Let’s explore this difference, since many styles have many techniques that a student can regurgitate quite well and expertly, but they have very little understanding of the concepts which is masked by the sheer volume of techniques.
A concept can be defined as a broad abstract idea or a guiding general principle, the most basic understanding of something; a method, plan. A technique can be defined as the procedure, skill, or art used in a specific task, the skill or expertise in doing a specific thing.
Did you notice the difference?
Techniques are locked in and rigid. Basically you are following the instructions and repeat, if you want advance further in your rank then perform these instructions skillfully.
A concept is flexible since it is an idea of a principal; the way is to have no limits. It is not set in stone, thus the student can explore the “what ifs” and modify a concept within a variety of techniques on their own.
On the bottom of this pyramid are the breakaways, these basics are what supports the rest of the system. Even though they are simple to learn, they are sometimes over looked and not practiced enough. What these examples are teaching are very important to be successful in the rest of the system as you advance higher. The concept here is to free the grabbed wrist while experiencing a variety of dynamic re-directional movements that is decided upon by the perpetrator. The weakest link in the grip that you can take advantage of is the attacker’s thumb.
The student must practice off their strong side first, remaining static and practicing slowly, thus building up the muscle memory. Once you are comfortable off your strong side, teach yourself by practicing off the weak side next. Then move into the dynamic stage where your practice partner pulls and pushes your grabbed wrist. Using the dynamic re-directional motion, over time, you will notice that the break away becomes effortless; which is the clear indicator that you are performing the technique correctly and understand the concept. To take this to the next level, practice performing the break away while grabbing to the attacker’s wrist with your cover hand or blocking a punch, which will help prepare you for the next level of progression utilizing the breakaway to your advantage.
Since you do not have to fight against the attack, but merely use the dynamic motion against them, you will come to understand the core in any Hapkido training system. They push you pull, they pull you push them.
While the student is still at the basic level, it is where they learn the most critical items in the system. As taught by your instructor, you must learn the proper way to fall, roll, strike, kick, and stances while developing muscle control. At this level the new student is fresh to educational development, so introduction to the Tactical Hapkido trapping drills are necessary. For later in the system, they will take these skills and easily apply the concepts taught earlier.
After you are proficient at breaking away, students are introduced into what I call the main conceptual core of the Tactical Hapkido training system, the Same Side Wrist Grabs. In most Hapkido styles there would only be techniques taught here, quickly moving to the next batch of grabs.
But Same Side Wrist Grabs are one of the best ways for a new student in Tactical Hapkido to grasp the concept being taught. It is quite simple; the joints only bend in a few directions. Elbows back and forth; go past any of these directions and it becomes a lock, dislocation or break depending on the amount of force applied. Wrists move up and down, side to side, at any direction it can end up in the same outcome.
As such, the Same Side Wrist Grabs provide the best method for the student to experience the lock, as well as actually seeing a concept work in action. And being a same side grab, it makes it easier for the student to practice both sides. Then as done before in the breakaways, the student progresses from the static stage to the dynamic stage applying the concept while maintaining control.
Once you have grasped this core of the system it moves into the modification phase of the tactical training system, where you are now using previous conceptual knowledge to modify into a few example techniques that are given. Through proper training and practice provided by your instructor, the student can take any of the concepts learned in the same side wrist grabs and apply the concepts in a variety of situations, or what I call the techniques.
Attacker grabs one of your wrists with both of their hands, what do you do?
It’s simple, you have either a same side grab or cross wrist grab. Chose a concept you like and use it. But one thing is certain; you don’t have to worry about being struck.
If both of your wrists are grabbed, you are taught how a breakaway can be utilized to flow into a joint lock.
Grabs from the side, back, or at any point on the body, you are taught the concept of directional angle positioning to revert to either a same side or cross wrist grab.
Not sure what to do in a situation?
Practice by reverting back to the core of the system, the same side wrist grab, and then take your practice partner’s hand to either your shoulder or lapel and do the same technique using conceptual modifications taught in that example.
Punches, one can think as nothing more than a dynamic grab in progress, but with severe consequences if you have not been practicing your trapping drills properly from the start. As you practice imagine that you are turning the punch into a same side or cross wrist grab by using the concept of deflection and re-directional movement in the block.
But remember, assuming that an attacker is throwing a punch can be a fatal mistake since a knife slash or stab travels in the same direction as a punch would. Thus, the student already knows the knife techniques base off the concepts, but it expanded for defense against a knife. For knives you control the wrist as you would perform in defending against a punch. And never, ever, practice by disarming and then hand the knife back to your practice partner. Disarm, lock up and then create distance. After a moment when you brain catches up, then go ahead and repeat the technique. For if you ever encounter the real situation, your mind will revert back to the subconscious muscle memory and you will do what you practiced.
As the student practices knife techniques, the best way to visualize the how bad they will be wounded is by putting chalk on the blade. Some will say that a properly performed knife technique will lead to no cuts on you. But when practicing with a chalked blade with the real intent of your practice partner of trying to place as many chalk lines on your uniform, you will quickly realize that this can be a fatal assumption. Sure one may be lucky on a one to one fight, but in the real world they will most likely be two or three perpetrators since there is more confidence in a pack. And surely they will not be standing there watching their comrade being disarmed.
A gun that is used for intimidation, key word here is intimidation, since the purpose of a gun is so you do not have to get close in the first place. So if the attacker is out of range to where you can not get a hold of the gun, simply put, you are dead. A gun intimidation attack is static by nature, so a student can apply the concepts found previously as in any body grab. Thus the student already knows the techniques base off the concepts, but it’s expanded upon. For guns you control the weapon and get out of the line of fire.
During class practices, the best way to visualize if the student gets wounded is using a squirt gun. Keeping in mind that some of the techniques you can not fully finish since the end result is the “de-gloving” of the flesh on the trigger finger. The main concept that the student will learn, quite quickly, is to get out of the line of fire while controlling the weapon.
And as for the knife techniques never practice by simply handing the gun back to your practice partner immediately after performing the weapon disarm. I teach my students the following, perform the technique, slap the clip in (in case it became loose during the weapon disarm), chamber a round by pulling back the slide, and back off out of grabbing range.
During practice many of my students often bring up the subject of
Detective Riggs in the movie Lethal Weapon 4 when the slide on his Beretta 92F/FS was separated from barrel. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but on this version of the Beretta the takedown lever on the frame of the gun is rotated downward at a 90-degree angle; this is how Jet Li was able to separate the slide and barrel from the frame so quickly. Even though this is possible if found in this situation, I wouldn’t recommend it or even think about it. It is only a movie, a good movie at that.
To tie everything up is the Tactical Hapkido Manual. In most schools this is their procedure on how to do the techniques, a closely guarded secret. But in the Tactical Hapkido system this is only a tool. It is written with the general description of the techniques for guidance to help jolt the memory, with the names written to help describe the motion found in the technique.
But did you look closer at it?
Unlike other manuals or books; there is a lot of white space designed on each page. What I encourage my student to do is to write own notes in this space. Put the technique/concept you learned in your own words that will make sense to you. For on average the first three months are the most confusing and overwhelming to a new student, since you are bombarded with the new concepts. But every student I have taught, at the end of the third month everything just clicks. And when you look back, you realize how easy you can use the Tactical Hapkido concepts in any situation you are found in, and then the real expansion begins.
~ Master James W. Ziots Jr.
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