Techniques

On the "hard-soft" scale of martial arts, Hapkido stands somewhere in the middle, employing "soft" techniques similar to Aikido and "hard" techniques reminiscent of Taekwondo. Even the "hard" techniques, though, emphasise circular rather than linear movements. Hapkido is an eclectic martial art, and different hapkido schools emphasise different techniques. However, some core techniques are found in each school (kwan), and all techniques should follow the three principles of Hapkido:

• Nonresistance ("Hwa")
• Circular Motion ("Won")
• The Water Principle ("Yu")

Hwa, or nonresistance, is simply the act of remaining relaxed and not directly opposing an opponent's strength. For example, if an opponent were to push against a Hapkido student's chest, rather than resist and push back, the Hapkido student would avoid a direct confrontation by moving in the same direction as the push and utilising the opponent's forward momentum to throw them.

Won, the circular principle, is a concept to gain momentum for executing the techniques in a natural and free-flowing manner. If an opponent attacks in Linear motion, as in a punch or knife thrust, the Hapkido student would redirect the opponent's force by simply leading the attack in a circular pattern, thereby adding the attacker's power to their own. Once they had redirected the power, the Hapkido student could execute any of a variety of techniques to incapacitate their attacker. The Hapkido practitioner learns to view an attacker as an "energy entity" rather than as a physical one. The bigger the person is, or the more energy a person has, the better it is for the Hapkido student.

Yu, the water principle, is best described if one pictures the quiet, direct strength in free-flowing water. When you touch water, it is soft; you don't feel anything. But when it comes to water and power, water can be the most powerful thing in the world, turning huge power turbines, or cutting through solid stone to form great canyons. When water is coming down from a stream and meets a rock or other obstruction instead of crashing into it, it always goes around.

"As the flowing stream penetrates and surrounds its obstructions and as dripping water eventually penetrates the stone, so does the Hapkido strength flow in and through its opponents."

Core Techniques

These consist of gentle or forceful throws and joint control techniques derived largely from Aikijutsu. They are taught similarly to aikido techniques, but in general the circles are smaller. Aikido circles are taught wide and large for novices because they are slower and easier, but experts are expected to execute techniques in small circles with the same ease. The ki becomes more focused as the circles get smaller, and perhaps the difference between the two arts is the pedagogical subtlety of Aikido and the directness of Hapkido in the nature of circular energy. Most techniques work by a combination of unbalancing the attacker and applying pressure to specific places on the body, known as hyul. Hapkido makes use of over 700 pressure points.

Yudo

Yudo (Judo in Japanese) techniques are centred around extensive throws applied at closer range than the core techniques. The techniques differ somewhat because of the smaller circles applied to combat, and because of the types of application that are practiced in Hapkido. Yudo techniques also include various chokes, hold downs, joint locks, and other grappling techniques used to control the opponent on the ground.

Kicking

The wide variety of kicks in Hapkido differentiate it from Aikido and make it distinctly Korean. In general they are similar to Taekwondo kicks, though again circular motion is emphasised. Some varieties of Hapkido only use kicks to the lower body, but traditional Hapkido also includes high kicks and jumping kicks. The kicks in hapkido are more extensive than in most other Korean arts, including very specialised kicks for all occasions.

Hand Strikes

Like most martial arts, hapkido employs a large number of punches and other hand strikes, as well as elbows. A distinctive example of Hapkido hand techniques is "live hand" strike that focuses energy to the baek hwa hyul in the hand, producing energy strikes and internal strikes. The hand strikes are used often to weaken the opponent before joint locking and throwing, and also as finishing techniques.

Weapons

As a Hapkido student advances through the various belt levels (basically the same as other Korean arts, e.g. Taekwondo), they learn how to employ and defend against various weapons. The first weapon encountered is most often the knife. Then, techniques and defences against the short stick, the long staff, the sword, the walking cane, and the rope are introduced in Hapkido training.