What is the difference between Hapkido and Aikido?
The founder of the Japanese art Aikido, Morehi USHEBA (O-Sensei), trained in Daito Ryu Aiki Jujutsu. This form of Jujitsu is understood to be the art on which much of Hapkido is based. It is because of this common foundation that a close relationship between Aikido and Hapkido is inferred. The similarity of technqique is apparent in the circular non-resistive motions, joint locks and throws.Both arts teach their students to receive an attack with minimal resistance, move it past the defender and then add the defender’s force to it. This results in the opponent becoming unbalanced and vulnerable to throws, locks and other takedown techniques. In fact the styles have very different philosophies. Unlike Aikido, Hapkido teaches offensive techniques as well as defensive techniques. A Hapkidoist mixes hard techniques with the soft (including kicks and strikes). An article is available explaining aspects of Kukjae Hapkido compared to other martial arts.
call has most of the answer. Both styles share a similar principle but Hapkido has incorporated Korean striking arts into the Daito Ryu-Aikijujitsu method. The syllabus was worked to be more accepted by the newly freed Korean people. After the Japanese occupation ended, anything considered Japanese was frowned upon. So many Japanese martial arts schools that were open but run by Koreans absorbed aspects of banned native styles into the Japanese methods. This is in part how Taekwondo came about. Aikido is also an offshoot of Daito Ryu-Aikijujitsu. It does not utilize strikes the way Hapkido does and it’s philosophy is that of defense without causing lasting harm.
