John Pellegrini

[MJS]

In the June issue of BB magazine there was a very interesting article about John Pellegrini and his brand of Hapkido. He goes on to explain what he does in his system and how its different from the more traditional Hapkido systems. In the magazines to come, there have been many articles submitted by people. Some of them are very supportive of his style while others seem to be very critical about what he has done to the art.

While I am not a student of Mr. Pellegrini or of Hapkido, I have attended a seminar put on by him at a local MA school. Not really knowing what to expect, I went anyway. I have to say that I was very impressed with what I saw. The material that he taught was IMO, pretty straight forward. He covered many defenses while standing as well as on the ground.

My question is, what do the people on this forum think about Mr. Pellegrini and what he has done to the art? Was he wrong to take out some of the more traditional things such as the high kicks, kata, etc. or did he do a good thing?

Mike

 

[Disco]

The amount of political mayhem that lives within the world of Hapkido is mindboggling. We'll just leave it at that. To be succinct, Mr. P. is a grandmaster of marketing. His actual martial arts background is/was/has been debated many times with nothing conclusive emerging. Be that as it may, what he teaches seems to fill a void and people seem satisfied and impressed. My personal heartburn is the fact that once you become a student, it's a constant buy, buy, buy. It's "mandatory" for Black Belts to invest in all the systems tapes to go up in the BB ranks. Mabey it's just me, but I find that mandate repugnant. But no more so than another Hapkidoists claim that theirs is the only game in town and if your not with them then your a fraud.

Hapkido, the art/style/discipline/way of life or whatever one wishes to label it is a very fine element of the martial arts in general. To answer your question as to if he was wrong to take out traditional things such as katas/hyungs, high kicks etc. Some styles of Hapkido have no forms and some styles have no kicks and some styles have both and some do not. Mr. Pellegrini didn't invent anything new or different, he just did a masterful repackage job.

 

[Hollywood1340]

It works for me GMP is a good man, and the ICHF is a good organazation. Is it for everybody? No. And as in most arts, the secret is in the instructor. CHKD can be an wonderful addition to any art, or can be a stand alone system. Or you can chose not to train in it. Wonderful, isn't it?

 

[Shiatsu]

How tall is Mr. P?

 

[MartialArtsChic]

Works for me too!

 

[Mithios]

I train in both classical H.K.D. and C.H.K.D. And in my opinion. C.H.K.D. is a good system. For the thing's J.P. has taken out ( meditation, ki exercises, high kick's etc. ) He has added in ( jeet kune do style trapping, a different weapon's methodology, and more ground grappeling ) Mithios

 

[Hollywood1340]

Originally posted by Shiatsu
How tall is Mr. P?

I consider my self to be about 5' 8" and I'm slouching a bit...I'd say around the same.

 

[MJS]

Originally posted by Disco
The amount of political mayhem that lives within the world of Hapkido is mindboggling. We'll just leave it at that. To be succinct, Mr. P. is a grandmaster of marketing. His actual martial arts background is/was/has been debated many times with nothing conclusive emerging. Be that as it may, what he teaches seems to fill a void and people seem satisfied and impressed. My personal heartburn is the fact that once you become a student, it's a constant buy, buy, buy. It's "mandatory" for Black Belts to invest in all the systems tapes to go up in the BB ranks. Mabey it's just me, but I find that mandate repugnant. But no more so than another Hapkidoists claim that theirs is the only game in town and if your not with them then your a fraud.

Hapkido, the art/style/discipline/way of life or whatever one wishes to label it is a very fine element of the martial arts in general. To answer your question as to if he was wrong to take out traditional things such as katas/hyungs, high kicks etc. Some styles of Hapkido have no forms and some styles have no kicks and some styles have both and some do not. Mr. Pellegrini didn't invent anything new or different, he just did a masterful repackage job.

Isnt it like that with all or a good portion of the orgs. today? I mean, if you want to be a part of the org. you have to support it, either by buying tapes or having the head person in for a certain amount of seminars a year.

