DaedongRyu YuSool (Japan- Daito Ryu Yawara or call Aiki JuJitsu- meaning great eastern style soft skills) Master Yong-Sul Choi studied from Dakeda Shokaku Daito Ryu Yawara founder (later Morei Ueshiba name changed to AiKiDo) in Japan 1930`s at shokaku home.
After the Korean liberation Master Choi returned to Korea 1945; and resided in DaeGu, Korea. Under the Yawara name held only private lessons out of his home. After the end of the Korean war in 1953 Master Choi started teaching to the public - still only teaching out of his own home.
The name Yawara was later changed to Hapkido by a few Yu Sool (Yawara) masters in Seoul the capital city of Korea and Slowly Hap Ki Do was mixed with HwaRangDo and other martial art styles and turned generic.
Click Here to Watch a Documentary on the History of Hwa Rang Do, Hapkido and Korean Martial Arts.
Today, Hap Ki Do looks a lot like the original martial art of Korea, Um-Yang Kwon, which only two people in modern time ever learned - the name Um-Yang Kwon however is no longer used as it was changed to Hwa Rang Do®.
The Hap Ki Do of today is a form of unarmed self-defense based on circular techniques such as jointlocks, foot sweeps and kicks, but incorporating punches and circular throws and a yielding principle similar to that of Aikido, however original Hap Ki Do was actually the exact same thing as Daito Ryu Yawara.
The emphasis on circular motion in Hap Ki Do allows for a free-flowing form of combat in which one technique can merge with the next and the direction of force can easily be changed by changing the axis of rotation.
Primarily practiced for self-defense or spiritual development or both, hapkido came to be used in free-sparring contests mixed of the HwaRangDo or TaeKwonDo type.
For more information and instruction in the Original Korean Martial Art, Click Below: