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Daito-Ryu can be traced all the way back to Senwa Tenno who is considered by many to be the very first in the Daito Ryu
line. The techniques were basically the combat methods of the Minamoto clan
that had been refined and perfected by General Yoshimitsu. The General is
known to have studied the cadavers of criminals to understand human anatomy.
The techniques of General Yoshimitsu were passed down and then combined with
the Aizu techniques to become what is now known as Daito Ryu. |
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The origin of Daito-Ryu starts with Soemon Takeda (1758-1853). Soemon
Takeda taught a system called aiki-in-ho-yo, "the aiki system of yin and yang,"
which he passed on to Tanomo Saigo. Saigo also had training in Misoguchi-Ryu
swordsmanship and Koshu-ryu military science.
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Tanomo participated in the Boshin war. Certain
that Tanomo had been killed in a battle with the Imperial forces and
determined to preserve the honor of the family name, his mother, wife, 5
daughters, and other members of his family committed ritual suicide.
However, Tanomo's life had been spared. Tanomo then changed his name to
Hoshina and served as a Shinto priest in various districts and later adopted
Shiro Shida as his disciple-son. Shiro was extremely talented and mastered
the Ryu's many techniques, later applying them with great success during the
foundation of Jigoro Kano's Kodokan school of Judo. However, Shiro abandoned
the practice of both systems, moved to Nagasakai and devoted himself to
classical archery the rest of his life. |
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Tanomo had another heir to the Daito-Ryu,
Sokaku Takeda (1860-1943), Soemon's grandson. Sokaku was no novice to the
martial arts. At an early age he had obtained teaching licenses in Ono-ha
Itto-Ryu swordsmanship and Hozion spear-fighting. Sokaku had also studied
with the swordsman-saint Kenkichi Sakakibara of the
Jikishin-kage-ryu.
Sokaku traveled widely, attracting a large number of students; he
was reputed to have around thirty thousand students and nearly every budoka
of note in that era was his student in one way or the other. One of these
was his manservant Tatujutu Yoshida (Choi Yong Sool). |
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Choi, Yong Sool
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This material on Grandmaster Choi is reproduced from the book,
Hapkido, Korean Art of Self Defense* with the permission of the author,
Dr. Scott Shaw
*Copyright 1996 - Charles E, Tuttle Publishing Company pages
20 ff. |
As mentioned above Choi Yong Sool studied
Daito-Ryu Aiki Jutsu with Sokaku Takeda. Exactly how much training Choi
received and in what manner is a mystery to this date. There are those that
would have you believe that Choi became the adopted son of Takeda. However
anyone understanding the Japanese of the time would know better. The
Japanese considered themselves to be a divine race. The Koreans were beneath
them. While it is possible that Choi became endeared to Takeda it is highly
unlikely that he was adopted. Choi started life with Sokaku Takeda as his
houseboy and later became his manservant. It is because of this position he
was always on hand at training sessions. It is known that Sokaku Takeda sent
Choi to defeat challengers. This was a very shrewd move on Takeda's part. If
the challenger was defeated he was defeated by the manservant of Takeda and
on top of that a Korean. Takeda usually overcame objections by his higher
ranking students by saying the following "Who has been with me longer than
my manservant Yoshida (Choi)?" After Sokaku Takeda died Choi left the
service of the Takeda Clan and returned to Korea. |
*The sections that follow are reprinted with the permission of
Gordon Nore of the East York Hapkido- Karate Club and a fuller version of his
contribution can be viewed at
http://www.ekhkc.com/hapkido.html
Some Hapkidoists regard Grandmaster Ji, Han Jae (1936- ) as the true
founder of Hapkido. Certainly Hapkido would not be what is today without him;
however, Master Ji, Han Jae himself gives much of the credit to Grandmaster
Choi, Young Sool (1904-1986) for the creation of Hapkido.
There are many questions surrounding the early life of Master Choi.
Following is the account Choi himself gave throughout his later years: Master
Choi was born Chung Buk province of Korea in 1904 and was orphaned at the age of
eight or nine. He was then brought to Japan by a candy maker who later abandoned
him. Left to wander begging for food, he was adopted by a Japanese man who gave
him the name Tatujutu Yoshida.
