Han Mu Do

Infobox Korean name
hangul=한무도
hanja=韓武道
mr=Han mu do
rr=Hanmudo

Han Mu Do, founded by Dr. He-Young Kimm, is a comprehensive martial arts system comprised of the study of empty hand techniques, the study of weapons, the study of ki, and the study of martial arts philosophy.

Han Mu Do was developed from knowledge that He-Young Kimm had accumulated over the last forty years through various teachers and personal experiences. This was not the first name he had given to this art. The first name, strongly recommended by Suk In-hyuk because it had been popular in the 1950's, was "Yuj Kwon Sul" which means "Art of Throws and Punches." For a while, it was called Han Mu Yuh Kwon Sul, a name favoured by Ji Han Jae which means the "Korean Martial Art of Throws and Punches." Some groups from schools emphasizing ki training did not like the use of "Mu" because it meant "martial arts" and they believed that the ki training contained in Han Mu Do was more than martial arts training. They simply called it Han Do, which means "Way of Korean Martial Arts." Finally, in 1991, Kimm decided to call the art Han Mu Do. [(Biography of He-Young Kimm: Copyright (c) 1998-2003 The World Han Mu Do Association] Han Mu Do should not be confused with the martial art of Han Moo Do. The martial art is being practised in places such as: the UK, America, India, Korea, Japan, the Netherlands and France.

Kimm has integrated the techniques and philosophies of various Korean martial arts systems, most founded in the 1950s, with new and innovative modern techniques into a single, comprehensive, balanced system.

He has also written several books about Korean martial arts, including "Kuk Sool," "Philosophy of Masters," "Hapkido" (commonly known as 'The Hapkido Bible'), "Taekwondo: Self-Defense for Taekwondo Practitioners," "Han Mu Do (Textbook for the World Han Mu Do Association)" and "The History of Hapkido and Korea".

He is currently working on the multi-volume "History of Korean Martial Arts", a compendium of 30+ years of historical research, including direct interviews with many of the pioneers of modern Korean martial arts.

Techniques

Hanmudo is a Korean martial art that is considered a "cousin" of Hapkido. Whereas Hapkido is aggressive and harder, Hanmudo is less aggressive, basically following the same tenet as Han Tae Keuk, commonly known as Korean Tai Chi. For instance, a lock applied in Hapkido is followed by a swift, hard forward motion in order to hurl or take down an opponent. Hanmudo, on the other hand, uses a pulling action together with a downward motion. This Hanmudo series of smooth moves gives way to the execution of other techniques with ease. In blocking and attacking movements, the Hanmudo motion follows the infinity sign (a figure 8 lying down).

Another difference between Hanmudo and Hapkido is in the hand techniques. Hanmudo's hand techniques are based on "soft" Korean martial arts such as Kuk Sul, Sundo and Han Tae Keuk as well as "hard" arts such as Taekwondo, Tang Soo Do, Ship Phal Ki or Korean Wushu and Sun Mu Do. Most of the hand strikes in Hanmudo are executive with the palms open. Hapkido's hand techniques, on the other hand, are based only on the "hard" martial arts styles of Taekwondo and Tang Soo Do.

With regards to Ki training, Hanmudo and Hapkido follow different styles. Hanmudo Ki training begins with lying down and advances to a sitting then to a standing position. The final Ki training position is the moving meditation. On the other hand, Hapkido's Ki training is fixed or stationary - either in a sitting or standing position.

In terms of training with weapons, Hanmudo and Hapkido are also different. In Hanmudo, weapon training begins early into a student's training. Hapkido weapon training starts at advanced levels. The forms and styles of weapon training are also different between Hanmudo and Hapkido. To be specific, Hanmudo weapon styles are based on Muye Dobo Tong Ji, the oldest martial art text in Korea. There is a smooth-flowing continuity between the series of Hanmudo weapon techniques. This enables the Hanmudoist to recall and use each technique with ease. Each technique flows into another technique with ease. In addition, every Hanmudo weapon technique can be applied in any given situation. On the other hand, the sequence of weapon techniques in Hapkido is based on the founders of the Hapkido kwons or schools. Thus, the sequence of techniques in one Hapkido kwon is different from the sequence of techniques of other Hapkido kwons. This diversity in the sequence of techniques within Hapkido presents a problem and makes remembering the order of techniques difficult.

Hapkido and Kuk Sul are the basis for the Hanmudo locks. Kuk Sul locks use a larger circle similar to Wushu, while Hapkido locks use a smaller circle similar to Daito-Ryu Jujitsu. Thus, in Hanmudo, small circle and big circle locks are used depending on a given situation.

Mental and physical alignment is one notable characteristic unique to Hanmudo and not observed in other martial arts. Specifically, a Hanmudoist has to kihap (Ki yell) in his mind, "Yu Shin Kang Kwan Han." This is done in order to coordinate his mind and let it "move" with the movements he is doing.

Hyung Sae (forms) is another characteristic that is unique to Hanmudo. The movements of Hanmudo forms follow the sequence of techniques learned. First, the forms begin with hard movements, followed by forms with both hard and soft movements, and finally forms with soft movements. Some Hapkido schools do not have forms.

A philosophy of Hanmudo that is not found in Hapkido is the character development training, which is based on the Sun Bi, the ancient Korean warriors of the Koguryo Dynasty. Penmanship (education) and Swordsmanship (Martial Art) are the focus of the Hamnudo training in character development.

References

External links

* [http://www.hanmudo.com/ Hanmudo website]

ee also

* Hapkido
* Korean martial arts
* Kuk Sool Won