Hapkido Sparring
Disclaimer:
The ideas discussed in the following paragraph are dangerous, any attempt to do the things discussed can result in serious injury. The author is not liable if you injure yourself. Be responsible.
The ideas discussed in the following paragraph are dangerous, any attempt to do the things discussed can result in serious injury. The author is not liable if you injure yourself. Be responsible.
Many students of Hapkido find that in the carefully controlled conditions of Hapkido class they can demonstrate Hapkido joint locks. In fact we generally make it easy by having an uke calmly grab your wrist. However real combat is nothing like this, it is not control and safety but
is erratic, messy, and dangerous. There is blood, pain, fear and desperation.
Unskilled attackers often swing wildly for your face or attempt to choke you and tackle you to the ground. The danger lies in unskilled unpredictability.
Getting attacked by a skilled fighter whether they favor a striking art or a grappling art is more dangerous still. Oddly these types are often more predictable but they have refined abilities and are generally better prepared to combat you.
A large percentage of actual fights (not sporting matches) begin with a push or a haymaker (unskilled circular punch) to the face and end up on the ground rolling around. It looks nothing like martial arts.
Most students can demonstrate every move we teach in class but if I press them with a flurry of (1/2 speed and power) punches and kicks they are unable to even grab one of my limbs to do a Hapkido move.
One reason we teach interceptions is to try to teach students (and ourselves) to trap a limb in an effort to do a joint lock.
is erratic, messy, and dangerous. There is blood, pain, fear and desperation.
Unskilled attackers often swing wildly for your face or attempt to choke you and tackle you to the ground. The danger lies in unskilled unpredictability.
Getting attacked by a skilled fighter whether they favor a striking art or a grappling art is more dangerous still. Oddly these types are often more predictable but they have refined abilities and are generally better prepared to combat you.
A large percentage of actual fights (not sporting matches) begin with a push or a haymaker (unskilled circular punch) to the face and end up on the ground rolling around. It looks nothing like martial arts.
Most students can demonstrate every move we teach in class but if I press them with a flurry of (1/2 speed and power) punches and kicks they are unable to even grab one of my limbs to do a Hapkido move.
One reason we teach interceptions is to try to teach students (and ourselves) to trap a limb in an effort to do a joint lock.
Hapkido Sparring is 'Simulated Combat'
Sparring in Hapkido is rare. When it takes place it usually comes in one of two varieties. Tae Kwon Do style punching and kicking which is good exercise, develops range and timing, but frankly isn't Hapkido and has little or nothing to do with actual combat. Real Hapkido combat is swift and merciless, ending the fight nearly as soon as it's begun. How do we simulate that?
The other kind of sparring is more like Hapkido, you punch and kick each other but your ultimate goal is to get your opponent trapped and locked. Hopefully the lock is stopped at the tipping point before somebody gets injured. If it were real fighting it doesn't end at trapped and locked it ends in absolute joint destruction.
The other kind of sparring is more like Hapkido, you punch and kick each other but your ultimate goal is to get your opponent trapped and locked. Hopefully the lock is stopped at the tipping point before somebody gets injured. If it were real fighting it doesn't end at trapped and locked it ends in absolute joint destruction.
Tae Kwon Do Sparring
It does develop certain qualities, distance, timing, strategy, and cardio. However this is not Hapkido. High kicking like this is a bad idea on the street.
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Real Combat
Real hand to hand combat is sloppy chaos. This photo is an accurate example of a real fight. Your sparring as much as safely possible should try to simulate these kinds of circumstances. It should consider improvised weapons, multiple attackers, and bad position like getting pinned against a wall or knocked to the ground.
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Hapkido
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The Unhappy Problem....
We find ourselves with a strange and unhappy problem. We train for combat, yet cannot simulate combat conditions without damaging somebody beyond repair. What to do?
A compromise that is functional and relatively safe is to attack a student with a flurry of punches and kicks and have them to deflect, evade and ideally attempt to trap something, anything. They counterstrike as needed with emphasis on distraction in order to achieve a joint lock.
