Ta Ta Tang Soo Do, Hola Hapkimudo!

May I start by excusing myself for the long absence. Have been too busy to write, but in the meantime I attended my last Tang Soo Do session and started Hapkimudo.

I must extend my deepest gratitude to Master Ian Wallace and all of his students for their hospitality and friendship. I feel that Tang Soo Do has taught me much. Not only did I learn new techniques and became more physical fit, but I also learnt a lot about martial arts in general and the spirit and ethic which accompanies most martial arts. I am sure that this will help me tremendously in my journey.

I must commend the passion, energy and dedication which exude from the athletes I met. You are all an inspiration in some way.

Till we meet again…Tang Soo!

The next martial art I chose to train is also Korean- don’t worry, next martial art will come from some other country :).

Hapkimudo is a style of Hapkido developed by Master Lee Eun Jong , 9th Dan, president of the World HapkiMudo Federation. It is relatively young in Malta, having started only approximately 5 years ago in 2012, brought here by one of our pioneers in martial arts, Master Christopher Vella. Currently one Hapkimudo club exists located in Sta. Venera and run by Sabumnim Stephen Formosa who also teaches Taekwondo.

I must confess that this was not my first lesson of Hapkimudo as I had had the privilege of training with Grand Master Lee Kang Jong, vice president of the World Hapkimudo Federation when I attended a training camp of Korean Martial arts in France a few months ago. I did however find Hapkimudo to be highly relevant and intriguing and that is why I chose to include it as one of the martial arts in my project.

Training Hapkimudo in France

L to R: Robert Farrugia, Kwanjangnim Chris Vella, Grand Master Lee Kang Jong, Sabumnim Neville Desira and myself

I attended the session in Sta. Venera, which on that day was given by Sabumnim Emvin Mifsud aide by Sabumnim Martin Buhagiar as Sabumnim Formosa could not make it.

We started the session with some light warm up and a not so light circuit. We then proceeded to practice some break falls and rolls, normally very common in Judo-like martial arts but adopted by many other styles.

Break falls are used to prevent serious injury when one falls, after a throw in self-defence for example, but may also be used in everyday life if one has a minor incident, say slipping in the road.

There are 3 main types of break falls; front, side and back. In each one, the aim is to protect the vital organs and appendages such as the head and spine from serious injury. In the front break fall, for example, one topples forward in a letting-the-legs-slip-behind-you kind of motion and lands on the toes and forearms whilst making sure to rotate the head to the side to avoid the nose hitting the ground. In the back break fall, one lands on the upper back/shoulders whilst for the side break fall, one lands on the side-back muscles as the name implies.

We then proceeded to practice some self defense techniques….but more about that next time.

Anyone wishing to take up Hapkimudo may visit their website http://innaekwan.com/index.php/hapkimudo/membership-schedule/

In the meantime, for anyone interested in self defense, on the occasion of the 30yr anniversary of my Taekwondo Club- the Birzebbuga Taekwondo Club, an event is being held focusing on self defense with the participation of Kwanjangnim Christopher Vella (Hapkido and Taekwondo), Sensei Neville Schembri (Judo) and Shihan dai Martin Camilleri (Aikijujitsu and Nihon Taijitsu). For more info, follow the Facebook link below or contact me.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1262502420481785/

Hapki!