THE HISTORY OF HAPKIDO
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In 935 A.D. the kingdom of Silla was defeated and the Koryo Dynasty
was founded. During this period the martial arts flourished and were
known by many different names, the most popular being Tae Kyun and
Soo Bahk. Nearly all Korean martial arts practised today can trace
their roots back to the Hwa Rang Do.
However, there is even earlier evidence of martial arts existing in
Korea - in 1935 a group of Japanese archaeologists discovered two
royal tombs that dated back to the kingdom of Koguryu (37 B.C. 688
A.D.). These were Muyong Chong and Kakchu Chong and on the ceilings
were paintings depicting warriors in martial arts postures very similar
to the ones used in todays Hapkido and Taekwondo etc. Also at Sok
Kul An temple, which dates back to 751 A.D., there is a statue of
a famous warrior in a martial arts stance.
The
Chinese martial arts may have had an influence on the Korean
fighting arts because during the Three Kingdoms period, the
religions of China began to penetrate southward. Under the reign
of King Pophung of Silla, Buddhism became the sanctioned state
religion of the kingdom. This resulted in Korean monks travelling
to China to study in the monasteries. It may be fair to assume
that the Chinese supplied a basis for martial arts that the
Koreans adapted to their physique and culture.
Modern Hapkido |
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The Koryo Dynasty fell after 500 years of power. The new rule was
known as the Yi Dynasty and under this regime all forms of combat
were frowned upon. The Korean martial arts fell into further decline
when the Japanese invaded and occupied Korea in 1909. The Japanese
forbade the practice of any of the native Korean martial arts: only
a few of the Japanese martial arts were allowed to be practised. During
the Japanese occupation, the Japanese authorities tried to completely
eliminate Korean thought, culture and martial arts which had been
preserved for thousands of years.
This resulted in the Korean martial arts being practised in secret.
Consequently, many Koreans travelled to neighbouring Japan and China
to compare their fighting systems to those of the other two countries.
One young korean, Yong Sul Choi, was taken to work in camps in Japan.
However, he was fortunate enough to be placed with family in the mountains
of Japan. His foster father was Sogaku Takeda, a master of the Daito
Ryu Aiki Jutsu system. Yong Sul Choi studied this system for many
years until his foster father's death. In 1945 Korea was liberated
from Japanese rule and many Koreans returned home bringing new and
improved martial arts systems with them.
Yong
Sul Choi combined his studies in Japan with his native Korean
arts to produce Hapkido. Choi originally named his art Yu Sul
and later changed it to Yu Kwon Sul. At the suggestion of one
of his students he finally settled for the name Hapkido. Other
masters brought other names for their arts. Some of these were
Tang Soo Do, Kong Soo Do and Kwon Bop.
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