SAFETY NOTE: The moment they have a successful trap we pause motion. At this point nobody is hurt. Then very slowly and in a controlled classroom manner they attempt to execute a joint lock till the trapped person taps or falls.
Often while they are attempting to do the joint lock I will still be trying to hit
them and trying to escape the joint lock. In fact I might even lightly but firmly tap them with my open hands to represent the hits. Speed and power of the attack is adjusted to match the experience level and desire of participants and with regards to protective equipment available. In other words simulate combat without hurting one another.
Safety First!
A compromise that is functional and relatively safe is to attack a student with a flurry of punches and kicks and have them to deflect, evade and ideally attempt to trap something, anything. They counterstrike as needed with emphasis on distraction in order to achieve a joint lock.
SAFETY NOTE: The moment they have a successful trap we pause motion. At this point nobody is hurt. Then very slowly and in a controlled classroom manner they attempt to execute a joint lock till the trapped person taps or falls.
Often while they are attempting to do the joint lock I will still be trying to hit
them and trying to escape the joint lock. In fact I might even lightly but firmly tap them with my open hands to represent the hits. Speed and power of the attack is adjusted to match the experience level and desire of participants and with regards to protective equipment available. In other words simulate combat without hurting one another.
Safety First!
How to Spar with Hapkido
To spar in Hapkido first gear up (see sparring safety).
Then establish the boundaries (do this every time.) This has much to do with experience, comfort zone, and protective gear available. A sample conversation might be:
"Okay neither of us are wearing cups so let's avoid targeting the groin. We will enter striking combat till one of us get's a trap then everybody that sees the trap will yell TRAP! Once we have a trap we'll pause motion and then try to develop the trap into a lock or throw. We will continue the lock till somebody either physically taps or yells TAP!" If anybody notices a safety issue they will yell SAFETY and we'll stop and reassess."
You also might want to discuss power and/or compliance level such as:
"This will be a light contact (gentle but firm strikes) with medium compliance after trap."
To me light contact is hard enough to know you've been hit but not enough power to break a 1 inch board. Medium compliance means the uke (trapped person) is attempting to resist but not necessarily punching Tori. In other words they are letting Tori learn to develop a lock from the trap.
No points, no winners, no losers. If everybody learns something then they all win and if somebody gets hurt learning it then they all lose.
Then establish the boundaries (do this every time.) This has much to do with experience, comfort zone, and protective gear available. A sample conversation might be:
"Okay neither of us are wearing cups so let's avoid targeting the groin. We will enter striking combat till one of us get's a trap then everybody that sees the trap will yell TRAP! Once we have a trap we'll pause motion and then try to develop the trap into a lock or throw. We will continue the lock till somebody either physically taps or yells TAP!" If anybody notices a safety issue they will yell SAFETY and we'll stop and reassess."
You also might want to discuss power and/or compliance level such as:
"This will be a light contact (gentle but firm strikes) with medium compliance after trap."
To me light contact is hard enough to know you've been hit but not enough power to break a 1 inch board. Medium compliance means the uke (trapped person) is attempting to resist but not necessarily punching Tori. In other words they are letting Tori learn to develop a lock from the trap.
No points, no winners, no losers. If everybody learns something then they all win and if somebody gets hurt learning it then they all lose.
The Falcon Parable
For the student the trap is everything. If they can't trap they can't lock, if they can't lock they aren't doing Hapkido.
I find a common mistake of students is they don't focus on the target. For example my right punch comes in, student blocks or evades and manages to contact my punch but can't get a firm grasp on it. While they are struggling to do that suddenly my left punch is now heading for a new target. An in-experienced Hapkidoin at this point will switch targets to this new threat and abandon the original right punch that they already had contact with.
This is a mistake.
I find a common mistake of students is they don't focus on the target. For example my right punch comes in, student blocks or evades and manages to contact my punch but can't get a firm grasp on it. While they are struggling to do that suddenly my left punch is now heading for a new target. An in-experienced Hapkidoin at this point will switch targets to this new threat and abandon the original right punch that they already had contact with.