Mike

 

[MJS]

Originally posted by Mithios
I train in both classical H.K.D. and C.H.K.D. And in my opinion. C.H.K.D. is a good system. For the thing's J.P. has taken out ( meditation, ki exercises, high kick's etc. ) He has added in ( jeet kune do style trapping, a different weapon's methodology, and more ground grappeling ) Mithios

Thats probably why I liked it so much. I love the Filipino arts, and am a huge fan of grappling. To me, it seems like he took out the things that either dont stand much of a chance of working or that are too flashy, and added in the simple, to the point things, that are going to work!

Mike

 

[Master Todd Miller]

+The only isse I would have with Master Pelligrini is how he says he founded a new style of Hapkido with very little Hapkido training. To use the term Hapkido is not exactly true. I know what he teaches is good for another system with very little joint manipulation in there style but for someone who wants to learn the original off balencing Hapkido will want to go elsewhere.

Todd M.

 

[Hollywood1340]

Originally posted by Master Todd Miller
+The only isse I would have with Master Pelligrini is how he says he founded a new style of Hapkido with very little Hapkido training. To use the term Hapkido is not exactly true. I know what he teaches is good for another system with very little joint manipulation in there style but for someone who wants to learn the original off balencing Hapkido will want to go elsewhere.

Todd M.

??

 

[glad2bhere]

Thanks, Todd. I think you put it very concisely.

I think that folks who want to learn a group of S-D techniques would probably gravitate towards John with few questions asked. The rate at which he shot up the ranks and attained his present standing can be debated for eternity. For people like me, watching someone represent what they do as a Hapkido art is about as pleasant as getting grit in my sandwich at the beach. There are just way too many people who want to be able to say they are part of a group without having to pay full price.

BTW: I understand that GM Lim, Hyun Soo is coming to Chicago at the end of November. Are you going to be part of this? Kevin contacted me. If its true I am very surprised people have not been mentioning this more on the Nets.

BTW#2: For those who don't know, GM Lim and John Pelligrini are the difference between day and night.

Best Wishes,

Bruce

 

[progressivetactics]

I met him at a "VOO" clinic a few years back, and was suprised by the lack of "master" characteristics he portrayed, and the amount of ego he exhibited. I was suprised, and decided not to attend any of his semiars based on that.

 

[glad2bhere]

Dear "prog":

I know what you are talking about as I attended one of his seminars many years back and apparently he has not grown much since then. I figure its one of those things that people need to make up their own minds about. Its hard to characterize it accurately. Just seems to be better to let folks go and witness his demeanor first hand. On the flip side you can always tell someone who is the opposite because you leave the seminar going "I wanna be more like HIM!" FWIW.

Best Wishes,

Bruce

 

[MJS]

Originally posted by progressivetactics
I met him at a "VOO" clinic a few years back, and was suprised by the lack of "master" characteristics he portrayed, and the amount of ego he exhibited. I was suprised, and decided not to attend any of his semiars based on that.

I didnt think that he had an ego. I think that it was more of just being confident with his art. What was he doing that gave you that impression?

Mike

 

[MJS]

Originally posted by glad2bhere

I think that folks who want to learn a group of S-D techniques would probably gravitate towards John with few questions asked. The rate at which he shot up the ranks and attained his present standing can be debated for eternity. For people like me, watching someone represent what they do as a Hapkido art is about as pleasant as getting grit in my sandwich at the beach. There are just way too many people who want to be able to say they are part of a group without having to pay full price.

Like I said, I'm not an expert on Hapkido, but didnt JP start off with traditional Hapkido and then modified it? The second half of your statement is true. We all take the arts for different reasons, and I realize that learning the forms, weapons, breathing, etc. is important. How can someone say that they are doing Hapkido if they are not doing all of this? IMO, I think what he did was take out some of the flashy things and gear it more towards combat. Example: Can a jump spinning kick be used in SD? Sure. Is it practical? No.

Mike

 

[MartialArtsChic]

I haven't met him yet, but I've known people who have gone to his seminars and I've heard nothing but good things not only about the seminars and such but about him as a person.

