The topic of today’s blog is hapki (aiki), which is very difficult to explain and have people understand through writing. It is something that can only be understood through experience.

So, instead of writing about theory, I want to share my experiences as I felt them through my master, Kim Yunsang Dojunim.

The first time I experienced hapki from my master was about two and a half years into training Hapkiyusul. Until that point, I had no chance to receive techniques from Kim Yunsang Dojunim. I only watched in awe and could only guess at the experience. 

One day, Kim Yunsang Dojunim came over and told me to bend my elbow and hold my arm to my chest; to resist as best as I could. He would be doing the kal-neoki technique on me.  Remember, I was in my 30’s and had trained seriously for 20 years in martial arts. He was a smaller, 80 year old man. I had my doubts. Could he actually unfold my arm and do the technique (which I was ready for because he told me!)? My suspicion led me to fold my arm, fist to my chest and resist with all my might to see if what I saw was real. 

He came over quietly, placed one hand on my elbow, the other on the back of my fist, and at that moment I felt waves of energy enter my body. And in the next moment, an odd sound came out of my mouth as my arm began to be unfolded; the rest of my body uselessly limp. Dojunim did not move very quickly nor did I feel any pain. But there he was unfolding my arm and doing the kal-neoki technique. It felt as if my entire mind and body were under a spell, 100 percent controlled by Dojunim. 

“Whoa!” Is this hapki? 

This is only one example. Dojunim showed us hapki in many different forms, from the most basic of techniques to very advanced ones. It didn’t matter if I made contact first or he did. But at the moment of contact, I lost control of my body. Sometimes, I was thrown into the air, other times, it felt as if I were being dragged into the earth, my body crumpling like a piece of paper. There were times I laughed uncontrollably and times where tears would fall down my face. The most fascinating instances were when my body would stiffen, immovable as if I were hypnotized, unable to lift a finger or even breathe. Yet, oddly, I would feel absolutely peaceful, even in the most uncomfortable of positions.

When I was a young kid, I enjoyed watching Chinese martial arts movies. In those movies, there were scenes when a guy would quickly press a few pressure points on the other guy and the other guy wouldn’t be able to move. After experiencing Kim Yunsang Dojunim’s hapki, I realized that those scenes weren’t solely the made-up imaginings of the director–that these scenes were inspired by the real stories and skills of actual martial artists of the past.

To take it even further, I want to elaborate the idea of “contact.” It’s easier to envision neutralizing an opponent when the contact involves someone grabbing Dojunim’s arm or torso. However, Dojunim could throw a person even when that contact point was his hair or even ear. This even extended beyond his physical body to the sword. If the tip of Dojunim’s sword and the tip of an opponent’s sword struck, at that moment, the opponent would not be able to move let alone move his sword, and Dojunim would be able to strike if he wanted. 

This might sound fascinating and even fantastical. But if you think about this carefully, Hapkiyusul can actually be a terrifying martial art. Imagine if, long ago, someone were to meet this kind of master in battle. Without a single chance to fight back or even resist, the person would have no choice but to face and accept death right then and there. 

On June 23, 2021, Kim Yunsang Dojunim passed away leaving his disciples a lifelong two syllable assignment: hapki. Both Choi Yongsul Dojunim and Kim Yunsang Dojunim showed everyone the infinite potential that resides within all of us. Because I’ve experienced Kim Yunsang Dojunim’s hapki, I have absolute conviction that everyone has the potential to do hapki. At the same time, I don’t believe everyone can reach that same level of hapki as shown by the two Dojunims because, in order to do so, you need to practice the correct teaching, have the correct mindset, and more than anything else be absolutely, almost scarily, persistent in training and never give up.

I am able to do hapki at my own level, which is very good and much better than others, but at this moment, it is nowhere near my master’s level.

What does make me unique, though, is that I know that one day I will reach the same level as Kim Yunsang Dojunim. Every single day, without fail, I keep my promise to my master by training and preserving the original form and depth of this martial art called Hapkiyusul.