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Why is it that when you see videos of Hapkido (or many other martial arts) on YouTube, it makes you cringe? I know that Hapkido is a great art, and very useful for self-defense--and yet, often when I see Hapkido videos on YouTube, it makes me embarrassed for my art.
One of the things we are going to do to promote Hapkido as a viable, valuable self-defense art is create some video clips showing what our class considers useful techniques, and put them on YouTube. Not only will that tell the world about our school, but more importantly, hopefully work on changing some of the opinions that people must have about Hapkido after seeing some of the other videos available.
I realize this makes me sound as if I believe our school has a monopoly on Good Hapkido(tm), and that isn't how I feel. But I certainly do feel that there are a lot of martial arts schools out there who don't know what they are doing, yet still feel compelled to demonstrate their "abilities" for all the world to see.
A few days ago I was sent a link to this YouTube video, which is about a single defensive movement in response to a hook punch. As I watched it, I kept thinking "this person learned this move from someone who didn't understand it." The defensive strike's target is good, the basic idea is sound--but it is missing the details that actually make it effective. It is like learning a martial technique from a picture--your body might end up in the proper position, but the underlying structure and movement that make it work isn't there, because the picture didn't include the details that actually make the technique effective.
So, I and one of my students recorded some commentary and action regarding this specific technique. This isn't about self-defense in general, nor is it about applications or followup techniques--this video is only about a specific defense blocking a hook punch. That being said, it seemed important to make a distinction between a defense that will work, and one that won't. Feel free to watch both videos, and think critically about the difference in effectiveness. If you think I'm wrong, feel free to let me know.
Original Video:
Nebraska Hapkido Association Response:
I note also that the followup strike shown in the first video (the hammerfist strike to the nose) sounds really good---up until the point that you realize that you are trying to obliquely strike a small target on a person who is going to turn away just as you hit them. Hammerfist strikes are indeed useful at that point--but striking to the cheekbone or lower jaw (depending on how much their head is turned) is a much more useful strike because your chances of missing are much lower. If they are facing full front into you, by all means hit the nose---but certainly don't do it sideways, striking away from your attacker.
We might put together another video about that strike, too. We'll see.
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