Water Principle

          Unique to the grappling arts and especially to Hapkido is the belief that your goal in an encounter, on or off the mat, is not to do something to your partner. This can be a difficult concept for student’s to grasp. What is commonly taught about dealing with an opponent in many other Martial arts seems to focus repeatedly on resisting their attack, punishing their violations and assuring that the opponent is the worse for the encounter.  Hapkido asks the student to take a different view of the encounter. Rather than seeking to control the situation and engineer an outcome, Hapkido asks its practitioners to center themselves and watch for what will be offered to them, then act in the most appropriate manner when it is time to act. This ability to adjust to a situation, to remain placid and merge with what is happening around you is a quality that has traditionally been ascribed to water.

          Water finds its own level. Water accepts the shape of whatever container in which it is put. Water changes properties with temperature and with altitude. Please do not confuse this principle with simply being passive. Hapkido is not a passive art.  Hapkido is incredibly dynamic. The difference is that the dynamics of Hapkido are well-timed, smooth, natural and unique to each situation. There are no “one-size-fits-all” techniques or responses. Neither does the Water Principle dismiss the possibility of a pre-emptive action should circumstances merit such action. The ability to adjust flawlessly, to situations as they occur is not only the sign of an accomplished Martial artist, but an accomplished human as well.