Han Mu Do (Korea), founded by He-Young Kimm, is a Korean martial art that consists of hand techniques, mastery of weapons, and the philosophy of martial arts. Kimm integrated the techniques and philosophies of various Korean martial arts, most of which were founded in the 1950s, with new techniques into a single system. Han Mu Do was not the original name of the martial art. That was Yuj Kwon Sul, which means the art of throwing and striking. It was then called Han Mu Yuh Kwon Sul for a while. However, some schools found it inappropriate to use Mu because it specifically meant martial art. They simply called it Han Do. In 1991, Kimm decided to name it Han Mu Do.
Techniques
Han Mu Do is considered a cousin of Hapkido. Hapkido is more aggressive and harder, and the movements are less fluid. Another difference can be found in hand techniques. Those of Han Mu Do are based on the soft Korean martial art techniques such as Kuk Sul, Sundo, and Han Tae Keuk, and hard martial arts like Tae Kwon Do and Tang Soo Do. When it comes to training with weapons, there is also a difference between Han Mu Do and Hapkido. In Han Mu Do, a student starts with weapons early on, whereas in Hapkido this happens much later. The forms and styles are also different. The weapon style within Han Mu Do is derived from Muye Dobo Tong Ji, the oldest martial arts text in Korea.
Aligning mentally and physically is a unique element within Han Mu Do. A practitioner must say kihap in their mind to align their spirit and body. Hyung Sa, patterns, is another unique element within Han Mu Do. The movements follow the rhythm of the techniques as they are learned. It starts with the hard movements, then the hard/soft, and concludes with the soft movements. Han Mu Do has its own uniform, the dobok. This resembles those of other Korean martial arts and is based on traditional Korean clothing.
