Hapkikwan
Encyclopedia
Hapkikwan is a Serbian martial art that was founded in 1994 by Grandmaster Prof. Boris Krivokapic LL.D.
Boris Krivokapic
Boris Krivokapić was born in Belgrade, Serbia. He is a full-professor of Public International Law as well as of Human Rights with the Megatrend University in Belgrade...

, distinguished Serbian
Demographics of Serbia
The demographics of Serbia have been shaped by its unique geographic location. Situated in the middle of the Balkans, many different ethnic groups are citizens of Serbia. Serbs are overwhelmingly the largest ethnic group in the country. Furthermore, Albanians have represented the largest minority...

 scholar (Full Professor of Public International Law with Megatrend University
Megatrend University
The Megatrend University is a private university located in Belgrade, Serbia. It was founded in 1989 and is organized into 19 institutions....

) and Martial Artist.

Prof. Krivokapic has been practicing various Martial Arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....

 since 1974, He holds Grandmaster ranks in several Martial Arts. Among other matters he is President and Supreme Instructor of Hapkikwan International (www.hapkikwan.com) and President of International Combat Union (www.internationalcombatunion.com).

Although founded as early as in 1994, Hapkikwan has been developing ever since, in order to become even more comprehensive, efficient and realistic. It is created for modern people – law enforcement and military professionals, but also for ordinary citizens regardless of their age and gender.

The name

The name "Hapkikwan" comes from Korean language
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...

, meaning "The School of Harmonized Energy" and was chosen to explain that the Art is based upon Korean Hapkido
Hapkido
Hapkido is a dynamic and also eclectic Korean martial art. It is a form of self-defense that employs joint locks, techniques of other martial arts, as well as kicks, punches, and other striking attacks...

. Yet, it has been significantly influenced by various other Martial Arts. Moreover, there are numerous tactics, techniques and drills created by Prof. Krivokapic
Boris Krivokapic
Boris Krivokapić was born in Belgrade, Serbia. He is a full-professor of Public International Law as well as of Human Rights with the Megatrend University in Belgrade...

 himself. So, this is not just a new school of Hapkido, but the new Martial Art.

As such, Hapkikwan is recognized as Serbian Martial Arts by the World Martial Arts Union (WoMAU, www.womau.com), international Martial Arts organization with headquorters in Chungju
Chungju
Chungju is a city in North Chungcheong province, South Korea. Namsan is a mountain located on the outskirts of the city.The city is famous for the annual martial arts festival held in October. Also of note, UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon grew up here....

 (South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

), which is the only international Martial Arts organization recognized by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 and working with the UN on preservation of Martial Arts as heritage of the mankind
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...

. At WoMAU General Meeting held in Korea on December 7–9.2009, Hapkikwan was accepted as new fulfledged member, along with the world's most renoven Martial Arts.

Techniques

Hapkikwan is comprehensive Martial Art with very big curriculum. Student has to learn how to fight against one or more opponents, how to defend unarmed against armed opponents, how to use great number of arms, some special skills, etc. All types of techniques are widely represented: punches and other strikes with fists, palms elbows and other parts of arms; great number of different kicks (very much of Taekwondo
Taekwondo
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...

 and Hapkido
Hapkido
Hapkido is a dynamic and also eclectic Korean martial art. It is a form of self-defense that employs joint locks, techniques of other martial arts, as well as kicks, punches, and other striking attacks...

 style); different throws
Throw (grappling)
A throw is a martial arts term for a grappling technique that involves off-balancing or lifting an opponent, and tossing them to the ground in Japanese martial arts referred to as nage-waza, 投げ技, "throwing technique"...

, joint locks, choking
Strangling
Strangling is compression of the neck that may lead to unconsciousness or death by causing an increasingly hypoxic state in the brain. Fatal strangling typically occurs in cases of violence, accidents, and as the auxiliary lethal mechanism in hangings in the event the neck does not break...