Life in Japan had been difficult for Choi. On the streets, he was
regularly beaten by other children, no doubt because he was a foreigner. After
his adoption, his time in school was equally unhappy. Yoshida (Choi) spoke
little Japanese, and thus found his studies frustrating, and was getting into
fights with classmates. Reportedly, his father offered him a choice: attend
school or study martial arts. Yoshida (Choi) opted to learn to fight and was
enrolled in Daito-Ryu Aiki-Jutsu (pronounced Dae-Dong-Ryu Hap-Ki-Sool in
Korean.) His sensei was Sokaku Takeda (1860-1943) (3-See notes), with whom
Yoshida claimed to have trained for nearly thirty years. With the end of World
War Two and Japanese occupation of Korea at hand, Yoshida returned to Korea in
the winter of 1945 and changed his name back to Choi, Young Sool.
On the way home Chung-Buk province, however, Choi had lost his
suitcase containing all of his money and his certificates from Takeda Sensei,
leaving him stranded in Tae Gu province. Again Choi was forced to earn a living
on the streets, but now he had a family to support. After a year of selling rice
cakes, he earned enough money to buy some hogs, which he fed with free leftover
grain he acquired each morning from the Suh Brewery Company. On February 21st,
1948, during one of Choi's early-morning visits to the brewery, a group of men
tried to steal his place in line for grain after he had volunteered to help draw
water from the brewery's underground spring. A fight ensued, and Choi dispatched
his attackers with the techniques he had learned in Japan.
Suh, Bok Sup (circa 1924- ), the manager of his family-owned brewery
witnessed the battle and sent his servant to summon Choi to his office. Suh, a
black belt in Judo taught by Choi, Yong Ho (193? - ), hoped to learn about the
strange martial arts style he had witnessed. Fearing he would lose his allotment
of grain, Choi refused, until Suh, Bok
Sup assured Choi that he would get it. Suh asked Choi to take him on
as his student and invited him into his dojang in the brewery offices:
"I said to him that since I had no objection to money, please teach
me whatever you know. I was able to judge his financial situation just by
looking at him. I stood up and I took him to the room next to my office. I
opened up the door and it was a big place with Tabor min mats, Japanese throwing
mats. That's where I asked him to please show me the techniques. Since Choi,
Yong Sool knew I was a first degree Judo, he told me to throw him. I didn't
really feel like throwing him because he was much older than me [GM Choi was
about 42 years of age]. I was somewhat hesitant to throw him yet I lightly
grabbed him and he immediately used a pain technique on me. It happened all of a
sudden, without explaining anything, he just did it. I got angry. Here I was,
very gentle with Choi and I felt he wasn't too nice to me so I got mad. I wanted
to take time but Choi, Yong Sool gave me no chance so I decided to fight back. I
decided to throw Choi, Yong Sool and grabbed him on the shoulder. I found myself
in trouble. In Judo, usually one person has touched the other person's body in
order to throw him, but this time there was no touching involved. So, I was
deeply impressed. So that's how the two of us got started. (American Hapkido
Association Home page, 1997.)"
In return for private lessons, Suh provided Choi with grain, money,
and the use of his private dojang to teach other students. Choi called his art
Yoo Sool (Korean pronunciation for jujitsu), and began modify Takeda Sensei's
style with some kicking and weapons techniques. Suh continued to train with Choi
for many years. In 1951 Suh and Choi opened a school outside the brewery called
Yu Kwon Sool Hap Ki Dojang. (4-See notes) In 1954, Suh's father, Suh, Dong Jin,
ran successfully for the Korean National Assembly. Suh, Bok Sup prevailed in a
physical confrontation with Chun, Se Daek, a brother-in-law of one of his
father's political opponents:
"He is a big man for a Korean. My eyes would be at his chest level.
He had a vicious reputation of killing two people, before 1945 and after 1945.
One week before the election, Chun, Se Daek and I had a fight.... He had heard
much about the reputation I had... He wanted to have some kind of fight with me.
So, as I said, one week before the election we finally had a fight at a speech
area where he was giving a public speech... That's when I ran into this man
named Chun, Se Daek... That's when Chun, Se Daek grabbed me by the neck... I had
thought about bending his wrist, but was afraid I would break it. He was such a
strong man. I had considered throwing him using Judo, the man was way too tall
for that. That's when I lowered my body and kicked him in the side and knocked
him back away... He was a little scared.
The crowd came to break up the fight. Chun, Se Daek sent policemen to
my home for reconciliation...He wanted me to come to his office to make peace...
That's when a fist flew from Chun, Se Daek's brother. He had tried to trick me
and I sprang up, stepped away and reposed getting ready to fight. We both stood
up and I'd noticed that this man was taller than me. The man was about to use
his boxing. Instead of fighting back, I just avoided the fists. Not one fist
struck me. Now the man tried Judo, so I had decided to use his power. Each time
the man grabbed me, I showed him another Hap Ki Do technique. That's when
everyone in the office became in awe of my techniques. They knew it was
definitely not Judo. That's the incident that made Hap Ki Do famous throughout
the city of Daegue. (American Hapkido Association Home page, 1997)."
