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International Alliance
of Martial Arts
USA
The History of Hapkido
Knee StrikeIt should be first understood that a Martial Art is not invented
or created by any one person. Techniques are developed by many over a great
number of years. Just as wrestling, boxing, and fencing are unique to the
western world, Martial Arts have been developed through a long history of Asian
countries.
During the Three Kingdom Era (SAM-KUK-SHI-DAE) (from 57 B.C. to 688 A.D) Three
Kingdoms competed on the Korean peninsula: KO-GU-RYO (37 B.C.) in the north,
PAEK-JAB (18 B.C.) in the southwest, and SHILLA (57 B.C.) in the southeast.
Martial Arts techniques much like those of modern day Hapkido were introduced to
ancient Korea with the introduction of Buddhism in KO-GU-RYO approximately 372
AD. Evidence can be found in many of the ancient wall and cave paintings and
sculptures from that period of time.
During the SHILLA (57 B.C. to 660 AD) and the United SHILLA Kingdom (676 AD to
935 AD) each kingdom gathered about them an elite group of young knights, the
HWA-RANG (Flowering Youth) Warriors, who were highly disciplined, adhered to a
strict code of ethics and were extremely proficient in the martial arts. These
warriors, who were to train the future national leaders, were taught Hapkido
techniques for their physical fitness, mental discipline and self-defense.
The SHILLA kingdom was overturned in 935 AD by the Dynasty of KO-RYO, from which
then name "Korea" was derived. During the KO-RYO Dynasty (918 AD -1392 AD)
Buddhism was the state religion and greatly influenced politics and
administrations as well as martial arts. Many kings including king EYI-JONG, and
king CHOONG-HEI, brought Hapkido experts into the palace to perform
demonstrations of the martial arts. This is the beginning of Hapkido as a royal
martial art.
In the history of Hapkido, a monk Grandmaster SU-SAN taught Hapkido to the monks
who were successful in repelling the Japanese invaders during the IN-JIN-WAE-RAN
invasion. This was a prime example of Hapkido applied on a grand scale.
In the new CHO-SON dynasty (1392-1910) or YI dynasty as it is often called, the
collapse of Buddhism came about and its subsequent replacement by Confucianism...
which respects scholarly disciplines and looks down upon physical force or
martial arts, brought about the down fall of martial arts. Painting, sculpting,
and writing replaced the art of fighting. The country progressively took on an
anti-militaristic temperament. By the end of the nineteenth century, martial
arts had come to be looked down upon by the Korean citizen, if not completely
banned in many regions.
Hapkido barely maintained its continuation through individual masters, Buddhist
monks and royal families practicing the arts in seclusion. In an attempt to
prevent the complete loss of the fighting arts, king JUNG-JO ordered his general
LEE-DUK-MOO to compile a book of all the known martial techniques. The book
known as MOO-YAE-DO-BO-TONG-JI has many detailed examples of Hapkido techniques
recorded within its pages.
The CHO-SON dynasty was brought down by the Japanese in 1910. From 1910 to 1945
the Japanese ruled Korea. Under Japanese rule, all civil liberties were revoked.
The Japanese closed many private schools and established their own public
schools designed to assimilate Korean youth into the Japanese culture, omitting
Korean language and history and stressing Japan's instead. The martial arts
again suffered since the occupying Japanese would not even allow Korean sports,
let alone Korean martial arts to be practiced. But as before those dedicated few
continued to practice, quietly defying their invading rulers.
In 1945 after Korea regained control of their country, the martial arts once
again gained popularity in this defense hungry nation. Hapkido was re-introduced
by the man given the title of founder or father of modern day Hapkido, CHOI,
YONG-SOOL. Before his death in 1987 Supreme Grandmaster CHOI taught all the
Hapkido techniques to a few outstanding students, who in turn took on the task
of popularizing Hapkido in modern Korea. Today, one cannot find a single city in
Korea without Hapkido schools. All the government organizations, all the
military academies and special military units have Hapkido instructors and
practitioners totaling over one million already.
Among foreign countries such as USA, Germany, Canada, Spain, Brazil, Argentina,
Mexico, China, and France, there is a solid foundation of Hapkido schools that
is continuing through the unending dedication of the Hapkido Masters throughout
the world.