, use of pressure points, ground work, defense against all basic arms; use od some 15 weapons (some of them coming from Slavic
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...

 tradition); etc.

For instance, to get first black belt
Black belt (martial arts)
In martial arts, the black belt is a way to describe a graduate of a field where a practitioner's level is often marked by the color of the belt. The black belt is commonly the highest belt color used and denotes a degree of competence. It is often associated with a teaching grade though...

 (1st Dan) student has to learn really a lot: how to safely fall in various ways; dozens of kicking techniques (including all jumping kicks and kicking from the floor); dozens of hand strikes (including many of them with fingers, elbows, but also other parts of arm); escapes from all possible holds; many grappling and throwing techniques; all ground techniques (chokes, joint locks on arms and legs); counters against attempts of punching, kicking, throwing etc. Also part of program are breaking boards, sparring, etc. Only after getting black belt (1st Dan) student is taught advanced techniques such as fight against 2 or more opponents, one hand techniques, use of various weapons. This also includes use of everyday objects such as umbrella
Umbrella
An umbrella or parasol is a canopy designed to protect against rain or sunlight. The term parasol usually refers to an item designed to protect from the sun; umbrella refers to a device more suited to protect from rain...

, suitcase
Suitcase
A suitcase is a general term for a distinguishable form of luggage. It is often a somewhat flat, rectangular-shaped bag with rounded/square corners, either metal, hard plastic or made of cloth, vinyl or leather that more or less keeps its shape. It has a carrying handle on one side and is used...

, pencil
Pencil
A pencil is a writing implement or art medium usually constructed of a narrow, solid pigment core inside a protective casing. The case prevents the core from breaking, and also from marking the user’s hand during use....

 etc.

Purpose

Regardless of fact that due to specific system of training which includes 6 types of sparring
Sparring
Sparring is a form of training common to many martial arts. Although the precise form varies, it is essentially relatively 'free-form' fighting, with enough rules, customs, or agreements to make injuries unlikely...

, Hapkikwan students become capable to compete under almost any rules, Hapkikwan is not a Sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...

, but a Martial Art. It is not for competition but for realistic fight, self-defence and personal physical
Human body
The human body is the entire structure of a human organism, and consists of a head, neck, torso, two arms and two legs.By the time the human reaches adulthood, the body consists of close to 100 trillion cells, the basic unit of life...

 and spiritual
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...

 development..

Although with routs in Korean Hapkido
Hapkido
Hapkido is a dynamic and also eclectic Korean martial art. It is a form of self-defense that employs joint locks, techniques of other martial arts, as well as kicks, punches, and other striking attacks...

, Hapkikwan expresses Slavic
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...

 nature and spirit
Spirit
The English word spirit has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body.The spirit of a living thing usually refers to or explains its consciousness.The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap,...

. All strategies and tactics are based on Slavic
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...

 understanding of fight including fast and fluid movements, serial attacs, a lot of feints, a lot of techniques targeting opponent's neck, takedowns, etc.

Ranks

In respect to ranks and grades, in order to make it easier to compare with other major world Martial Arts, belt system is accepted. There are 10 grades for students (colored belts) and 10 ranks of advanced (black belts). Black belts are called "crni pojasevi" or in widely accepted international terminology "Dans
Dan (rank)
The ranking system is a Japanese mark of level, which is used in modern fine arts and martial arts. Originally invented in a Go school in the Edo period, this system was applied to martial arts by Kanō Jigorō, the founder of judo and later introduced to other East Asia countries.In the modern...

". To achieve 1st Dan it normally takes 5 years. Holders of 1-4th Dan are Instructors, of 5-6th Dan are Masters, 7th Dan – International Masters, 8-9th Dan are Grandmasters and 10th Dan is for Founder – Head Grandmaster.

Hapkikwan is officially recognized by Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

n authorities, World Martial Arts Union (WoMAU, South Korea) and by International Martial Arts federations from more than 50 countries of the world.
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