Does ‘hapki (aiki)’ still exist in Japan?
May 2024Transparent Power by Tatsuo Kimura is a book I recommend my students to read.
This book contains the reasons why Hapkiyusul is such a unique and valuable martial art.
When I first encountered the book, I was honestly very surprised that there was someone in Japan who could do ‘hapki’. I believed that after Takeda Sokaku passed away and Choi Yongsul moved to Korea, that the line of hapki had ended. However, it seems that Yukiyoshi Sagawa was able to reach the highest level through immense effort. He is an astonishing martial artist.
I don’t believe he did hapki simply because it says so in the book. It is through my experience of hapki through my master Kim Yunsang, that I could recognize the details that could not be expressed if one truly did not understand hapki. This martial art contains many secrets.
The only qualm I have about the book is that Yukiyoshi Sagawa was written as if he were the sole successor; Choi Yongsul is not mentioned in the book. I do understand the political distrust between Korea and Japan. However, truth should supersede politics, especially if one has reached such a lofty state.
The hapki of my master Kim Yunsang, who was the disciple of Choi Yongsul, matches or may even be better than the hapki described of Yukiyoshi Sagawa. The proven skill of Kim Yunsang makes it clearly evident the lineage of Takeda Sokaku and Choi Yongsul.
Yukiyoshi Sagawa photo credit: Shukan Bunshun