Combat Hapkido Grandmaster John Pelligrini, the president and founder of the International Combat Hapkido Federation (ICHF), demonstrated why repetition is not only the mother of study but also the mother of martial arts at a six-hour Combat Hapkido seminar he gave to more than 80 students.
Shane Murray, a third degree black-belt in Combat Hapkido and head instructor of Murray’s Family Martial Arts Center in Hudson Falls, New York hosted the event.
Spacious South Glen Falls Senior High School was the setting for the seminar (History buffs may remember Glenn Falls as home to Cooper’s Cave, a source of inspiration for James Fenimore Cooper’s novel, The Last of the Mohicans, a tribute to Native American warriorhood—as fitting a locale as any for a martial arts seminar.)
“The attendees learned practical and effective techniques that can be used by anyone, regardless of their age, gender, or physical abilities. People do not have to spend hours in a gym or fight-club to be able to defend themselves. Grandmaster Pellegrini focuses on the legal, practical, and survival mindset that a person must understand in order to survive a sudden and vicious attack. Lastly, GM-P teaches avoidance. As Sun Tzu once said ‘you do not have to fight the enemy to beat them.’” –Al Medina, 7th Dan, ICHF, Bronx Combat Hapkido Center
The Virtue of Repetition
Grandmaster Pellegrini prefaced the seminar by pointing out that repetition does help martial artists remember self-defense techniques, but that alone is not enough.
Repetitive practice is necessary to execute them effectively. Practice makes perfect regardless of innate physical talents or overall athleticism.
Echoing the Renaissance artist Leonardo DaVinci, Grandmaster Pellegrini pointed out that the greatest testament to a teacher’s ability than that his students eventually surpass him one day. That, he said, is how a martial art stays alive and continues to evolve.
With five Combat Hapkido master instructors present to assist GM Pellegrini, it was a sure thing that the attendees were going to get an intimate lesson in core self-defense techniques.
They were not disappointed. As one young martial arts student said, “Those who didn’t show up missed a real lot.”
Self-Defense in Four Steps: Deflect and Counter, Trap and Lock
Grandmaster Pellegrini focused on four key self-defense techniques: deflections, counter-strikes, fundamental trapping, and ultimately joint-locking techniques. Each self-defense skill taught laid the foundation for the next and formed an integral set of effective follow-through self-defense moves anyone could quickly learn
Deflect and Counter: How to Disrupt Powerful Attacks—and Survive
Combat hapkido doesn’t try to meet force with force. Instead, it deflects strikes so as to disrupt the force of the attack without meeting it head on and dissipiate the energy behind it. Deflection further serves to disrupt the attacker’s balance and immediately sets the stage for counterstrikes and trapping techniques.
Trapping: Hapkido and Jeet Kune Do Join Forces
Combat Hapkido also avoids the hard-blocking techniques of traditional karate styles such as Tae Kwon Do and Shotokan. Instead, it prefers soft trapping techniques of Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do as well as traditional hapkido to counter an opponent’s incoming strikes. Trapping not only quickly allows you to control your opponent but also creates an opportunity to execute the devastating joint-lock (or throws) for which hapkido is renowned.
The Art of the Joint-Lock
Most people know a joint-lock when they see it, said GM Pelligrini, but they still can’t define it. In essence, joint-locking is the art of restricting the range of motion of your opponent’s body joints. You always want to attack the weakest points of human body such as the eyes and certain pressure points. Joints—the wrists, for example, are a favorite target of both traditional and progressive hapkido—are also very vulnerable points of attack. Once a joint is forced to its maximum range of motion, the result is hyperextension, dislocation, or the breaking of the joint in question.
Of course, in the dojang, you restrict your training partner’s range of motion until he taps out. In the street, you apply force until your assailant becomes compliant—one way or the other.
By day’s end, GM Pellegrini had proved yet again the old Latin adage: Repetitio est mater studiorum: Repetition is the mother of studies.
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