Thank you everyone for your inputs. I'm sorry for the long update, but I wanted to give you a good idea of what happened, so I could get better feedback.
I went to the gym today with my daughter, and we trained our Ka before, the Hapkido class began. Before I could introduced myself, the instructor said we were welcome to continue our training during his class
(a big aerobics room with wooden floors and walled mirrors makes for a perfect Dojo.) I introduced myself and asked if we could watch the class. He said we were more then welcome to watch and could join in anytime.
We exchanged words for a few minutes and it turns out he had taken a few Ka classes under my Sifu Linda Walker, while my other Sifu Brian Walker and I were deployed overseas. I asked what style of Hapkido he comes from, and he told me his instructor was traditional, and that he was too. He said he has not made many modifications with the exception of a few follow-ups he likes to add to the ground work. He said they have no forms and the majority of weapons work is done in the later belts.
He named 4-5 people above his family tree, but the only name I remember was the founder Master Choi. His name is Russ, he said he is a 5th degree. Don't even ask me to pronounce his title
I watched them warm up for about 25 minutes. Pretty boring to watch, but there were some interesting things I wouldn't mind adding to my routine.
Then I watched them do about 15 minutes of kick drills. I was glad to be sitting on my butt and it looked like the 5 students were getting their moneys worth.
After that they paired up and did some blocking/striking drills with each other. By this time it was starting to look like fun. I told my daughter (the ginnie pig) to jump in, but she was acting shy. I bribed her with a dollar and it still didn't work! Then I nicely ordered her to jump in. She went to the far corner and kinda just stood there. The instructor told her to jump in, and that's all it took.
My daughter Ashley is 10, very skinny and a little tall for her age. I am proud to say that she has the potential to be a much better Martial Artiest, then I could ever hope to be. With her mental ability, flexibility and eagerness to listen, learn and retain, she makes for an excellent student. She paired up with a 14 year old girl and that was all she wrote.
They moved on to some knife defense techniques. I saw a little of Ka in there, the only difference, is they seem to combine more techniques into one defense. Hence the quote below
The only thing that I will think twice is using some joint locks that required to much precision to be effective.
Afterwards they moved on to swords, both Chinese's broad and Japanese Katana. It was neat to watch. I'm not a big weapons guy myself, I'm more of a realist and the reality is I don't carry a sword. However I do have an appreciation for tradition in Martial Arts.
About this time the class had wrapped up. I had the impression the instructor threw a bit more into this class then usual. Perhaps it was to impress us, or to give us an overall picture of Hapkido. The instructor himself was very laid back, informal and was constantly making jokes. However when he spoke of techniques, he was very precise and explained the reasons behind them. He seemed to have good knowledge on pressure points and the natural movements of the body. He later explained to me that some instructors were so strict, students would have to stand at attention and wait to ask for help, or seek the senior student first. He told me he felt that was not an effective way to teach his students.
The students there were all within the Yellow Belt level (1st 3 belts.) I guess my Daughter got lucky, he normally doesn't teach kids. He has seen us train before and I was honored that he didn't try to exclude her. I told him of my intentions to continue my family's training with Kajukenbo. I let him know that I was interested in his class, but that
I had to think it over a bit. As a Third Brown with kids who are Green & Orange, we are at a critical point in training where if we don't continue to improve, then we will have thrown away the last 3-4 years.
IMHO, based on what I saw, I would have to believe Kajukenbo is more effective then Hapkido for reality based self defense. At this point I'm not sure what to think. I guess I'll just have to think it over.
Thanks
