Hi Shesulsa,
Hapkido is not based on TKD or Aikido. The original art that Choi brought back from Japan is based on some sophisticated aiki-based Jujutsu system. Choi himself always maintained that he had spent his time in Japan studying Daito Ryu under Sokaku Takeda, but this has never been proven (or disproven, for that matter). It remains oral history.
I have never seen any evidence that Choi studied TKD or any of the material from the Korean kwans that united to form TKD in the early 50s. In fact, I have never seen any reliable evidence that Choi ever studied any Korean martial art after his return from Japan. He maintained that he taught the system that he had learned in Japan, and that he taught it faithfully, in order to honor his teacher.
I can say from direct personal experience in both arts that Choi's Hapkido and Daito Ryu have many similarities, especially at the advanced level of technique. At the same time, there are significant differences that must be explained for the sake of the historical record. Some of the most basic differences are in the oragnization and presentation of the formal curricula in the two arts.
What is not in doubt is that Choi was a very accomplished martial artist when he repatriated to Korea after WW2.
The kicking repertoire that characterizes many Hapkido kwans today was added primarily by DJN Ji Han Jae. Choi taught roughly ten basic kicks, almost all of them to targets below the waist. If you visit the Jungkikwan website (
www.jungkikwan.com), you'll find a section with the ten basic kicks that Choi taught the head of the Jungkikwan, GM Lim Hyun Soo.
DJN Ji learned kicking from other Koreans after spending three years under Choi, who taught him what DJN Ji refers to as "Yawara" (essentially, the Jujutsu base of Choi's original art). However, the kicking techniques that DJN Ji added to Hapkido do
not come from TKD. DJN Ji himself can confirm this, as can any of his direct students.
If you see a pre-Ji style of Hapkido, like Jungki Hapkido, you will see very little resemblance to modern Aikido. If we assume that Choi's story is accurate for the sake of this discussion, then Aikido and the original style of Hapkido come from the same source (Daito Ryu Aikijujutsu). However, they have developed independently of each other since their respective foundings, with the exception of Myung Jae Nam's efforts to align his Hapkido with Aikido (I believe I'm stating last part this correctly).
There is anectodal evidence that Choi and Aikido founder Morihei Ueshiba knew each other in Japan, and that Choi communicated with Ueshiba's son at least once from Korea, but again, no conclusive proof, and a lot of skepticism among many JMA people.
There has been word that Chois' daughter is going to publish a volume of memoirs that will contain information about Takeda and her father, including information about Choi's training under, and his relationship with, Takeda. To my knowledge, this memoir has not yet been published. we can only hope that if and when it is, it will be translated into English.
If you'd like to see some lengthy and sometimes heated discussions of Hapkido's putative Daito Ryu roots, you can visit the Aikido Journal, e-budo and Budoseek forums. All three have extensive discussions of this topic, with contributions by many knowledgeable people. The Aikido Journal material in particular is generally well presented and contains a fair amount of very good historical research done by Stanley Pranin, the forum's owner.
Hope this helps... Regards, Howard
