Taekwondo Hapkido Yudo

Taekwondo • Hapkido • Yudo

Taekwondo Overview

Taekwondo literally means the way of kicking and punching. It consists of strong angular movements with free flowing circular movements to produce a balance of beauty and power. It has been theorized that Taekwondo was developed for people to defend themselves against wild animals, bandits, and hostile members of neighboring states. Much of the history of Taekwondo is based on legends.

The most important facet of Taekwondo is that it is not only a superior art of self-defense, but of mind as well. It gives its practitioners self-confidence that provides an advantage over weaker opponents. This mental strength along with physical ability is both intrinsically and externally beneficial to the life of the practitioner as well as to their families and friends. Taekwondo, with its practical means of self-defense, its complete regimen of physical conditioning, and its aid to improved concentration and mental performance, offers a total fitness program integrating the mind, body, and spirit.

Today Taekwondo is the most recognized Korean martial art. The art first came to be recognized as a system of self-defense in the 1950s when a group of leading Korean martial artists came together and unified their various art forms under a single style of hand and feet fighting. They named the style Taekwondo, and in the last 30 years have developed it into one of the most effective styles of unarmed self-defense in the world today. The popularity of Taekwondo extends to the international arena. Its evolution and development as an international sport has grown quickly.

Hapkido Overview

The Korean term Hapkido is the combination of three words: “hap” meaning harmony or coordination; “ki” meaning power, or more literally cosmic force; and “do” meaning the way or the art. In short, Hapkido means the art of power coordination.

Hapkido is a fighting art drawn from the ancient fighting arts of Korea. Along with the kicks and strikes most closely associated with Taekwondo, Hapkido adds a plethora of manipulation techniques, including deflection, joint locks, and throws.

The fundamental techniques of Hapkido are classified as follows: empty hand against empty hand, empty hand against weapon, and weapon against weapon. Each category is divided into offensive and defensive techniques and each of these have joint locks and striking techniques. Within the joint locking techniques are included methods of twisting, throwing, paralyzing, and strangling. Within the striking techniques are included methods of kicking, punching, hitting, cutting, and stabbing. In using weapons for either offense or defense, various techniques are taught for fighting while in a standing, sitting, or lying down position.

Yudo Overview

Yudo, which means “gentle way”, teaches the principle of flexibility in the application of technique. This is the flexible or efficient use of balance, leverage, and movement in the performance of throws and other skills. Skill, technique, and timing, rather than brute strength, are the essential ingredients of success in Yudo.

At the Oriental Moo-Do School of Colorado we teach Yudo (the Korean equivalent to Japanese Judo) because we feel that grappling and groundwork are essential skills needed for self-defense. Part of our self-defense philosophy is that most real fights end up on the ground. Therefore Yudo is incorporated into our regular program of instruction.

The Oriental Moo-Do School of Colorado features a curriculum based primarily on the study of Olympic-Style Taekwondo and also incorporates essential, reality-based self-defense training drawn from the Korean arts of Hapkido, and Yudo. Through this combined curriculum, students receive a comprehensive martial arts education from White Belt to Black Belt in a positive and personalized learning environment that fosters encouragement, respect, and friendship for students of all ages and ability levels. Our traditionally structured environment supports the development of intrinsic qualities such as self-esteem, self-confidence, focus, and self-control, while cultivating top-notch technical martial arts skills for use in self-defense situations and/or the competitive arena.