Hapkido Teesside
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Hapkido Teesside Martial Arts
Hapkido is a versatile Korean martial art that incorporates the styles of both Taekwondo and Aikido along with techniques of other martial arts . Sport in Profile Magazine recently caught up with 4th Dan Black Belt Matt Fawcett to find out more .
Involvement
He told us , “ I personally have been studying Hapkido for over 20 years and the club has been operating for even longer than this . I got involved in martial arts from around 8 years old , competing in Judo and also training in Kickboxing .
However for various reasons these went by the wayside and I did nothing for a couple of years . When I was 15 I started developing mild asthma and the doctor recommended I do more activity ( other than football ) and this is when I found Hapkido . I was hooked straight away as I found it more complete as a martial art than anything I had done or heard about before .”
The Role
“ As an instructor , the most challenge part of the role will always be the same and this is keeping the interest and focus of the students so they want to come back each time . There is so much to learn in Hapkido that we can make every lesson different but this doesn ’ t cement the learning so a nice balance must be found .
The students are also at different levels and learn at different speeds but there is a lot of support at the club with three senior instructors and higher grades that are always looking to help and pass on their knowledge . All efforts put in are rewarded by seeing the progress of the students in all aspects of the martial art , their fitness and overall self-development .”
Atmosphere
“ The mood is always fantastic . The club has always been a great group of people that are very welcoming to new members and there are no egos where some think they are better than others . It is a very friendly environment and we will always strive to maintain this .”
2017
“ We run the club as a non-profit organisation and any money we have coming in as fee ’ s goes straight back into the club to cover the room hire and also to buy equipment . In 2017 , we were able to buy new equipment to replace worn pieces and also to try and accommodate new items that would help to improve the training further .
Added to this we have a good number of students , especially for a martial art that not many people have heard of , and
44 Issue 18