[8LimbsScientist]

I started Hapkido this week. I'll just be posting a weekly message detailing what I've experienced.

This week we worked on breakfalls, jointlocks, and punching and kicking.

In particular we worked on a standing sort of armbar and a wristlock.

We use a roundkick which is identical to the Thai roundkick. I'm not sure if this is the norm or if this is just my school, but I like the idea.

A good friend of mine will be taking the class with me, but there is no one else in the class. This allows us both to get a lot more personal attention then is usually the case.

I will be doing a lot of research on my own in the coming weeks. I already have a set of books picked out that I'd like to look at. I'm especially interested in the short stick techniques that are taught to the black belts.

I will also be meeting with my friend outside of class to work on techniques from class and to free spar a bit.

[8LimbsScientist]

Wow, so much for keeping up with this training log...lol.

Anyway, over the last couple of months I've learned a lot. We've gone over several jointlocks, breakfalling, and strikes.

I still like MT style striking better, but I've finally gotten the mechanics of the Hapkido kick down. Once you get used to doing things one way, its difficult to just up and switch it.

Yesterday I passed my belt test for my yellow stripe (basically a white belt with a thin stripe of yellow down the middle of the entire belt) and that felt very satisfying. My instructor brought his two instructors down to judge. We covered the basic strikes, breakfalls and softfalls as well as a few jointlocks and some terminology/history.

After we were awarded our yellow stripes we had the pleasure of seeing a demo from my instructors two instructors. I also had the pleasure of being "volunteered" to have a few techniques performed on me. All I can say is I'm looking forward to being that good one day, and I'm even more excited about getting into the throws in Hapkido.

Things to work on in the future:
-Work on flexibility
-Have my partner resist more during jointlocks
-Take my partner all the way to the mat when working on jointlocks
-Work on eliminating space and smaller circles

[Italian Monk]

Congrats ... keep on ... keep training

Humbly,

[8LimbsScientist]

Today we had a new guy come in who was pretty short, but very stocky and muscular. His wrists were pretty huge, and I had trouble applying my wristlocks on him at first.

I really like when we have people of varying sizes come in because I get to learn to apply what I know to their different bodytype. My other classmate is the same size as me, and I don't have to put much effort into jointlocks to make him tap out from the pain. But I had to really fine tune my technique with this guy to get him to tap, and I think thats really important. Also, it really drove home the strength vs. technique argument. I could use strength all I wanted, this guy wouldn't wince or tap, but as soon as I found the correct angle or used leverage it made all the difference.

Also, this kind of thing gives me even more respect for my instructor. Every time we have new people come in, he never has any problems applying the wristlocks on them, regardless if they're really tall or really wide, etc. I'm looking forward to achieving that level of skill some day.

[zefff]

man if you say he was short, he musta been DAMN SHORT!

I know what u mean about the wrists though, no joke - my Sifu wrists are about the same as my ankles! There is no bending them bastads!

[8LimbsScientist]

Originally Posted by zefff

man if you say he was short, he musta been DAMN SHORT!

When I said short I meant he was around my height

I know what u mean about the wrists though, no joke - my Sifu wrists are about the same as my ankles! There is no bending them bastads!

Yeah, there is so much more resistance when you try it on a thick wristed person. Also, the other one is tall people. Try putting a wristlock on a guy who is a good amount taller than you...its like trying to manipulate a garden hose from one end...it really emphasizes the need for small circles and keeping everything in close.

[bushidoka]

Remember, you are not going to be using a joint break(HKD does not have joint locks, direct translation = joint break) on everybody, nor are you going to be using it statically, or without momentum, or drawing a reaction from the opponent, eg., kicking to the knee as you attack the joint. Joint breaks play a large role in HKD, but it is only a small part of the whole.
Good luck with your training 8limb!