Are aikijutsu, aikido and hapkido the same style with a different name?
A. Although these three martial arts are similar and have similar roots, they are all very different. They each have many similarities, but they have different philosophies and designed for different purposes. Aikido was developed from Aikijutsu and has very heavy influence from other arts as well. Aikido is designed to help you develop internal and external harmony and therefore defend yourself through very peaceful means. Aikijutsu is very combative, harmonizing with the force of an attack or attacker to add intensity to your counter attack. Hapkido is a Korean art that uses many of the same type of joint locks and throws, but also focuses on a wide range of kicking techniques. In reality, Hapkido is very different. With the media attention of Aikido through Steven Segal, a sort of “Aikido Boom” has occurred and many schools would like to cash in on this and tell you that Hapkido is the same thing… It’s Not! A Hapkido master would probably tell you it is not. The bottom line is: Fi
