COMPLETE SELF DEFENSE HUTCH

What is Hapkido ?

Kwan Nyom is the name given to the style of Hapkido taught by the International Hapkido Alliance, Australian Hapkido Group and Complete Self Defense Hutch.

The name translates from Korean as the school of concepts. This reflects the way we teach Hapkido, the core techniques are the same as most traditional Hapkido schools, it is the way in which we teach them that is different.  Traditionally Hapkido is taught as set responses to set grabs, i.e. 10 releases from wrist grab, then 10 from cross wrist grab, etc. This means that the student sees a wide variety of techniques repeated through out the process of learning a defence from each of the major grabs and attacks.

Within Kwan Nyom students are taught concepts or formula on how to apply a defensive technique. This is shown through the application of the lock to a number of different grabs. From there the student learns the concept and can then apply that technique regardless of where the attack is.

The idea is similar to learning mathematics at school, once you know how addition works the 2 numbers become irrelevant, this is true with the concepts taught in Kwan Nyom. It becomes important to understand that certain techniques can be applied in certain situations due to their formula and once you truly understand this, the attack and where they attack   becomes irrelevant.  This then helps in real life defence as you need to react in a situation that is not controlled or expected. Having a understanding of the concepts of Hapkido means that you can apply whichever formula suits the situation, rather than trying to think what the defence should be against that particular attack.  

Kwan Nyom Hapkido is simply one way to interpret and practice Hapkido, it is the culmination of Master Booth’s desire to create a better way for students to learn Hapkido. The process is simple with the focus pre black belt being on the very practical use of Hapkido in Self Defence, this is shown through the concepts, strikes, and falling that are taught. At black belt, students continue to study a set curriculum but also get the opportunity to study in depth different variation aspects of Hapkido.

Principles of Hapkido

Circular Motion

Circular Motion is possibly one of the easier principles to explain. Basically when you are attacked in a straight line, instead of stopping the attack, you redirect it in a circular direction. This can also be applied to self-defence, by using a circular release it makes it impossible for your opponent to resist.

Circular motion also assists in both strikes and throws: with throws, it enables you to throw someone much larger with far smaller force. With strikes (e.g. a spinning kick) it increases the power through the greater distance the strike travels and the circular wind up or whipping motion.

Non-Resistance  

Non-resistance is a major characteristic in Hapkido. For example, in defending against a powerfully thrown punch the Hapkidoist would never step inside an opponent's area of greatest momentum and use a hard block. Instead, the Hapkidoist would avoid a direct confrontation by parrying the punch with a soft circular block; this would divert the opponent's power and allow you to counter-attack.  

Another example is when an opponent grabs your wrist and pulls, instead of resisting by pulling away, a Hapkidoist would go with the opponents pull and use this added momentum with a circular release to escape. This also applies if an opponent rushes you, with a move you can divert their energy into a throw.  

Water Theory  
The water theory can be broken down in to several different aspects. The first is the ability to flow around obstacles, like a stream around a rock; this is reflected in the Hapkidoist moving around an attack. Water dripping onto a rock can find weak points and through constant pressure flow into and through the rock, this shows how a Hapkidoist can attack an opponent and through a weak point enter the opponent's defence to take control, or to damage.  Like the power of a wave crashing onto a beach, so too can a Hapkidoist focus their attack. This is also shown through the power of water when pushed through a pressure hose, this concentration can be focused into doing more damage.

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