This art works very well for me and I'm completely enjoying myself and am more confident if I should ever have to use it. But as time goes on, I will explore other arts and weapons and such so this is my base and beginning.



Lorrie

 

[progressivetactics]

i may have mistaken his deamenor, i just noticed he wanted to share his art, not what was being taught by Voo, often. When we would do the training drills, he would walk through it 1 time, then stand around while everyone else seemed to be working. Almost as if he didnt need to do it. Could be my interpretation, but that is what i felt. I could be wrong, and certainly don't want to trash talk anyones instructor. I hope he does well for anyone who trains with him.

 

[glad2bhere]

Dear Mike:

I don't know if this will help because often times these things can be pretty subjective but let me try.

1.) One of the first things he said at the seminar I was at was "I don't teach Hapkido". He said it plain and said it a couple of times. The problem was that I then started to wonder what the validity was for what he was teaching and why he was using the term in his marketing if it wasn't what he was teaching.

2.) He spent quite a bit of time with each technique letting us know why his approach was superior to other arts and approaches. I've been to a few seminars and given my share of seminars and I can tell you that this is, straight-away, a no-no. You can think it all you want, but you don't discount material that other people have learned regardless of what you think of your own material. My own approach in a seminar is "I do it like this and other people do it like this. Try them both and decide which works or feels better for you."

3.) Not only myself but a few other folks began to ask him about common bonds among the material that bound his curriculum together. In response I heard a few times that based on his standing as the head of his art he could do pretty much as he pleases. This isn't half-wrong but it does not address the information people were looking for and frankly came across more as a dodge and indicative of maybe poor understanding of his art than anything else. He certainly made a point of letting everyone know that he was a person of standing in the KMA community instead of just letting his material speak for itself. FWIW.

Best Wishes,

Bruce

 

[MJS]

Originally posted by glad2bhere
Dear Mike:

I don't know if this will help because often times these things can be pretty subjective but let me try.

1.) One of the first things he said at the seminar I was at was "I don't teach Hapkido". He said it plain and said it a couple of times. The problem was that I then started to wonder what the validity was for what he was teaching and why he was using the term in his marketing if it wasn't what he was teaching.

Correct. If you look at his web site, he talks abouit what his art is and is not.

2.) He spent quite a bit of time with each technique letting us know why his approach was superior to other arts and approaches. I've been to a few seminars and given my share of seminars and I can tell you that this is, straight-away, a no-no. You can think it all you want, but you don't discount material that other people have learned regardless of what you think of your own material. My own approach in a seminar is "I do it like this and other people do it like this. Try them both and decide which works or feels better for you."

Again, it was a long time since I went to that seminar, so if he said the same thing there, I really dont remember. I agree with you though, and I have said the same thing many times, that there is something to learn from every art. Chances are, that at a seminar, there is going to be so much stuff to learn, that the odds of you remembering everything are pretty slim. By taking a few things that you like, working them, and adding them to your bag of tricks, look at how much better you'll become.

.) Not only myself but a few other folks began to ask him about common bonds among the material that bound his curriculum together. In response I heard a few times that based on his standing as the head of his art he could do pretty much as he pleases. This isn't half-wrong but it does not address the information people were looking for and frankly came across more as a dodge and indicative of maybe poor understanding of his art than anything else. He certainly made a point of letting everyone know that he was a person of standing in the KMA community instead of just letting his material speak for itself. FWIW.

I would tend to think that if someone was the main guy, that yes, he pretty much could do what he wanted. My main art is Kenpo. If Ed Parker were still alive today, then I'm sure the same would apply to him also. As for not addressing the info. Again, I had no idea what this art was like or who JP even was until that day. I did a little research prior to attending, so at least I would have some idea what to expect, but I would think that if someone that is from more of a trad. Hapkido background, that they would have an idea what he was like, and if they didnt like his stuff, they probably should not have gone to see him.


Thank you for the reply. As I said in the beginning, that seminar that I attended was the first of its kind. I have no background in Hapkido at all. I appreciate you taking the time to give feedback.

Mike