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Thinking About Hapkido in college


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Unless the instructor has any kind of background in MMA/striking/grappling then it's going to be useless for MMA and barely relevant to any physical confrontation you'll ever have. Most "traditional" rooted martial arts are.

 

If there's really no judo/wrestling or boxing/muay thai nearby then by all means go check it out but the moment you see or hear the phrase "the attacker grabs my wrist" then politely finish the rest of the class with an eager smile on your face and then go join planet fitness and start doing deadlifts and squats for the rest of your time and never look back. You can thank me later when your chest and gunz are more of a deterrent to would be attackers than your beer gut and delusional aura of martial prowess.

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Almost any "true" Traditional Martial Art has at least some value in self-defense and even in MMA. The problem lies in identifying "true" Martial arts. Many are designed for flashy, Hollywood style moves that aren't efficient, effective, or easy to execute. Avoid styles like Tae Kwon Do, because they focus too much on standup and have virtually no ground defense or grappling techniques. I suppose they could be OK if you also took a wrestling or BJJ class, but American Tae Kwon Do is more about those aforementioned fancy or flashy moves. Karate is often falling prey to those same flaws, but I find it much more effective and efficient. Again, get a grappling education in there somewhere also. It's called Mixed Martial Arts for a reason after all. NO ONE STYLE IS PERFECT. Muay Thai is pretty good as is Jujitsu or Brazilian Jujitsu.

 

Absolutely take nothing that talks about the mystical "powers" of "Chi" or whatever mystical (read magical) powers purported to repel or disable attackers without touching them or by "focusing your Chi" I disagree slightly with Kd's admonition of the "attacker grabs my wrist" sort of thing. Just be wary of them. Study them and see if they seem to actually be effective or if they rely on fancy moves, brute force, or if you notice that the other students seem to be allowing of even helping to complete the moves.

 

I'm not just talking out of my ass. I have done Martial arts of various styles and disciplines for 30 years. (much less now that I am far older, but...) Aikido, Judo, Jujitsu, BJJ, Muay Thai, Karate, Sambo, and Hwrang Do all have added to my arsenal. I am by no means claiming to be a master or even professional level. Certainly not at the present time, but I can confidently walk down the street or through the projects where I work knowing that the average guy I encounter will be no match for me. That doesn't mean I am a cocky asshat looking for fights either. I have avoided far more fights then I have ever engaged in. Common sense will keep you far safer than a false sense of superiority.

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  • 2 weeks later...

As the title says, in thinking about joining a Hapkido gym in College. Only because its the only gym near the College. Does anyone have any experience in Hapkido? Is it legit? Is it useful for MMA? I've read and got tons of Different answers online. If its "useless" i wont waste the time and money.

 

Used to know a bloke who worked in a prison and swore by Hapkido (having used it in reality), think it's very dependent on the nature of who is instructing though.

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Unless the instructor has any kind of background in MMA/striking/grappling then it's going to be useless for MMA and barely relevant to any physical confrontation you'll ever have. Most "traditional" rooted martial arts are.

 

If there's really no judo/wrestling or boxing/muay thai nearby then by all means go check it out but the moment you see or hear the phrase "the attacker grabs my wrist" then politely finish the rest of the class with an eager smile on your face and then go join planet fitness and start doing deadlifts and squats for the rest of your time and never look back. You can thank me later when your chest and gunz are more of a deterrent to would be attackers than your beer gut and delusional aura of martial prowess.

 

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I did boxing, tae kwon do, and bjj. I'd be surprised there is a college there and not a YMCA. Then again I'm from a different generation and they might not do it anymore, but pretty much every YMCA at least use to teach boxing classes. And i mean real boxing classes not the tae bo everyone get in a line stuff and do the same thing. Virtually all or most of the state golden gloves tournaments are sponsored and or had at Ys. Again not sure if this is still the case.

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Thanks so much for the replies guys. The College also has a wrestling club so that would be good as well even if the Hapkido is BS

In that case join the wrestling club and I'm guessing you were asking about MMA because you want to get into. So also see if the YMCA has boxing classes and if so join that as well. Now keep in mind in boxing vs mma the stance in boxing isn't practical for mma so you will have to learn a different stance for mma use. But basically where boxing is more of a squared off stance mma is more of 1/3 turned stance. So just shorten the width angle of the body when doing mma.

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