Hapkido, demonstrated here by former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Jim Gott, is a comprehensive Korean martial art that utilizes techniques from a variety of different combat styles. Hapkido is a comprehensive self-defense system which encompasses all ranges of fighting and is a combination of a number of different styles, including judo, aikido and taekwondo. Such versatility gives hapkido practitioners an effective answer to virtually any situation. Although hapkido can be used in tournament competition, it is not a sport and many of its techniques are potentially lethal. However, hapkido's philosophical approach to combat is not aggressive.
Practitioners only use fighting tech- niques to counter an opponent's attack.
And, in most cases, they attempt to turn the attacker's own force against him. Internal kung fu systems include pa kua chang, fusing-i chuan and tai chi chuan. Practitioners of these disciplines attempt to harness internal power known as chi. External kung fu systems include choy li fut, hung gar, sil lum and wing chun. Practitioners of external Chinese systems use kicks and punches, rather than chi, to get their point across.