It was during this time that Assemblyman Suh engaged Choi as his
personal bodyguard. Grandmaster Choi and Suh, Bok Sup continued train together
and give demonstrations and Hapkido gained in popularity and respect.
Grandmaster Ji, Han Jae
Grandmaster Ji, Han Jae was born in Andong, Korea in 1936. When he
was three, his family fled Japanese-occupied Korea for China. After the war, Ji,
Han Jae's family returned to Korea In 1949, thirteen-year-old Ji began training
full time Yu Kwon Sool with Grandmaster Choi, and remained with him until 1956.
Training under a master known as "Taoist Lee," Master Ji learned Tae Kyon
kicking, jang-bong (Korean for six-foot staff), the dan-bong (Korean for short
stick), and meditation. Master Ji also studied spiritual power for five years
under a woman monk known as "Grandma."
In 1958, Ji left Daegue city and returned to Andong where he opened
his first two Yu Kwon Sool dojang which he named Sung Moo Kwan. (The second of
these was located in a neck tie factory!) He kept the schools for nine months
before relocating to Joong Boo Shi Jang, Seoul, in 1958, and remained there
until April of 1960.
There began the martial arts careers of two of Ji's first and
greatest students. In 1958 Bong Soo Han, who later founded the International
Hapkido Association, began training under Master Ji, until he left for the
United States eleven years later. Myung Kwan Sik, who began under Master Ji,
would also move to the United States, where he founded the World Hapkido
Association.
The following account identifies Ji as the first person to use the
term Hapkido:
...Ji began to piece together the Yoo Sool (Yoo Kwon Sool) teachings
of Grandmaster Choi, with the methods of meditation, the Tae Kyon kicking
techniques, and the weapons techniques learned from Taoist Lee, along with the
spiritual training he received from "grandma," to formulate his own style of
martial art, for which he chose the name "Hapkido." He had originally thought of
calling it "Hapki-Yoo-Kwon-Sool," but decided against that, feeling it was too
long of a name. He thought of other martial arts he had heard of, such as Tae
Kwon Do, Kong Soo Do, Soo Bakh Do, etc., where the word "do" was being used
instead of "sool". He liked this idea because the word "do" means a path to
follow or a way of life, rather than simply meaning "technique", as "sool"
implies. The name Hapkido was chosen in 1959, and has been used ever since. The
word itself can be translated as the "way of coordinated power." Where "Hap"
means to unify or coordinate, "Ki" means mental and/or physical energy, and "do"
means a way of life, or the "path" or "way" of coordinating your mental and
physical energy into one entity.
During a conversation I had with Grandmaster Ji, Han Jae...it was
related to me that after he chose the name Hapkido to represent his art, he gave
this name to his teacher, Yong-Sool Choi to use -- out of respect. Choi taught
under the name Hapkido until his death in 1986, even though he did not teach the
complete curriculum -- leaving out the majority of the kicking techniques, and a
lot of the weapons techniques. (Sin Koo Hapkido Home page, 1997) (5 - See notes)
In May of 1961, the Korean government was overthrown by General Park,
Chung-Hee (1917-1979), who would later become the president. In 1962, Ji opened
another dojang, in the Hwa Shin department store. Soon he would be hired as an
instructor to Military Supreme Council and the presidential security forces. He
held the latter position until President Park's death in 1979.
From 1962 to 1979, Master Ji was a bodyguard to Korean President Park
in the Blue House. In 1969, Master Ji was brought to the United States to teach
Hapkido to FBI and Secret Service agents, and other officials. In 1984,
Grandmaster Ji moved to the United States and founded Sin Moo Hapkido. He later
promoted his early students to the rank of ninth degree black belt -- Bong Soo
Han in 1984 and Myung Kwan Sik in 1986.
Grandmaster Bong Soo Han is credited with popularizing Hapkido in the
West and bringing it the big screen. His first film appearance was in the 1971
feature "Billy Jack." Master Han doubled for star Tom Laughlin and choreographed
the film's fight scenes. It is interesting to note, that Hapkido is not
organized under the KTA, ITF or WTF, perhaps the only Korean art with this
unique status. Hapkido in Korea is overseen by three organizations: The Korea
Kido Association, The Korea Hapkido Association, and The International Hapki
Federation.
