Korean hapkido has been developed in a unique and diverse way, making it a popular martial art in history.

  By Keonhee Ahn Jun 5, 2023

Traditional martial arts were based on aristocratic martial arts for the social elite from ancient times to the middle of the Joseon Dynasty. It began to give spiritual cultivation meaning by injecting religious rituals of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism into the martial arts of the ruling classes. In modern times, with the invention of guns and gunpowder, the proportion of war martial arts has rapidly declined. Since the end of the 19th century, purposes such as sports, education, and health have led to the advancement and popularization of martial arts. The martial arts, which lost their role as a means of war, made it impractical and had the character of martial arts that protected the body. As a result, martial arts education featured professional folk martial arts artists, who created schools and formed a modern martial arts framework through the stylization of painting training techniques and game techniques.

 The history of Hapkido is in line with modern martial arts. Over 80 years of modern history, it has broken many twists and turns, and it still seems to take effort and time to quell the controversy. Hapkido is a martial art that has been loved in Korea and the world, but it has problems such as group disorder and the incomplete establishment of technology. However, as Hapkido is an attractive martial art for the public, differentiated Hapkido techniques have been developed and evolved in different Hapkido organizations, making it a bare-handed martial art that incorporates Korean body culture. Hapkido people still spare no effort and time to establish Hapkido, which has developed unique and diversely over the years, as Korea's representative martial arts.

 Then let's find out about the martial arts that contributed to the development of Hapkido. In 1948, Choi Yong-sul guided martial arts under the name "Yawari" at his home in Daegu and at Mudeokhoe Dojang in Gyeongsangbuk-do.In 1951, with Seo Bok-seop, he opened the Daehan Hapkikwonsangdojang and engaged in full-scale activities. In the early 1660s, many seals were created across the country, raising the need for a unified distribution of hapkido. Accordingly, the Korean Prayer Association Hapkido Association was established in 1963, and Choi Yong-sul was appointed as the Korean Hapkido Doju in 1963.

 His student Ji Han-jae first used the name Hapkido. In 1957, the "Daehan Hapkido Museum Andong Yeonmugwan" was opened in Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, and the following year, the "Daehan Hapkido Museum Seoul Yeonmugwan" was opened in Seoul, and the name was changed to "Hapkido Seongmugwan." Ji Han-jae added kicking technology to Hapkido to develop it into an original Hapkido and established techniques. Later, Kim Myung-ryong founded Jinjunggwan, trained junior martial artists, and Lee Chang-soo established a demonstration team to promote the excellence of domestic and foreign hapkido techniques. Later, Lee Chang-soo established the Korea Hapkido Association in 2004 and contributed greatly to promoting Hapkido not only in Korea but also abroad.

 Choi Yong-sul and Ji Han-jae's numerous disciples distributed Hapkido to the Blue House Guard Office, the Military Academy, the military, the police, and the NIS for mental and physical training. From then on, Hapkido technology was reestablished with modern techniques for the smooth distribution of Hapkido, and it was distributed worldwide, starting in the United States, Spain, South America, and Vietnam, to grow into an international martial art. Since then, numerous Hapkido people have continued the spirit of Hapkido and established more than 60 organizations in Korea, developing original and numerous technologies, reaching the public and establishing Hapkido in more than 100 countries around the world.

 Thus, there are many hapkido martial artists in modern society, and they can be divided into five categories.
First of all, a person who practices martial arts as if he were practicing Taoism.
Second, a sports martial artist who practices martial arts for games and competitions.
Third, martial artists as an action stars in the third movie.
Fourth, martial arts administrators or martial arts researchers who conduct administration or research in martial arts-related organizations or institutions
Lastly, they are the masters or directors of the front-line seal, which is the mainstream in numbers. Of course, this includes martial arts teachers and instructors who teach martial arts in police schools and the military.

 In the process of developing Hapkido, the traditional problem of Hapkido and the controversy of various martial artists have raised problems that cannot be harmonized, but Hapkido has developed far from tradition, starting with modern martial arts, and various martial arts efforts have attracted love for Hapkido. This is why expectations for future Hapkido are bound to grow.