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sorry for my ignorance but what exactly is hap ki do caues ive only seen it before in mortal kombat and thats not a very good scorce of martal arts information.

Hapkido is a korean martial art that is sort of a cross between aikido and taekwondo, to the best of my understanding.

I cant see aikido really developing your skills that much as its a bit similar. As triste said maybe something a bit more striking based, or even japanese sword stuff might be a good compliment. Is there sword work in hapkido?

Somehow I disagree with your comparing it to Tai Chi. sweatdrop

It has alot of the same principals as Aikido (from what I understand) , but Tae Kwon Do and Hap Ki Do, come from the same place and era, so they kinda fell in to the same category of martial arts. So thats why they are so similar.

But basically, Hap Ki Do's biggest points for defence are throws, joint locks, pressure points, strikes, and kicks. But the basics that you have to learn from the start is dives, kicks, and technique. Technique being defence against certain attacks (ex: punching, kicks, collar, lunges, etc.).

But in Hap Ki Do there is sword work, but I' havn't learned it yet. Once you get to 5th degree black belt is when you start training with acctual sword attacks, but sometimes if you train enough in first, you can learn how so defend against simialar weapons (canes, sticks, before black belt the first weapon defence you learn is knife), but mostly you learn the sword like techniques around 2nd degree.

I'm 1st degree right now though.

*coughs* I don't know how much good is done in Aikido. Take for example the story of the friend of my instructor (the sensei that took over the dojo) who used to go to the dojo. He worked in Japan and this police came up to him, gripping his shirt. The guy said he wanted the police to let go and after stating it and the police not letting go, he went and broke the police's arm. Of course, he went to jail for it...

Hahaha don't get me started on hippies. It depends on who is teaching. Tai Chi is slower, but to many more difficult, like yoga because you have to hold positions steady, and that is tough, especially on balance. Once sped up, Tai Chi can be lethal because of the precision where the art is taught.

Almost every martial arts, especially Aikido, has hippies teaching it. The ideas of ki or chi lend themselves to the hippy culture. I've heard of hippies teaching Aikido as well, creating bullshidos. Think of it that way.

Take Tai Chi if you want to train more towards having total command of your body. Also be aware that Tai Chi would take a lot longer in training before you can be proficient at it enough to use it like other martial arts, say in a spar or in training. Probably around 10 years, I would guess-timate.

LOL You keep telling me you love me and I just might start believing ya. wink

I don't diagree with you at all. In fact, I'm looking to stray away from Aikdio a bit after I feel that I have a good solid grounding in it. Cross training does a world of good and even my sensei has crossed trained in judo and karate.

Tai Chi is generally good for elder people because it is slower and more meditative. As with all martial arts, there is a soft way of practicing it and a hard way. You can train as hard as you want. Often, it's personal and your sensei's choice.

I love that. "Tai Cheap" That's great *laughs*

One good way to spot how good a dojo is, not by seeing what federations or what lineage, but by actually going to go watch a class and see how the sensei teaches. See if the teacher practices too what he/she preaches, how willing is he/she to be hands on, and how much he/she sweats with the student. I find that better than any credentials the school might present.

What does Soo Bahk Do litarally translate to? Cause I just scanned it and I saw the heart of the art in there alot, is that what it is?