Hapkido Essentials
by Sang H. Kim
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DVD details
Actor: Chang Soo Lee, Myung Yong KimDirector: Sang H. Kim
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Korean (Original Language); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, Digital Sound, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 70 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-07-28
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Turtle Press
DVD Reviews of Hapkido Essentials
DVD Review: Decent demo footage but very little teaching
Summary: 2 Stars
Let me preface this by stating that I'm a TKD and HKD instructor. I was interested in this DVD because it features Korean HKD masters and grandmasters, and I hoped to learn some new tips or teaching steps for basic HKD techniques.
Unfortunately, this DVD contains very little explanation of the techniques shown. While the people showing the techniques are generally good, they do not break down the techniques step by step. Instead, you see them do the technique at full speed a few times, then they replay the footage in slow motion, all the while there is a voice-over giving a description of what's going on.
First, while the techniques look good, I've already got plenty of footage of technique from my own home videos, and my DVD player has slow-motion playback. So this DVD is hardly worth the price just for the footage.
Second, while the explanations are correct, they are not nearly detailed enough to learn the techniques correctly. If you already know HKD, sure, you can follow along, but if you already know HKD you really don't need this DVD. My goal was to see other ways to teach basic HKD techniques, but this really doesn't contain any teaching.
Third, the nakbup section is dangerously under-explained. It shows black belt students lining up and running through moves like front-fall, back-fall, high jump-rolling, and long jump-rolling with almost zero explanation of the techniques. When I and other instructors teach these techniques, we start with drills that show proper body position and go through the motions from a much lower height and slower speed, then gradually build up. This DVD skips all that and just shows black belts doing the techniques full-speed and at full-height. It's not even a very helpful demo as you can clearly see variation in the students' technique and the voice-over doesn't mention even some of the obvious points of execution.
Also, there's no mention of the fact that these drills are done a well-padded floor (like a wrestling mat). If a novice tried the nakbup drills on a regular floor or even puzzle-mat, they could easily injure themselves.
The only reason this DVD merits even 2 stars is that at least the footage shows good execution and it covers a pretty wide array of basic HKD techniques.
Description of Hapkido Essentials
Digitally remastered.