SinMoo Hapkido The Art of Dojunim Ji Han Jae

Sinmoo Hapkido teaches practical self-defense and personal growth. With a strong emphasis on non-physical techniques Sin Moo Hapkido not only provides practical physical training but also gives tools to benefit the practitioner in all aspect of their lives. SinMoo Hapkido is a martial art that combines "hard" and "soft" techniques. From a purely technical perspective, it is very closely related to its parent art, Traditional Hapkido, though it places more emphasis on meditative, philosophical, and Ki development training. When translated in its entirety, Sin Moo Hapkido therefore means, “The way of using martial arts to harmonize the mind and body to reach a higher more enlightened state of existence.”   

 Sin Moo Hapkido was founded in 1983 in Seoul, South Korea by Dojunim Ji Han Jae (b. 1936) with the assistance of Merrill Jung and other members of the Northern California Hapkido Association. The curriculum was based on Ji's earlier Hapkido programs that he developed from his three teachers and own personal study. Ji, Han Jae was an early student (Dan #14) of Choi Young Sul, a student of Yawara & Daito-Ryu Aikijujutsu, and the founder of Hapkiyusool, a forerunner of Hapkido. DoJuNim Ji, Han Jae also a student of the teacher known only as Master / Wise-Man Lee (Lee Do-Sa), who taught "Sam Rang Do", weapons, and more, as well as "Grandma", who he considered to be his spiritual teacher. Though formed in Seoul, the first official school for Sin Moo Hapkido was not opened until 1984 in Daly City (very near San Francisco), California, where Ji began teaching his new art. 

The philosophy and rules that serve as the foundation of Sin Moo Hapkido make it a way of life that will permeate everything that a practitioner does; ie., diet, meditation, exercise, sex, etc. Sin Moo Hapkido touches on all aspects of life and is not just something that a person can practice once or twice a week. Sin Moo Hapkido roughly translates to the way of using the martial disciplines to develop harmony and cohesiveness between the mind, the body and the spirit. 

Hap means bringing together, gathering, or harmonizing. “Ki” is the energy or breath in the body that connects the mind and the body, and "Do" is the process or way this happens. Thus, his definition of Hapkido is, “The way of harmonizing the mind and body through the utilization of ki.” Sin means "higher mind or higher spirit," and "Moo" means "martial art." When translated in its entirety, Sin Moo Hapkido therefore means, “The way of using martial arts to harmonize the mind and body to reach a higher more enlightened state of existence.  

 Sin Moo is a way of life. Sin Moo Hapkido may be translated as" the fighting art of the gods", Hapkido is the physical half of the martial art, while Sin Moo is the spiritual half. Physical training begins with Hapkido and at the higher level surpasses any physical limitations through Sin Moo. There are three aspects of the whole: physical, mental, and spiritual. The wellbeing of each one of these; the body, the mind, and the soul-guarantees a strong and healthy existence. Conversely, any illness in even on one of these elements weakens the whole and detracts from the other components as well. 

Sin Moo Hapkido is a method of meditation focused on the development of mind and body through the maximization of "Ki" power. Sinmoo draws from Buddhism (Mind), Confucianism (Body) and Zen (Spirit) training. Through Buddhism moral training the practitioner seeks the clean mind techniques; were the network of feelings controlled by your mind are balance in good and bad feelings. From Confucianism training we focus on doing nothing in excess. We are governed by the sense of touch and so Confucianism is associated with the body. Through Zen we learn to practice long steady deep controlled breathing. We build "Ki" power development through these techniques. Zen is also connected with the senses, Thus; we maximize the experience of our world through our senses.

Much of the Philosophy of Sinmoo Hapkido comes from what Dojunim Ji learned from Taoist Lee Dosa and Grandma - Saramonin . Long hours were spent training, meditating, but mostly in conversation. He was trained in what he calls Samrangdo. In the Pakchae Kingdom, it was the counterpart to the Hwarangdo in the Silla Dynasty. It was based off of the teachings of Dan gun, the founder of Korea. The ancient text, Samilsingo is from the teachings of Dan gun. Samilsingo means something to the effect of "Three-Makes-One Mind Techniques." It involves combining the three parts within each of us; the spirit, the mind, and the body, into one complete self. The Nine Rules of Sinmoo are based off of this concept as are of the meditation techniques. Only by working on all three aspects of our self, can we realize our true potential.