The history of martial arts is a fascinating topic. Our knowledge comes from piecing together ancient legends, historical writings, lore that has been passed down through generations of teachers, and modern scholarly research. Here is some of what is known about the martial arts we teach.

History Of Aikido

Aikido, a traditional Japanese martial art, was developed in the early part of this century by Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969), now known as O-Sensei (venerable teacher). Morihei Ueshiba O-Sensei, the Aikido Kaiso (founder), was born in 1883 in Tanabe, a coastal town in southern Japan. From the time of his youth, he studied various martial arts, eventually including sumo, swordsmanship, spear technique, staff technique, and various styles of juijitsu, particularly the Yagyu and Daito styles. Ref. http://www.aaa-aikido.com/info/history.html

Aikido was founded by a man named Morihei Ueshiba, now called O-Sensei (''Great Teacher''). O-Sensei was born in 1883 in the Wakayama Prefecture of Japan. After seeing his father assaulted by political opponents, O-Sensei sought to make himself strong. He studied under masters in many traditional martial arts, eventually becoming an expert at a number of styles of juijitsu (unarmed combat), kenjitsu (swordfighting), and sojitsu (spear fighting). Along with his martial arts studies he also engaged in a large amount of religious and philosophical studies.

The creation of Aikido occurred as a result of an incident in 1925. During a discussion about martial arts, a dispute between O-Sensei and a naval officer, who was a fencing instructor, developed. O-Sensei was challenged by the officer, and he attacked O-Sensei with a boken (woodensword). Unarmed O-Sensei confronted the officer and continually avoided each strike until the officer collapsed from exhaustion. This was later described by O-Sensei as the beginning of his enlightenment.

Later, as Ueshiba's school grew, his disciples and followers added some new meanings to aiki to compensate for the ambiguity. Since the term is composed of a combination of two Chinese characters-ai (unification) and ki (spirit or mind: they decided that aikido is a way to become one with the universe or harmonize with the movement and rhythm of nature. Ref. http://vsa.vassar.edu/~aikido/aikidohistory.htm

History of Hapkido

Hapkido is a martial art of Korean origin. Its name means literally "The way of coordination and internal power." Hapkido is a complete martial art in that it consists of: dynamic striking and kicking techniques, very similar to Tae Kwon Do, both hard and soft style deflection techniques, throws, takedowns, ground-fighting, and extensive joint locking techniques. Hapkido is the combination of two Korean Martial Arts - Yool Sool which comes from the Japanese art known as Daito-Ryu Aiki-Jutsu and Tae Kyon which is an ancient Korean Kicking Skill that was widespread during the time of the Three Kingdoms. Ref. http://modernhapkido.org/history.htm

Hapkido shares with other Korean fighting systems a lineage which dates back roughly to the time of Christ. Along the way, the art now known as Hapkido has been influenced by Japanese and Chinese martial arts and thought. Hapkido today is a multi-faceted martial art, blending hard and soft techniques. Like traditional styles of Karate-do ("the way of the empty hand"), Hapkido employs strong linear (ie hard) techniques such as strikes and kicks. Like Aikido or Aiki-JiuJitsu, it also uses circular (i.e., soft) techniques, such as off-balancing or throwing, which re-direct an attacker's energy to his or her disadvantage. Ref. http://www.eyhkc.com/hapkido.html

Martial arts in Korea can be traced back to the Three Kingdoms period (57 BC to 668 AD). The martial arts were introduced by Buddhist monks and were developed by a warrior class called the Hwa Rang. These warriors were highly disciplined and followed a strict code of ethics. They trained the nobles, royal bodyguards and military troops in the martial arts. The Korea Hapkido Federation (formerly the Korea Hapkido Association) is the only organization recognized by the Korean government. This organization has many styles and schools of Hapkido affiliated with it and has over one million students around the world. Ref. http://www.khihapkido.com/hapkido_history.htm

History of Judo

The Kodokan was founded in 1882 by the late Prof. Kano who himself had established Judo. Judo was derived from Jujitsu. Judo became an official event in the Olympic Games of 1964.

Judo is a martial art that was born in Japan, and it is now known around the world as an Olympic sport. Judo was established in 1882 by combining juijitsu, a form of wrestling, with mental discipline. Judo is primarily a sport where the practitioner seeks to unbalance an opponent and then throw them. They will also use an opponents energy to aid or enable a throw. Judo is widely acknowledged as the first system to really accept and teach women students. In fact, professor Kano set up a training hall just for women to study the effects of judo on women practitioners. This led to a debunking of the myth that females were not as capable a student as males.

History of Tae Kwon Do

Tae Kwon Do originates from several martial arts. Its roots are in tae-kyon and hwarong do. Major-General Choi Hong is credited as the founder of the system. During the 16th century the art was largely lost, being practiced only by Buddhist Monks. The art suffered further degradation during the Japanese occupation in 1909. Once Korea was liberated in 1945, many of the Tae Kwon Do practioners that left Korea, returned and reintroduced an improved art to the country. It is mostly a kicking art, with a focus on the sport side of martial arts.

History of Wing Chun

Wing Chun is a martial art whose invention is generally credited to a Buddhist nun named Ng Mui. The system was named after a student of hers named Yim Wing Chun. Thus it is considered a "women's" style. It consists of both hard and soft techniques. This system is characterized by its deadly efficiency. The techniques practiced in this sytem are designed to disable one's opponent, thus. Wing Chun is not a sport martial art. The system consists of three forms, twelve wooden dummy sets, and two weapons. It was designed to be learned quickly and easily, so as to be put to practical use in a very short period of time. There are two primary lineages, the first is called "modified" due to the lack of mobile footwork, the second is referred to as "traditional", by William Chueng the current Grand Master of the lineage. It is characterized by its mobile footwork.

History of Tai Chi Chuan

Tai Chi in the United States is characterized as a health practice. At its core, it is first a martial art; the health benefits come from sustained practice of the forms. The art focuses on internal aspects, such as breathing, the mind, flexibility, etc, as opposed to external muscular development. The origins of Tai Chi have been lost in time. Chang San Feng, born in 1247, is accredited as being the founder of the system. In modern history there are the following styles: Chen, Wu, Sun and Yang.

History of Qigong

Qigong, pronounced (chee gong), is an ancient Chinese system of exercises, breathing techniques and meditations that teaches you how to control your bodies' life energy, called Qi. It was created more than 3000 years ago by Chinese healers. It plays a role in sustaining health and disease prevention. There are numerous types of Qigong such as: daoyin (Chinese Yoga), Tai Chi Chuan, bagua qigong, and self massage (anmo-gong).

References

Some of the material for these histories was taken from The Ultimate Book of Martial Arts, as well as Master Kelly's knowledge gained from direct lineage training.