Women find our program an excellent art for self-defense and fitness. Hapkido relies on knowledge
and movement rather than strength to complete techniques. The size of the person performing a technique is irrelevant. Consequently,
a 220 lb. attacker is at the mercy of a 110 lb. trained practitioner. This quality makes Hapkido ideal for women and children
over the age of 10.
Non-resistance is a characteristic of Hapkido and one of the major areas where the art differs from its more
traditional karate cousins. For example, in defending against a powerfully thrown punch, the Hapkido practitioner would never
step inside his opponent's area of greatest momentum and block with a hard right angle thrust. Instead, he would avoid a direct
confrontation by stepping to the outside to parry the punch with a soft circular motion of the arm and hand.
The same circle, which allows the Hapkido practitioner to flow from one motion to the next without interruption,
provides an unbroken line of continuous motion, power, and energy. The circular method of attacking is the principal method
of combat employed by predatory animals. An example would be a tiger stalking and attacking its prey with its characteristic
circular patterns.
The Hapkido practitioner uses circular patterns to gain momentum for executing the techniques in a natural and
free-flowing manner. Straight but jerky movements are extremely difficult to redirect once the power has been unleashed. However,
by employing the principle of the circle, the momentum can be changed from a frontal to a lateral motion, etc., by simply
altering the axis of the circle. Therefore, one can quite easily and freely move from one circular pattern to another. It
is in this manner that Hapkido is coordinated.
Hapkido not only redirects and suppresses an attacker's flow of energy peacefully, but turns it back against
the attacker and follows through with offensive techniques which may control his violence or render him incapable of further
antagonistic actions. The Hapkido practitioner is in complete control of the confrontation defusing the aggression without
the need for uncontrolled damage as seen in many "hard" styles.
Hapkido provides complete physical conditioning that improves balance, posture, flexibility, timing, quickness,
muscle tone, joint strength, and most importantly, confidence through physical and mental discipline.