Notes
1. Korean custom places the family name before the given names. Some
Koreans mentioned in this piece have adopted the western custom of placing the
family name second. To avoid confusion, I have listed the names of Koreans in
the manner in which were historically known, or in the way in which they prefer
to be known. Where the family name occurs first, I have inserted a comma, Smith,
John for John Smith. For example Grandmaster Ji, Han Jae uses the traditional
Korean name order and is therefore properly addressed as Grandmaster Ji. On the
other hand Grandmaster Bong Soo Han uses the western order and is properly
addressed as Grandmaster Han.
2. Chung Do Kwan was the original of this group. Founder Won Kuk Lee
and his family fled to the extreme south of Korea after war broke out, at which
time many of his students formed their own kwons.
3. There is much speculation about the accuracy of Grandmaster Choi's
own account of this period of his life, in particular his true relationship with
Takeda Sensei, who also instructed Morihei Usheba, the founder of Aikido.
Grandmaster Suh, Bok Sup, Choi's first student, seems to agree with Choi's
account; although provides no hard evidence of his belief. In an interview with
Master Michael Wollmerhauser, Choi implies that Takeda Sensei had adopted Choi.
One reason for skepticism is that Takeda Sensei was a prominent martial artist
who only taught upper class students. Choi, an orphaned Korean living on the
streets, would hardly have fit the bill.
4. Another account of this period suggests that Choi changed Yoo Sool
to 'Yoo Kwon Sool at Choi's suggestion. Following his confrontations with Daek,
Chun Se, he recommended adding the word kwon to reflect that the style also
included kicking techniques. (Shin Koo Hapkido Home page, 1997).
5. More disagreement. Choi's account differs: "In 1958, Choi, Yong
Sool and I agreed together to officially add the "Do" to "Hap Ki" to have the
lasting name "Hap Ki Do" and no one else did this."
Ji Han-Jae
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In 1949, at the age of 13, Ji Han-Jae began his
marital arts training in Yoo Sool under Choi Yong-Sool. He trained full time
with Choi until 1956 when Ji moved back to his home city. Ji began training
with a gentleman he called Taoist Lee at the age of 18. Lee trained Ji
primarily in meditation, staff, short stick, and Tae Kyon kicking. During
this period Ji learned spiritual power from a lady monk known only to him as
"grandma."
In Andong, Ji Han-Jae, a 3rd Dan at the time, opened his first
dojang which he called An Moo Kwan and began to teach Yoo Kwon Sool. After
teaching for about 9 months he decided to move to Seoul. While in Seoul he
stayed in a boarding house in Wang Shim Ri. While in Seoul Ji called his
Dojang the Sung Moo Kwan.
In 1958, Ji moved his school to Joong Boo Shi Jang where he
continued teaching until 1960. It was during this period that Ji began to
piece together the Yoo Kwon Sool teachings of Grandmaster Choi and the
meditation and kicking techniques of Taoist Lee, along also with the
spiritual lessons he had learned from "grandma." He is said to have
developed the name Hapkido for this art. He had originally thought of
calling it Hapki-Yoo-Kwon-Sool, but decided that it was too long of a name.
The name Hapkido was chosen in 1959 and has been used ever since. |
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Ji Han-Jae claims to have given the name Hapkido to his teacher Choi
Yong-Sool to use out of respect. However, Choi's student Suh Bok-Sub claims that
Choi was already using the name by that time. Records in this regard are sketchy
and no definite answers are to be found.
In the early 60's Park Chung-Hee lifted import restrictions that
banned Japanese goods from Korea. It was at this time Ji found a book about
Aikido. Ji found the Japanese Spelling of Aikido was the same as Hapkido.
Discouraged that a Japanese art had the same name Ji dropped the Hap calling his
art simply Kido.
On September 2, 1963 the Korean Government granted a Charter to the
Korea Kido Association. This association was granted the right to regulate
and supervise the standards of teaching as well as the promotion requirements of
Black Belts in 31 different Korean martial arts. The first chairman of this
association was Choi Yong-Sool. Later on due to many differences in politics and
philosophies Ji Han Jae left the Kido Association and returned to calling his
art Hapkido.
Today there are three Hapkido Organizations in Korea. They include:
the Korea Kido Association (Pres. Seo In-Sun), the Korea Hapkido Association
(Pres. Oh Se-Lim), and the International Hapki Federation (Pres. Kim Moo-Woong)
*The editor wishes to thank Gordon Nore for his permission to
reprint major sections of the History of Hapkido presented above form the East
York Hapkido-Karate website. A fuller version of his contribution can be viewed
at
http://www.eyhkc.com/hapkido.html
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