What's the difference between Hapkido & Aikido?

Question

I know Hapkido is from Korea & Aikido from Japan, though they both are very similar and I assume Hapkido is a modified version of Aiki, but what's the real difference? I've seen Aikido demos and Hapkido demos and I must say Aikido looks really weak, a bunch of people getting up and running into some one else's arm, like they are swing dancing or something, Hapkido demos show certain situations that end with wrist locks and take downs similar to Aiki but without the dancing. I don't want to judge the art of Aikido with just Youtube videos, and I'm sure finding a good teacher and school is hard as well, but in real fights, which one is better and what's the difference that makes it better?

Answer 1

Well, Hapkido is a more aggressive discipline than Aikido, and Hapkido uses BOTH the hard striking techniques that most Martial Arts employ along with the soft techniques of redirection, joint locks and throws. Hapkido has been considered to be one of the more "complete" Martial Arts.

whereas Aikido mainly uses the joint locks, redirection, and throws and is mainly a "Soft" discipline, it's not a weak discipline it just doesn't use aggressive teciniques choosing instead to keep the opponent off balance and end the confrontation with as little injury to both the opponent and practitioner.

Hapkido also has this same mindset, but it uses more aggressive tactics to bring about similar results.

that's the only real difference between the two.

Hapkido falls between the Martial Arts that're classified as "hard" disciplines as well as the "soft" disciplines, and Aikido is mainly classified as a "soft" discipline since it has very little aggressive tendencies to it's application.

Hapkido was developed to fight both the average "unskilled" person on the street, as well as the person you can come against who may have some fighting experience or skill.

Neither discipline is better than the other, it all comes down to how well the practitioner studied the discipline that will determine how well they can use what they've learned.

Answer 2

hapkido in Korean means the same thing as aikido in Japanese. Both come from daito-ryu akijiujitsu. Hapkido is more kick oriented and more aggressive. Hankido is a Korean form of hapkido that tries to be more like aikido. Aikido is pacifistic and very much based on Shinto and Buddhism.

Answer 3

Hapkido is the older of the two, and was founded by Choi, Yong Shul. Aikido was founded by Ueshiba Morihei. Both men were students of Takeda Sokaku, who founded a system called Daito-ryu aikijujutsu.
Hapkido and aikido were initially very similar; however, the Korean system was quickly invested with striking and weapon techniques indiginous to Korea, while aikido began to focus more on the development of the trait of "aiki". "Aiki" and "hapki" are actually the same word, pronounced in different languages. The literal translation is "energy-meeting", and can be thought of as adding your own kinetic energy to the energy of your opponent's attack in order to throw him off-balance and control him.
As for any "which art is better" question, I must explain--you are asking the wrong question. If there were a better art, everyone would use it. The question is, which art is more suited to you.
Hapkido will give you techniques that you can use right away--it is much easier to learn a straight punch than to properly execute an aiki throw. It also has a larger overall syllabus of study.
Aikido specializes in controlling an attacker without causing harm. It may look like people are falling down for no reason in aikido exhibitions, but Ueshiba sensei was an undefeated fighter, and still threw people around like rag dolls when he was 80 years old and couldn't walk up the stairs by himself.
Also, you should realize that there are several different styles with each of these systems, and each emphasizes a different aspect of their art.

Train hard!

Answer 4

hapkido is kinda like taekwondo except with a lot of joint locking and stuff. hapkido could be very useful in fighting
aikido is an awesome art i wanna take. it uses throws and locks by using the momentum and power of the attacker against them. its not good to use in a fight unless u are a master but its worth learning

Answer 5

1) Terminology is in different languages.
2) Hapkido includes more kicks.

They are brothers, both derived from Aikijitsu.

Answer 6

Hapkido covers more self defense situations than Aikido does...Aikido is basically specialization in a limited arsenal of techniques.

Answer 7

omg total difference, do some research.

Answer 8

2 feet!

Thank you, come again!