Blog Posts

Transfer...

3/17/2015

Hello Hapkido Friends,

Well the Coast Guard is transferring me to the Alexandria Virginia region for the next four years. I plan to leave the Yorktown Hapkido Club in place and in the capable hands of Captain Brad Bennett (ret) PhD. Since my family is staying in the Yorktown area I will be returning to check on the club's progress and conduct promotions regularly.

If anybody on here lives in the Alexandria region I would love to hear from you. For one thing I really need to find a room to rent to live in! But also it would be nice to have a friend in the area. For someone who wants to learn Hapkido in Alexandria it could be a tremendous opportunity for you.

I ask that prayers go out to my wife Julie and my family that they be safe and protected when I can't be at home. And if any predator should read this, we have guns....

I plan to go ahead with the July 18 Hapkido Seminar here and I also plan to keep supporting and building Hapkido Online, I am in this for the long haul.

I also want to send out a prayer request for Master Tim Feathers and his family. He recently survived a rather harrowing operation involving his heart. The prognosis is good for him but I am sure he and his loved ones could use your prayers.

God Bless,

Jon

New Content Uploaded

2/4/2015

Added two more High Red Techniques this evening: Slip Back to Horizontal Center Lock and the Head Grab Take Down!

Just five more video's and the basic instructional content from white belt to 1st Dan black will be complete!!!!! Wahoooo....

I must say when I began Hapkido Online I expected to have all this done in a year.... That was uh three years ago...

So I am a little slow.

However looking back, I am kind of glad I went slowly. You see in many DVD series you might buy for Hapkido they probably film all basic instruction over a long day or maybe two. I just did a video here and there for several years and so each move has my full attention. I am not thinking okay, now let's film the next one.

You can kind of sense my willingness to just make the move about the move and doing it well. For those of you who signed on in 2012, the stuff we are shooting now looks light years better than my early content. Some that old video is still on the site. Don't worry I plan to go back and little by little replace and revise.

What has changed since then? Well for one thing, I have changed. I am much better at demonstrating and teaching Hapkido now than I was three years ago. Why? Well that is three more years of diligent practice. In fact when I began Hapkido Online I was a 1st Dan Black belt and now I have earned my 3rd Dan Black Belt.

Also I must express my appreciation to my teachers. Master Tim Feathers who drove out to see me and practice with me. Also Grand Master Rodemaker who also has come here to teach us locally.

My camera equipment has improved as well. In the beginning I used my wife's Flip Camera and a broken tri-pod. Very low budget but hey it's what I have. That first Flip ended up getting broken in a practical joke run amok.

Okay I'll digress and tell you what happened. My daughter Sophia was using the flip to shoot a little video in her room. Her Grandparents and I were in the process of tearing out the wall just behind where she had set the camera. I had this great idea that we could score the wall board a few times and then I could crash my head through the wall and yell "Here's Johnny!". Just like the movie The Shining. I was hoping the video would capture her complete surprise and perhaps terror. It was all going to plan. My head went right through the wall and she shrieked and jumped back which of course caused Julies poor camera to fall to the floor and break. Yeah, not my finest moment.

I replaced Julies Flip camera and bought myself a used Sony Webbie Camera. It has some advantages, for example the screen could be rotated around. Prior to that I had to put a mirror behind the Flip Cam. Still the image quality left a lot to be desired.

Then a kind photographer, Mr. Pat Mills, took an interest in my Hapkido project and helped me to purchase the ideal rig. What we ended up with was a little robot product called a swivl that holds lightweight cameras and automatically points them at a remote. The little flashy gizmo you see in the latest video's is the remote. The remote also acts as a microphone. He set me up with a proper Tri-pod, and most importantly we ended up getting an iPod touch 5 that has excellent camera's a screen that I can see and connects directly to the swivl with the swivl app.

So now we have high quality video, even hi-def if I so choose. We have high quality sound. The only thing that was still kind of off was the aspect ratio. The focal length of the camera was such that you could see my upper body but not my feet or my feet but not my upper body. Pat suggested a small thimble sized Wide Angle Lens that literally pops onto the iPod touch like a magnet. It took me nearly 6 months to heed his advice but I finally bought one from a website called photojojo.com . Huge improvement, now you can see my whole body in frame for each technique.

