In Hankido (한기도) two things are extremely important, the principles of Cheonkibeop (천기/天氣) and Jikibeop (지기/地氣).

Cheonkibeop and Jikibeop are each others opposites, just like Uem and Yang. Another name for the techniques could be Yang (양)-techniques (Cheonkibeop) and Uem (음)-techniques (Jikibeop).

So in Hankido you do not only learn the moves for the defending part of the techniques, we teach techniques for the attacker as well. As you can imagine, the principles of Uem and Yang are very important in Hankido. You have to learn how to make use of these principles. For example use how and when to use push and pull techniques, when to go low and when to stay high during a technique.

Hapkido (合氣道) is a martial art making circle movements pivoted on a point.

It is composed of three principles.

Nonresistance ("Hwa", 화 or 和) → (화 Hwa 和 Harmony)

Circle principle ("Won", 원 or 圓) → (원 Weon 圓 Circle)

1. The principle of circling (원/圓)
The movements of hapkido pursuit curved lines rather than straight ones. When the streams of movements are centered on and made by you, just like the core of a typhoon spouts swirls, the movements of hapkido attain the highest perfection.

It is very moderate to your body and you feel your body extremely soft. The lower the movements of hapkido are pivoted, the more you are at ease and have control. This is a very characteristic movement of hapkido, which corresponds to the stream of the nature.

2. The principle of back-current (류/流)
The force and energy (ki) of men have a tendency to stream always in one direction. It is really difficult to change this stream to your desired direction without opposing his force and energy.

The principle of back-current is changing the movements of your opponent into your direction without going against his force and energy.

3. The principle of heart-harmony (화/和)
The universe turns without ceasing pivoted on a central point. This circling movement is the main principle of the universe.
Man as a small universe lives in the stream of the circling nature with or without conscious. The principle of heart-harmony is pulling the opponent’s circles into yours in order to gain control over him.

In other words, this principle is to check out the stream of your opponent’s movements and join your stream of movements with his and finally to put him into your desired stream of direction that you wish to make.

The usual sport with sword is to train and fight how strong, fast and correct you make attacking movements on one line.
Whereas hankumdo (韓劍道), formed by 24 movements based on the Korean consonants and vowels, is a national, self-defence sword technique created by Myoung Jae Nam after a long arrangement. Its characteristics is in one word that it is a three dimensional sport, not two dimensional sport on a line.

 Every movement contains attack and defence movements together. The movements of blocking, cutting and stabbing are connected smoothly.

As other sports, the unity of movements and breath is very important as well as the accuracy in hankumdo.
If you use hankumdo in an emergency, you are asked to train it slowly, constantly and diligently to make accurate movements, because the sword and your body should be united as one and the sword be used as quick as a flash of lightening.

Our sword-style is heavily influenced by the late master Han Si Hwan. He taught traditional Korean swordsmanship for more than ten years at Sangmookwan. Unfortunately master Han died in 2005. Master Han was one of the first hapkido students of Myung Jae Nam and later became a 9th degree black belt.