Theory of Circular Self Defense Hapkido（圆形自卫Hapkido理论）.pdfVIP

Theory of Circular Self Defense - Hapkido Hapkido’s Theory of Circular Self Defense by Scott Shaw As a martial artist you are trained to continually develop and refine yourself defense skills. This training often times involves drills that will teach you how to defend yourself against the onslaught of the various attacks an adversary may launch against you. The defensive tactics that are generally taught, by many martial art systems, teach you how to defend yourself with forceful techniques once an opponent has already grabbed a hold of you or has unleashed an attack such as a kick or a punch. The problem with defending yourself at this late stage of an attack is that your opponent either already has a hold of you or he has already unleash his punch. Once an opponent has a powerful hold on you it is much harder to free his grasp from you then if you encountered him before he has the opportunity to take a firm hold of you. Additionally, if your attacker has already begun to punch at you, that punch is in motion, it has power, velocity, and speed, which you can only hope to beat with a traditional block. The Korean martial art system of Hapkido teaches its practitioners that it is far better to defend yourself before your attacker has the opportunity to solidify his attack upon you. To achieve self defense, in the early stages of an attack, Hapkido uses its Theory of Circular Self Defense. The Hapkido Theory of Circular Self Defense does not mean that you move your body in elaborate exaggerated circular movements. Instead, Circular Self Defense training is twofold; first of all, it teaches that the most important element in any confrontation is to define the range your opponent is attacking from. How far is he from you? With this knowledge the most appropriate and effective self defense measure may be put into place before your opponent has launched a successful attack upon you. Once this range is defined the second level of Hapkido Theory of Circ