The history of martial art Hapkido runs deep into the roots of Korea, however, the exact origins of Hapkido are not well known. Due to anxiety and apprehension between the Koreans and the Japanese, many people argue about the true beginning of Hapkido. While Hapkido started in Korea, many people insist that the creation of the martial art is solely the responsibility of Japanese influence. This can partly be attributed to the fact that a similar martial art, called Aikido was formulated in Japan and Aikido carries the same characters in its name as Hapkido.

Hapkido (also spelled hap ki do or hapki-do) is a dynamic and somewhat eclectic Korean martial art. In the Korean language, hap means "harmony", "coordinated", or "joining"; ki describes internal energy, spirit, strength, or power; and do means "way" or "art". Thus, hapkido translates literally as "joining-energy-way", but it is most often rendered as "the way of coordinating energy" or "the way of coordinated power."

Kicking

The wide variety of kicks in hapkido make it distinctly Korean. Many of which are similar to taekwondo kicks, though again circular motion is emphasized. Hapkido's method of delivery tends toward greater weight commitment to the strikes and less concern for quick retraction of the kicking leg. As in other arts, such as Muay Thai, hapkido's emphasis is more towards power and commitment than to speed and the preference is toward hip rather than knee generated power.

1st Degree Black Belt

* Single Kicks
* Defense Against Wrist Grabs
* Defense Against Clothing Grabs
* Punch Defense
* Kick Defense
* Combination Kicks
* Jumping Kicks
* Defense Against Throws
* Knife Defense
* Attacking Techniques / Taking the Initiative

2nd Degree Black Belt

* Advanced Defense Against Wrist Grabs
* Advanced Defense Against Clothing Grabs
* Advanced Punch Defense
* Advanced Kick Defense
* Defense Against Chokes
* Attacking Techniques
* Special Kicks

Techniques

On the "hard-soft" scale of martial arts, hapkido stands somewhere in the middle, employing "soft" techniques similar to aikido and "hard" techniques reminiscent of taekwondo and tangsoodo. Even the "hard" techniques, though, emphasize circular rather than linear movements. Hapkido is an eclectic martial art, and different hapkido schools emphasize different techniques. However, some core techniques are found in each school (kwan), and all techniques should follow the three principles of hapkido:

* Nonresistance ("Hwa", 화 or 和)