Combat Hapkido

[pesilat]

Hey Bruce - or anyone else - can you explain the "Three Principles"?

Having only had peripheral exposure to HKD of any flavor, I'm unfamiliar with what the "Three Principles" embody.

Mike

 

[glad2bhere]

Sure. Simply put, despite Hapkidos' history it is not merely a disparate bunch of techniques drawn from various times and places. Hapkido is an art whose material conforms to the Three Principles the way painting a picture conforms to, say, color & perspective & shape. Whether one is doing something with an emptyhand or holding a weapon, the same principles apply.

1.) The Water Principle: "Taking Life on Lies terms". Rather than make some particular thing happen, train to accept whatever it is that is presented in the here-and-now.

2.) Point-and-Circle: "All things are a cycle". This just doesn't mean "what goes around, comes around". It also means the more efficiently I can cycle/recycle from one technique to another, one attacker to another, one position to another the smarter I act to end the conflict.

3.) Economy of Energy: "Never work harder than your opponent". This be something as simple as not telling someone how to build a clock when all they want to know is the time. It can also be as complex keeping your composure when everybody else is losing theirs.

These three pillars act together to bind the Hapkido arts into a Mu-Do or "martial way" of dealing with things. FWIW.

Best Wishes,

Bruce

 

[pesilat]

Sure. Simply put, despite Hapkidos' history it is not merely a disparate bunch of techniques drawn from various times and places. Hapkido is an art whose material conforms to the Three Principles the way painting a picture conforms to, say, color & perspective & shape. Whether one is doing something with an emptyhand or holding a weapon, the same principles apply.

1.) The Water Principle: "Taking Life on Lies terms". Rather than make some particular thing happen, train to accept whatever it is that is presented in the here-and-now.

2.) Point-and-Circle: "All things are a cycle". This just doesn't mean "what goes around, comes around". It also means the more efficiently I can cycle/recycle from one technique to another, one attacker to another, one position to another the smarter I act to end the conflict.

3.) Economy of Energy: "Never work harder than your opponent". This be something as simple as not telling someone how to build a clock when all they want to know is the time. It can also be as complex keeping your composure when everybody else is losing theirs.

These three pillars act together to bind the Hapkido arts into a Mu-Do or "martial way" of dealing with things. FWIW.

Best Wishes,

Bruce

Cool. Thanks for that explanation. It does confuse me a little bit because everything that I've ever trained in and been exposed to that has been realistically oriented has conformed to those three princinples. Granted, not all practitioners or teachers utilize or teach them well. But the systems themselves, when taught by a good instructor, have. Whether it was Okinawan Goju-Ryu, Filipino Kali, Indonesian Pentjak Silat, various forms of Chinese MA, Aikido (which I know shares history/lineage with HKD), or even BJJ.

Many systems I've been exposed to, though, don't stress these principles from the outset. They get taught out over time. And, of course, they're expressed in different terms from art to art, system to system, and instructor to instructor. For me personally, all three of these fall into what I call "proper relaxation." Or, perhaps a better way of explaining it, is that learning about proper relaxation led me to those three principles. Proper relaxation is, in my case and probably in everyone else's, too, a work in progress.

For a more detailed explanation of what I mean by "proper relaxation", check this link: http://impactacademy.com/articles/show_article.php?article=Diamond_in_the_Rough

This is an article I wrote about it.

In the article, I don't specifically address flow (point-and-cycle) but it's there, too. Without proper relaxation - which leads to physical and mental awareness - flow is impossible. With proper relaxation, flow will often come naturally but, failing that, it can easily be trained.

You mentioned in some of your posts that you felt that things like BJJ - specifically in a sport training environment - didn't really conform to the three principles. I think I can see what you're saying about the sport training and I would agree. But, at least according to a BJJ instructor I know, the sport side isn't what BJJ is really intended for - it's what it has often become since it became the flavor of the month. But people who train BJJ without focusing on the sport aspects definitely adhere to those 3 principles.

But maybe I misunderstood what you were saying. If so, feel free to clout me about the head and shoulders with corrections

Mike

 

[American HKD]

Here is an alternate explaination.

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The Water Principle[/font][font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
Although water is one of nature’s softest substances it can create great force. It will freely flow to the lowest point without wasting any energy. Just by flowing it can eventually cut through stone and create deep canyons. A Hapkidoist should learn to flow like water.

The Circular Forces Principle
Next is the circular force principle is a fundamental principle of nature. In a technique for self-defense using this principle, force is never met with force. It is redirected by deflection. A Hapkidoist uses the momentum created by his opponent’s force against him.

The Sum Principle
The Sum principle, the third principle of Hapkido, is created by the combination of the water principle and the circular force principle. The sum principle is natural and has many examples in nature. It represents the balance of power created by the harmony of essential opposites. Such as light and dark, hot and cold, male and female. One cannot exist without the other. A Hapkidoist who learns to apply the circular force principle in conjunction with the water principle will create true harmony between his mind and body. This is the principle of Sum. [/font]
​

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/font]​

 

[Master Todd Miller]

The Korean Terms for the three principles are:

Wha = Harmony

Won = Circle or complete

Yu = Flowing dynamic

Most traditional Hapkido techniques employ all of these to some extant.

 

[glad2bhere]

Dear Mike:

You are right to say that these principles are not unique to Hapkido. Most martial arts use them to one extent or another. In Hapkido they are the "glue" that hold things together and also the common threads that relate one kind of technique to another. Now you might could say the same thing about BJJ or Judo or Karate, thats true. I like to think of it as a recipe. Used in one set of proportions ingredients might give you cake, and in another set of proportions you get brownies and in another set of proportions you get fudge. Now if you like both brownies and fudge, mixing together the ingrediants from both recipes does not guarentee you some superb hybrid product. Most of the time you will wind up with a mess that either bad brownies or bad fudge. The same is true for the Three Principles. Hapkido does not mix them in the same proportions that, say, Judo, or Karate might. And this is why its not a good thing to start mixing arts of one sort with another. FWIW.

Best Wishes,

Bruce

 

[Hollywood1340]

Then I guess I'm just spoiled for life

 

[gatser_83]

I have taken combat hapkido for about 8 months now. I have never taken traditional hapkido but am looking forward to it. For my part though i love combat hapkido. The situational sparring and ground fighting are very practical. I also love the combat theory behind it. Some people say that it is totally scientific and not meant to give you any philosophy or sprituality out of it but i seem to. I'm not going to say what the differences because i don't know, but i know that i love it and will continue to train in it. I do have one question however, has anyone heard of th atha. It's the group that my instructor is associated with and i was wondering if anyone has heard of it.

Hope everybody continues to enjoy their martial art of practice

Adam

 

[TaiChiTJ]

Would you explain what "Situational sparring" is in Combat Hapkido?

Thanks!:supcool:

 

[Hollywood1340]

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