Given that Chang’s Hapkido Academy (UK) moved premises earlier this year, this is an interesting question. Two months after an unexpected loss of our venue, we are pleased to have a full timetable back in action and proudly hang our dobok (uniform) in three very different homes. Though the transition and timing has been stressful, [...]
Forms are a sequence of techniques, a pattern, practised repeatedly; they usually occur towards the start of a class. At Chang’s Hapkido Academy, each new level requires the student to memorize a new form which is then practised under the watchful eye of the instructor. As the student develops, so does the complexity of the form. Largely, forms are [...]
When a beginner learns a new technique they naturally rely on their five physical senses and try to understand the skill at an intellectual level. They commit to memory what they can see and take pride in being able to explain the steps clearly to a less experienced student. This can be incredibly helpful – but if [...]
It’s unfortunate, but most of us spend a high percentage of our time suffering from stress. Anxious and frazzled, we become distracted, worried and as a consequence, unproductive. We slog away at a problem or task resenting it, wishing we were elsewhere or simply reminding ourselves how tired or uninterested we might be. There's an old [...]
Happy New Year! I thought I'd start the year off with an old story I've heard Master Chang tell many times. I look forward to hearing your thoughts… The Cockerel Fight One day, a noble man brought one of his cockerels to a professional trainer to train the cockerel to fight better. 10 days later [...]
Last time I discussed how personal growth within Hapkido training requires that we look within ourselves. With that in mind, I’d like to comment on two important qualities that help us do just that. Developing these qualities will not only help us to progress within Hapkido, but also allow us to grow in all aspects [...]
I was recalling a conversation I had with Master Chang a good twenty years ago. I was interviewing him for a martial arts magazine and asked him whether he encourages his Hapkido students to question? He responded, “I assume that your question is about the deeper side of the martial arts, not about students understanding [...]
Another old story for you… A young man turned up at the school of a famous martial arts instructor. Upon arriving, he told the Master that he wanted online viagra to become his student and be the best martial artist in Japan. He asked the master, “How long should I train under you?” “Ten Years,” [...]
Warming up on the treadmill definitely won’t hurt your training (unless you’re operating at maximum intensity and getting too fatigued) but it’s also not the most ideal way to warm up for a class – or for anything other than running really… The main point of a warm-up is to enhance your performance and guard [...]
CHA STUDENT BLOG: This month's blog is written by Chang's Hapkido Academy student Andrew Kennedy. I work in the investment business and over the past while I have become increasingly interested in something called behavioural finance. It’s a discipline that meets at the crossroads of psychology and finance and seeks to understand the behavioural or “cognitive” biases – [...]
