EVOLUTION OR REVOLUTION
I n many Martial Arts magazines interviews and also by participants at my seminars I am often asked why and how I came to found Combat Hapkido. Before I can answer let me make something very clear: I did not wake up one morning and said“ I think today I will create a new Martial Arts style”. And also let me state at the onset that I did not create a new martial art and I did not invent hundreds of new techniques never seen before! In fact, what I did had been done before by many others over hundreds of years, in many different countries. Founding a Martial Arts“ style”( Kwan, Ryu, etc …) does not involve inventing totally new Self Defense / fighting techniques, strategies, concepts, principles and philosophies. A“ style” is created by first using an existing, proven art as a foundation and an anchor of stability and sound framework and then choosing and arranging selected principles, concepts and techniques in a new structure, with new emphasis and a new method of execution. Thus the technical development of a new style can bring a fresh, exciting and more practical approach to modern fighting realities while maintaining strong roots in the original art and a respectful connection to its traditions. Martial Arts styles evolve gradually and independently. In several cultures they were tribal in nature with every village developing its own fighting style. In some cultures they were family based with the teacher passing the“ secret techniques” only to family members and a few chosen disciples. In other cultures they evolved methods and weapons out of social necessity, such as the Okinawans transforming farming and fishing implements into deadly weapons because of the Japanese ban of“ real” weapons possession. In certain historical times and cultures different fighting arts and styles developed because of strict philosophical disciplines and government requirements such as the Japanese Samurai and other Warrior Classes. We could go on and on with a lengthy dissertation on the World ' s many fighting arts and the different styles that each has generated, but I think that by now the reader fully understands the process and the reasons. In modern Western countries legitimate styles are the product of instructors with many years of experience, profound technical knowledge, vision and a sincere desire to modify the art not to gratify their ego or for self-aggrandizement but to make the art more accessible to more people and more relevant to present conditions. It is not then to“ improve” it but to“ adapt” it. It is not a“ revolution”, it is an“ evolution”.
When the subject of“ styles” is discussed, many famous Martial Arts Instructors, past and present, come to mind, some of them attached to a lot of controversy concerning their motivation, their true lineage and even their loyalty. Pioneers or renegades? Innovators or rebels? Visionaries or egomaniacs? When you calmly, fairly and dispassionately consider the facts, you will come to the conclusion that, in the end, it ' s all a matter of freedom of expression and the quest for self-realization. Bruce Lee honestly believed that his original art, Wing Tsun, and most other traditional arts were too rigid, limiting, even ineffective, and decided to go against the orthodoxy and express his fighting philosophy in the evolution of Jeet Kune Do. Ed Parker believed that traditional Chinese Kenpo could better serve the needs of modern Western students by being transformed into his style of American Kenpo. Many“ old school” Korean Kwans agreed that in order to popularize and promote their similar Martial Arts styles, they should unite, blend and standardize into a new art called TaeKwonDo. Examples should be sufficient to illustrate the fact that the evolution of a Martial Art into different styles is not an exception but it is actually the norm and it has been so for hundreds of years around the globe.
So now that I have put some background in context, back to the original question as it applies to our style“ Combat Hapkido” While studying and teaching Hapkido I never felt that it was inadequate, inferior or obsolete. I loved the traditional art and I was its loyal proponent and a true believer in the effectiveness of its techniques. I still respect and love the art. Motivation and inspiration for change came to me because of modern, practical realities, not change for the sake of change, not the seduction of a new fad, not any egotistical ambition. I simply wanted to adapt Hapkido ' s devastating self-defense techniques to Western physical qualities, training disciplines and legal environment. In other words, I wanted to make Hapkido a popular and desirable selfdefense system for most men and women in today ' s world.
I realized that certain technical aspects and training requirements had to be modified to allow safe, enjoyable and productive practice for people of all age groups, and vastly different physical shapes and conditions. During the structuring and developing of the system, serious considerations were also given to the possible legal and moral ramifications connected to the actual use of the techniques. Put simply, we did not want to prevail in a street fight only to wind up in prison. In future articles I will share with you some of the specific changes I felt it was necessary to implement in order to“ modernize” Hapkido.
The process of the evolution of Hapkido into“ Combat Hapkido” began in 1989 and resulted in the official founding of the“ style” and its Governing Body, the ICHF, in 1992. Since then we have certified over 2500 Black Belts and hundreds of Instructors in over 20 countries. We have over 200 active programs licensed to teach our system( some of them in military bases and police departments in addition to Martial Arts schools). We also have several hundred students enrolled in our Combat Hapkido University. In 1999, the Korean government through its chartered agency, the World Ki-Do Federation, officially recognized Combat Hapkido as a“ legitimate” and accredited“ Kwan”( style) of Hapkido. However, this was not to be without controversy. In spite of the official recognition, legitimate lineage and all the other accomplishments( which include 30 instructional DVDs, 6 books, 18 magazine covers, dozens of Hall of Fame Inductions and over 600 seminars in 22 countries!!) there were and still are those who strongly condemn and disapprove the founding of a new Hapkido style. Maybe they just don ' t like me … maybe they are jealous of our success. Some claim that a sacred tradition has been violated and that I have disrespected the founder of the original art. To them I just want to say:“ Correct your ignorance by studying a little history”. A young Korean man and a young Japanese man trained for many years under a renowned Master of Daito-Ryu Aikijujutsu( a classical Samurai“ style” of Aikijujitsu), their names were Choi Yong Sool and Morei Ueshiba. Later, for different reasons, they went on to found their own“ styles” called Hapkido and Aikido. They modified and modernized the traditional art in different ways to adapt to the requirements of their cultures and their times and to reflect their different personal philosophies. Let ' s be grateful for their vision, their courage and their contributions to the“ evolution” of the Martial Arts.
To contact Grandmaster Pellegrini and for more information on Combat Hapkido, visit www. dsihq. com
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