hapkido question

**freebie614** · 12-11-2004, 21:48

ok i have a question for you guys,.(and girls),. in quite a few of the techniques that i've learned,. for instance,. ( and i don't know the names) but when someone grabs your wrist,. and you break thier balance, and proceed to throw them,. couldn't the just let go of your wrist as soon as thier off balance?,. i mean ,. wouldn't that be thier first reaction?or if the grab your coat/shirt,. and you proceed to start to throw them,. again what if the let go before you can grab them with both hands?,. or what if the tense up first?,. i guess i'm just questioning the effectiveness of what i'm being taught,...what are your takes?

**Rasputin** · 12-12-2004, 00:06

Good question.

The things you are learning in Hapkido resemble the beginning techniques taught in Jujutsu as well as Aikido. They are not meant to turn you into a dynamo of arse-kicking right out of the gate--rather, they are teaching you basics and fundamentals. These serve multiple purposes:

They teach you to relax and focus when you are being assaulted
Also, you are learning to not oppose force with force
Lastly, the very basic techniques will be built upon by more advanced techniques later.

In specific answer to your question, in many situations it is desirable to have someone simply let go of you after they have grabbed you. If that is all you achieve, the altercation may de-escalate from there once they figure out you are no easy target. If not, you can take advantage of their being off-balance to either strike them or grab whatever part of them is close enough and make it hurt.

To answer your question another way, you will have to learn more than the basics before the entire picture becomes clear. It is comparable to learning the Alphabet. So far, you have been exposed to the letters A, B and C. You look at these three letters and say to yourself "What can I possibly do with these three letters? I can't spell anything of value." Ahead of you still lies the rest of the alphabet, along with the contents of the dictionary, the thesaurus, a set of encyclopedias, and stretching off into infinity, the entirety of the Library of Congress. Hapkido takes a couple of years before it goes from a series of seemingly unrelated techniques to a blended whole.

**freebie614** · 12-13-2004, 16:51

wow,. your good

**Rasputin** · 12-13-2004, 17:10

But not terribly nice:

http://www.budoseek.net/vbulletin/sh...7&postcount=10

**freebie614** · 12-13-2004, 17:35

lmao........

**Flame Element** · 12-13-2004, 17:39

Um, couldn't you have just asked your instructor/Sensei without making it sound as if you were really skeptical? It's better to have your instructor explain things, unless he or she is the insecure and/or paranoid type that's worrioed he/she won't get his 50$/month from you anymore because you think what he's teaching is useless. Don't mean to be offensive, but it just sems like what I'd do if I was wondering about something...

**freebie614** · 12-13-2004, 20:17

i'm going to ask him,. but class isn't untill wed. so i thought i'd get your opinions,. so i don't get pulled into some crap because i don't know what's really going on,. i mean,. it's pretty usefull to me that i have sooo many people that know what i'm learning to ask...

**mirv** · 12-14-2004, 17:49

Well even instructors can be wrong or take something the wrong way. I think asking those who take martial arts is a good thing. If nothing else, we know that he is thinking about his martial art, and wondering how to apply what he has learned. Signs of a good student, if you ask me. For if we do not, how will those above learn what to teach.

Anywho, I like it when students as questions.