Myung Jae Nam Kuksanim
Creator of Hankido and Hankumdo...
Grand Master Myung Jae Nam (1938 – August 3, 1999) was a Korean Hapkido practitioner who would later found two new Korean martial arts, Hankido and Hankumdo. Myung Jae Nam was born in Jeollanam-do province but lived in Incheon most of his life.
He began his martial arts training in 1948, and his Hapkido training with Grand Master Ji Han Jae at Joong Bu Si Jang in 1958 or 1959; this place was the third location that Grand Master Ji Han Jae had in Seoul. At the same time that Grand Master Myung entered, so did Grand Master Bong Soo Han and Grand Master Choi Sea Oh.
In 1972 Myung Jae Nam became one of the first members of the Korea Hapkido Association (Dae Han Hapkido Hyup Hwe), which was formed in 1965 at the request of the then president of South Korea, Park Chung Hee. The Korea Hapkido Association was formed with the help of Mr. Park Jong Kyu, who was head of the Presidential Protection Forces and one of the most powerful men in Korea at that time.
In January 1972, he changed the name of his own group to "Han Kuk Hapki Hwe", and moved his headquarters from Incheon to Bukchang-Dong, Chung-Ku, in Seoul, Korea. In October 1973, while still maintaining his own organization, he helped in the creation of the "Dae Han Min Kuk Hapkido Hyop Hwe" (Republic of Korea Hapkido Association) and was designated executive director, remaining in this organization until 1980. In August 1974, he again changed the name of his organization, now called "Kuk Jae Yong Meng Hapki Hwe" also known in English as International Hapkido Federation. In the same year he also co-founded the Korean Hapkido Association.
Achievements
In 1965, GM Myung shared martial techniques and information with the Japanese Aikidō master, Sensei Hirata for a period of approximately four years. In 1969, GM Myung broke his relationship with the Korea Hapkido Association (Dae Han Hapkido Hyup Hwe) and formed his own group which he would call "Han Kuk Hapki Sool Hwe". Associating with the Aikikai foundation in Japan, so much so that even at the top of the certificates granted by said association during that time, the name of the founder of Aikido Morihei Ueshiba appeared.
GM Myung was the oldest Korean representative of the Aikikai in Japan and included many Japanese Aikido techniques in his version of Hapkido. He produced many videos and wrote a great number of books.
In the 80s GM Myung began working on the development of his own unique martial art, which he would later call Hankido (한기도). GM Myung wanted to develop a martial art for the Korean people, which could be simple and easy to learn. The essence of Hankido consists of only twelve basic techniques, just like Aikido (where 6 joint lock principles and 6 basic throws are developed). GM Myung once said that it was better to learn one technique and practice it thousands of times than to learn thousands of techniques.
In the years following the first edition of the first Hankido Games, GM Myung traveled around the world to promote his unique style as well as his own organization, the International Hankido Federation. Subsequently, he began the development of another art for sword handling called Hankumdo (한검도), which gives the non-Korean student the opportunity to learn the Korean alphabet (hangul), by using it to learn the different angles of defense and attack.
Unfortunately, on August 3, 1999 GM Myung passed away in Yong-In, Korea. GM Myung's son, Dojunim Sung Kwang Myung, is now the 2nd Doju of the International H•K•D Federation – Jae Nam Musul Won. The International H•K•D Federation has its headquarters in Yong-In, Korea and has around one million members in 60 different countries.