In 2012 I started with little more than a dream. I made the basic website. It looked cruder then, than it does now. But all the elements where there. I set up my old broken tripod and borrowed camera in our living room and started filming white belt.

Now in 2015 Hapkido Online looks refined. We have custom artwork from my friend James Barnes. We have very high quality video and I feel personally that my instruction has improved significantly. Not only is it better but I am not as awkward in front of the camera as I used to be. Finally we are nearing the end of my original goal to have step by step video instruction streaming online from white belt to black belt.

Am I finished? No Way!!! I am just beginning. First I want to go back and refilm white belt. Less chatter and more actual movement. With the new camera gear etc.

Then I plan to push forward into the Dan Levels. I want to add cane, stick and knife techniques, kubotan, ground survival, steel baton, and all the wonders that were originally laid out by Grand Master Rodemaker and Senior Master Ziot's in the Tactical Hapkido Encyclopedia.

I was looking at my old belt certificates the other day and it slowly dawned on me that my very first martial arts lesson was in February of 1991. So this month is essentially my 24th anniversary of practicing martial arts. It also represents 24 years of friendship with Master Feathers my teacher.

February is also very significant to me because it is my wedding anniversary to my lovely wife and best friend Julie. This year will be our 11th.

Sorry to ramble on, this could be the longest news post we have on Hapkido Online. What can I say, I am feeling blessed. Thank you God for my wife, my teacher, and my students.

Jon

Skype...

12/31/2014

I hope everybody had a Merry Christmas and has a Happy New Year. So after three years I've decided to leave ooVoo behind for digital dojang work and I've built a new page that simply has a link to my Skype profile.

I think we are all a little tired of having to deal with a Java update every month and greater and greater complexity to load Java with ooVoo etc. Also I have been getting some disturbing feedback regarding ooVoo anyway. Some folks are telling me that the ooVoo website has given them spamware etc.

For those of you who are still using ooVoo I'll leave the old dojang online for another month but I urge you to set up Skype if you haven't already.

I suspect most of you already have Skype and use it regularly.

My 2015 resolution? Get in better shape, lose a bunch of fat, get my dojang built, and keep on filming, editing, and uploading Hapkido Online content.

Many exciting things coming up. I look forward to exploring the high end of the THA curriculum including, chair techniques, defense against knives, guns, and clubs. Cane training, and ground survival. So stay tuned...

For those of you who are interested in helping. Frankly I just need you to get the word out. We need to grow!

Also I have a handful of students out there who are members of Hapkido Online but have not yet joined the THA. I urge you strongly to head over to the join page and join THA. If you do you will get a nice membership certificate, a photo I.D. Card, and a genuine THA patch that you can sew onto your dobak. Finally, like Hapkido Online the THA is on a very important mission from the Lord. We are spreading the word and the good news. Not to mention teaching some incredible martial arts. THA provides all of us with a great learning curriculum that continues to grow and get refined, seminars all over the country, the massive annual conference, and not to mention awesome books, DVD's and other useful items. I am proud to be a member and I hope you will consider joining up.

Something I am going to try to implement in the coming year are regular webcam training hours once a week. Hopefully I can get enough interested people involved that we can have a kind of organized showing. I'll still do scheduled private sessions of course. I am curious what hours are best for everybody?

We have a new member. His name is Rob and he hails from San Diego California. Rob has some physical disabilities and I look forward to exploring Hapkido from his point of view. I know you all will welcome him and pray that he is able to learn our arts.

That's all I have for now. God Bless!
Jon

Happy Thanksgiving!

11/26/2014

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!!!! Please have a safe, sane, and blessed Thanksgiving.

Today I added a blurb about Hapkido Sparring on that page in Green Belt. This is just a further explanation on the nuts and bolts of sparring. Some folks out there had questions and this is my attempt to answer them. I may make some video for this as well.

My thanks go to God for all my blessings which are manifest. I also am thankful for my wife and family. Last but not least I am very thankful for my student's and teachers and for all the fine people at THA.

God Bless,
Jon

New Content Uploaded

11/9/2014

Today I edited and uploaded elbow strike video for High Green. I also edited and uploaded the exploding arms technique at High Red and the Sitting Knee technique at the same level.

Mr. Robert Logan and I also explore the way to go from standing to sitting on the floor rapidly and safely. It's good training for anybody who moves along on two legs and is at risk of falling down.

