Hapkido History
Hap Ki Do is one of the most well respected martial arts in the world today. It has been developed over the centuries from the battlefield to the classroom. What started as a fighting method for the warrior class has evolved into a true martial art which develops the students physical and mental strength for todays world. This section will help you to understand more clearly where your martial art comes from and how it evolved into what you practice in the classroom today.
In studying this history you must understand that Hap Ki Do has two very distinct historical classifications. The first is the Royal Court History which explains how our techniques were developed and tested in battle. The second historical period is the Modern Era History which explains how our martial art was developed in the classroom to translate the warrior spirit to the non-warrior class.
Royal Court History
Like many martial arts we draw our history back many centuries to the Shaolin Temple and our Spiritual Founder, Da Mo. Da Mo was an Indian prince who who gave up everything to become a monk. He traveled from India to China where he is accredited with developing the earliest forms of martial arts at the Shaolin Temple. Da Mo became aware that the life of a monk was not the healthiest life. Monks spent a great deal of time in meditation and did not have the healthiest of diets so many monks were very physically weak and frail. Da Mo believed that in order to be a good monk one must attain both physical and mental strength. He beleived that a strong body was imperative for the health of the monks around him but also to protect the temples that had become a target of marauders. It was to this end that he made physical training a part of the daily routine of the Shaolin monks. This training focused on unarmed techniques and Da Mo felt that by practicing these techniques with discipline and extreme focus the monks would attain a higher physical and spiritual level.
In 372 A.D. monks from the Shaolin Temple, or Young Forest Temple, traveled to the Royal Court of what is now Korea and taught many of the foundations and training methods that they practiced. This is now known as our founding date as this marked the point in which fighting methods developed in Korea began to evolve into true martial arts. Many of the Royal Families began implementing these methods into their own fighting methods in order to train more powerful armies. Each family that had wealth would have their own standing army so martial arts at this time evolved in many different directions. Warriors of the time would train both armed and unarmed combat techniques. The unarmed techniques of this time tended to focus more on the joint locking aspect as warriors would normally be wearing armor. Kicks and punches were still trained regularly to improve strength, flexibility and balance. Only the best warriors would survive during times of war to teach what they knew. In this way martial arts evolved by finding the best techniques and training methods as the inferior ones would not survive the battlefield. Many of these techniques have become the foundations of modern day Hap Ki Do.
One of the most famous warrior groups from Korea were the Hwarang or "Flower Knights" of the Silla Dynasty. They were formed in the the 6th century comprised of the best young warriors from the royal families. The Hwarang were a group of aristocratic young men who gathered to study, play and learn the arts of war. Though the Hwarang were not a part of the regular army, their military spirit, their sense of loyalty to king and nation, and their bravery on the battlefield contributed greatly to the power of the Silla army.
It should be noted the Hwarang-do was a philosophical and religious code followed by valiant warriors - not a fighting style or combat technique in itself. Generally, King Chinhung (534-576; 24th Silla King, reigned 540-576) is acknowledged to have organized Hwarang-do as a philosophical study in the 37th year of his reign. The Hwarang spread their influence throughout the Korean pennisula and excelled in archery - mounted and unmounted. Though they practiced fencing, no set fencing or unarmed combat styles developed from the Hwarang warriors. Instead, they focused on studying Chinese classics and military strategies, as well as the fighting arts, and in July and August, an annual national festival was conducted for the Hwarang to demonstrate martial skills.
But it was in their devotion to furthering the unity and well-being of the nation as a whole that the Hwarang played their most important role. They went in groups to the mountains - for physical training, to enjoy the beauties of nature, and to make their peace with the Spirit of the Mountain. They were highly literate, and they composed ritual songs and performed ritual dances whose purpose was to pray for the country's welfare. They also involved themselves directly in intellectual and political affairs.
The Hwarang movement appeared to be a type of schooling for the sons of Silla's aristocrats; however, there are cases of sons of low ranking parents belonging to this elite group. The movement was certainly royally supported as kings themselves served as Hwarang before taking their responsibilities on the throne.
The Hwarang represented the best of the best as warriors, leaders, and men of high moral character. It is on these foundations that Hap Ki Do was built. The spirit of the Hwarang are the epitome of what a martial artist should aspire to be but now in a modern era.
Modern Era History
In order to understand the Modern Era History of Hap Ki Do you must understand a little about the history of korea itself. From 1910 until 1945 Korea was under occupation by Japan. During that time the Japanese government enforced very strict laws on Korea to limit their ability to rebel. One of those laws was the ban of martial arts instruction. Many martial artists either left the country or taught in secret but either way Korea lost its identity when it came to Martial Arts. In 1945 with the end of World War 2 also came the end of Japanese occpupation of Korea, and so began the process of finding a new national identity.
As with most Asian nations, an identity in the world of martial arts is very important to their history and heritage. Many martial artists who had been banned from teaching for the past thirty years re-emerged to enlist new pupils. Prior to this time period many martial arts were either nameless or associated with a family name but in order to unify common names needed to be made. It was during this time that Taekwondo and Hap Ki Do became an important part of the world's martial arts landscape. The history of Hap Ki Do is very clouded and controversial but most would agree that in the Modern Era of Hap Ki Do the two men most responsible for its growth were Choi Yong Sul and Ji Han Jae.
Choi Yong Sul was born in Korea in 1904 but spent much of his early years in Japan. Much of his early life and training are debated but what is clear is that he began teaching martial arts in Korea in 1948 and opened his first school in 1951. What he taught was almost entirely self-defense. Kicking and striking were a very limited part of his program but his self-defense teaching was far superior to other formalized schools at the time. One of his first students was a man by the name of Ji Han Jae.
Ji Han Jae was the 14th Black Belt under Choi Yong Sul and trained under him until 1956 when he moved to Seoul and opened his own school. Ji Han Jae is credited with two very important things. He is beleived to be the person who first coined the name Hap Ki Do and he also emphasized more of a balance between self-defense and kicking. He did for the kicking side of Hap Ki Do what Choi Yong Sul did for the self-defense side as far as defining a curriculum and progression.
These two men paved the way for Hap Ki Do to become one of the most well respected martial arts in the world. Under their leadership the versatility of Hap Ki Do was strenghtened and a formalized martial art was born.
