traveling in the future.

Welcome to Hapkido! I look forward to teaching you more about how to defend yourself.

 

Vic Cushing

 

©2004 Victor M. Cushing