Veterans Day this Tuesday and I just want to say thank you to all veterans past and present who serve selflessly our country and it's people. God Bless you all and have a great Veterans Day. Please pray for our soldiers and sailors who are serving us far from home and in harms way. Many safe returns.

The Blaze and of Knees and Groins

10/29/2014

Lately I've decided that Hapkido Online is getting to the stage where I really want to begin to advertise it nationally. We've been beta testing and uploading content for nearly three years now and it's proven solid, stable, and effective. It's received acclaim from within the martial arts community which is huge because peer review was something I insisted on right away.

After much consideration and talking with various people I came to believe that perhaps The Glen Beck Radio Program would be the best place to go. Glen Beck speaks about politics and faith and is widely listened to across the country. His ideas and my ideas are similar in many respects. It's a very popular program and thus, expensive for someone like me to advertise with.

But I suspect the folks that enjoy the Glen Beck Program are the kinds of people that might find a web based Christian Hapkido learning system appealing. Glen Beck people are strong, independent, and hard workers. They are taxpayers and business owners. In short my kind of folks.

However after calling his advertising people at The Blaze I began to realize just how much even the smallest of spots would cost and it was frankly out of reach. I've been saving money all summer long. Stephanie with The Blaze suggested that I should sponsor in ad form the The Blaze newsletter which is read by several (and I mean several) hundred thousand people. It was still very expensive but just within reach of the money I had saved.

Also all summer long I've been saying, we really need a new riding lawnmower. Every time we went to the hardware store I sighed and said we need a new riding lawnmower. As fall progresses the riding mowers go on sale and one or two also became within reach.

So do I advertise or get the mower???

I prayed about it. The feeling I felt from God was: "Why are you even asking you know what to do, follow your mission." It seemed pretty clear cut. So last Friday I pulled the trigger and sent The Blaze my hard earned money and an advert that I thought would be effective.

After work I drove home. Guess what was sitting in my driveway???

Our neighbor gave us his riding lawnmower because another neighbor gave him a brand new one! If that isn't confirmation from the Lord, I don't know what is!

So everybody pray for a big success for Hapkido Online and our mission to bring Hapkido and the Light and Truth of the Lord to world.

Today I filmed some elbow and knee strikes and then filmed some bear hug defenses with Mr. Robert Logan my faithful student. Those are uploaded as of now. Enjoy!

Added Tech Support Page

10/16/2014

I added a tech support page with tutorials and contact information for folks who are struggling with the computer and Hapkido Online. We don't get too many tech support issues normally. In the four years I've been building Hapkido Online I think I've had maybe three. But if you should have trouble I've made it as easy as possible to sort it out.

New Content Added

10/15/2014

Filmed, edited, and uploaded two more red belt techniques. The Push Pull and the Hamstring Push.

Both of these video's are special in that I've added a wide angle lens so that you can see from head to toe on both tori and uke in sharp detail. Wish I had picked up one of these lenses sooner!

Special thanks to my friend CAPT Brad Bennett PhD who not only let me painfully push him into the mat repeatedly but took the time to teach me some new things about anatomy as this is his professional specialty.

Congrats to young Mr. JP Webber on earning your Yellow Belt.

Congrats Robert!!!

10/8/2014

First, congratulations to my good friend and student Robert Logan on earning his Green Belt today. This is a major milestone for Robert because he was nearly ready for this test almost nine months ago and had to undergo a very intensive series of surgeries for his shoulder from an old injury that had come back to haunt him. Post op he then had long and painful hours of rehabilitation for several months. Happy to say he has never wavered on his dream of learning Hapkido. Robert persevered through the pain and effort and finally made it back to class. He returned to us wiser and better because he couldn't just muscle through the moves, he had to rely on finesse now and it ultimately made Robert a better Hapkidoin. He is a mighty Christian and brings soul, song, and philosophy to every practice.

After his test today we took some time and re-filmed the remaining full nelson defenses for Red Belt. Big fun! That content has been edited and uploaded as of this evening.

3rd Dan!

9/15/2014

On Saturday the 13th at my seminar I was promoted to the rank of 3rd Dan by Grand Master Rodemaker and Master Feathers!

Contact: jonferguson777@yahoo.com