Hapkido shares the same characters as Aikido in the Chinese language, literally meaning “joining-spirit-way” and like Aikido, Hapkido is one of the more gentle forms of martial arts. However, in Korea, the word “Hap” means “coordinated” and the word Hapkido translates into the meaning of “coordinating the spirit.” Hapkido, like Aikido, is more of a form of self-defense rather than an offensive martial art. Hapkido utilizes plenty of throws, pressure points, and joint locks to defend against an opponent’s strikes. Hapkido is unique in the fact that it teaches a student how to defend against blows thrown not only by others schooled in the martial arts, but also how to defend against attackers that do not know martial arts.

Hapkido also focuses on gaining control over your opponent by securing leverage with body positioning and footwork. Absorbing punches and kicks with your body is not recommended as Hapkido teaches the student to deflect the opponent’s blows without exerting much of their own force. Hapkido, however, does employ some techniques from “harder” martial arts, such as Tae Kwon Do to help bring balance to the art. Many of the techniques used in Hapkido aim to end with the use of a pressure point – over 700 pressure points are utilized in this form of martial arts.

The art of Hapkido follows several principles; however, one of the most widely used is the Ryu, or the Water principle. Water is soft and flowing when it needs to be, yet it is hard and destructive when required. Students of Hapkido will learn to emulate the qualities of water in their defenses – instead of pushing an opponent back after he has been pushed, the student will follow the movement and use the opponent’s momentum to overthrow him. Hapkido does not use a traditional belt curriculum as Tae Kwon Do or Karate may. There are no different colors of belts in Hapkido, they are all black. However, there are different degrees of belts, such as 1st Degree Black or 4th Degree Black. Hapkido students do not move as quickly through the belts as this goes against the principles of Hapkido itself. This form of martial arts does not mean for a student to quickly gain levels to show off accomplishment, rather, it focuses more on the training and learning of the curriculum within each degree. Only when as student has mastered the techniques in his or her degree will he or she move on to the next.