This is a mistake.
Consider the falcon. It circles high over the flocks of pigeons. As the flock passes beneath it selects its target, a single bird. The falcon begins its attack dive and accelerates to break neck speed. The flock detects it and then becomes a disorganized mess of birds trying
to evade the falcon. The falcon does not switch targets but instead follows the bird it originally marked for death. The falcon's prey loops and banks in a desperate attempt to flee or at least shake the falcon so that it pursues a different target. But the falcon focuses on this one pigeon and eventually catches him.
to evade the falcon. The falcon does not switch targets but instead follows the bird it originally marked for death. The falcon's prey loops and banks in a desperate attempt to flee or at least shake the falcon so that it pursues a different target. But the falcon focuses on this one pigeon and eventually catches him.
"According to what one of the elders said, taking an enemy on the battlefield is like a hawk taking a bird. Even though it enters into the midst of a thousand of them, it gives no attention to any bird other than the one that it has first marked."
Hagakure
Hagakure
And it's universal...
Witness the cheetah hunting herds of gazelle. Once detected, the herd flees the cheetah, regardless of the antics of the herd the cheetah only pursues the gazelle it originally marked for death. In fact it will even pass by targets of opportunity in favor of its intended prey.
This is how a skilled Hapkidoin fights. He traps a target (a hand, arm, foot, or leg) however sloppily. From that point on he attempts to solidify his hold on the original target till he is finally in position to execute a joint lock.
A flurry of punches and kicks can seem like a flock of birds or a panicked herd.
A skilled Hapkidoin may attempt to block and evade the other weapons with his other assets but he tries to never lose hold of his original trap.
This is how a skilled Hapkidoin fights. He traps a target (a hand, arm, foot, or leg) however sloppily. From that point on he attempts to solidify his hold on the original target till he is finally in position to execute a joint lock.
A flurry of punches and kicks can seem like a flock of birds or a panicked herd.
A skilled Hapkidoin may attempt to block and evade the other weapons with his other assets but he tries to never lose hold of his original trap.
The Transition between Striking and Grappling
When we transition from striking to grappling we dedicate resources (one or both hands) to the joint lock and that resource is suddenly not available to block incoming strikes anymore. One or two strikes may slip past your guard during the transition and hit you. Keep your head down and do not let them deter your from your course. Remember you can use the limb you have already trapped to deflect attacks from the other weapons till you solidify your lock.
Striking
Striking combat is about speed, move swiftly and strike like a cobra. It would be well to move so fast you are but a blur to your opponent. This is accomplished with relaxed loose tight snapping motion.
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Grappling
Grappling combat is about time and pressure. More like a boa constrictor. Once you have crossed the threshold to grappling, slow down and focus on attaining your joint lock and
getting dialed in perfectly. The better the lock the more it hurts your opponent. |
A skilled Hapkidoin knows that a joint lock applied properly can and likely will end the fight, definitively. Like a constricting snake they ignore the struggles of the mouse and instead
focus on applying pressure till it stops fighting.
In real live combat we hope that the painful lock will be sufficient to force submission and therefore end the conflict, however if the attacker keeps trying to hurt you simply increasing pressure on the joint will cause joint destruction and the attacker essentially loses the use of that particular weapon.
In practice we do not apply full pressure in order to preserve our training partners. Hopefully your uke has the sense to tap out once you've applied a proper joint lock.
focus on applying pressure till it stops fighting.
In real live combat we hope that the painful lock will be sufficient to force submission and therefore end the conflict, however if the attacker keeps trying to hurt you simply increasing pressure on the joint will cause joint destruction and the attacker essentially loses the use of that particular weapon.
In practice we do not apply full pressure in order to preserve our training partners. Hopefully your uke has the sense to tap out once you've applied a proper joint lock.
"And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell."
Matthew 5:30
Matthew 5:30