Hapkido Clothing Grab Defenses, Silat Flow Drills

Meaning of Hapkido
Hapkido: the way of harmonious energy
Meaning of Hapkido

Hapkido: the way of harmonious energy

As always we continue to train in Hapkido striking techniques. Lately I’ve been looking at combos that involve leg kicks and hand strikes. For example last week we worked on a thigh kick / hook punch combo that I saw Keith Jardin use with great results in the UFC. We also work on more traditional, “old school” strikes including bent wrist strikes, elbows, hammerfists, backfists, etc.

On the joint locking side, we’re currently working on Hapkido clothing grab defenses. Compared to Jujitsu and Aikido, Hapkido grab defenses tend to be rather brutal. A friend recently characterized Hapkido as “evil Jujitsu”. I like that. In any case, our Hapkido grab defenses are highly effective, in my opinion. That includes defenses against lapel, collar and sleeve grabs (all of which are typically followed by a punch); shoulder and collar grabs from the front and back; lapel chokes; wrist and elbow grabs; and hair grabs.

On the Silat side we’ve been working on our open handed flow drills, and our knife flow drills. These are drills that, as the name implies, flow back and forth between attack and defense. They are designed to program effective responses into the student’s muscle memory. They are soft-style techniques, meaning they do not rely on clashing power blocks, but they are highly effective. They are designed to be fast and deadly, and work equally well against an open handed attack or a knife attack.

We’re the only group in Fresno training in either Hapkido or Silat. We are currently holding classes every Monday and Tuesday from 3pm to 5:30, at Zoe Eden Community Hall in Fresno. Classes are free and open to adults of any age. Beginners are welcome. Come on by and try a class.

– Wael

3 Comments

  1. Wael,

    This website looks great! If I were living in the Fresno area, I would be strongly motivated to attend your class. The folks in Fresno have no idea how lucky they are to have your martial arts oasis in their midst.

    Hapki!

    Erik

  2. “Evil Jujitsu”? To me, that phrase suggests a martial art that advocates the malicious inflicting of excessive pain and injury for the sake of sadism or misguided vigilante retribution.

    I would call Hapkido, “Stern Jujitsu”. Stern like a morally upright grandfather who’s swift about holding wayward grandchildren accountable for their mischief.

    To Master Tedeschi, Hapkido is “Old School Jujitsu” – Jujitsu the way it was practiced for most of its history. (Of course, he’s referring only to the part of Hapkido that comes from Jujitsu, and not the myriad kicking techniques.)

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