Taekwondo is the most popular martial art practiced in the world today. With the name broken down, "tae" means "foot," "kwon" means "hand," and "do" means "the way, or the art." It is a simple description for a system that teaches an incredible array of direct and controlled hand techniques to complement its arsenal of efficient and powerful kicks. Combining these techniques with traditional Korean teaching methods that emphasize discipline, self-control and improvement of the self, it is no wonder why Taekwondo boasts an international membership of more than 30 million members in over 156 countries.

The origins of Taekwondo are as varied as its range of techniques. However, unlike other martial arts, the art of Taekwondo is constantly evolving. Traditional Taekwondo emphasized developing incredible strength and speed, allowing relatively small men and women to crush bricks with single strikes and topple bulls weighing hundreds of pounds with flying kicks. While developing speed and power is still an important part of martial arts training, modern-day Taekwondo almost universally involves Olympic-style sparring (controlled point-fighting games using protective equipment), and explosive demonstrations showcasing self-defense situations using Taekwondo techniques, rhythmic and coordinated forms (poomsae), and breaking techniques using dynamic flying and spinning kicks and powerful hand-techniques.

Literally translated, Hapkido means "the way of coordinated energy." In contrast to other martial arts that focus solely on kicking and striking, Hapkido techniques offer a balance of defensive hand techniques, body throws and joint locks with offensive attacks at pressure points and other vital areas. This balance of defensive and offensive techniques is favored among law enforcement agencies and can be applied towards practical self-defense or truly effective close-quarters combat.

One of the many attractive points of Hapkido is its focus on controlling an opponent in a hostile situation. As opposed to a direct attack against an aggressor, Hapkido practitioners are able to defend and move themselves around an opponent's attack to follow with an effective strike to a pressure point or a vital area, throw the opponent to the ground, or combine both to apply a joint lock. This allows the defender to effectively redirect the opponent's energy to his advantage and subdue the attacker, rather than become involved in a fistfight. This balance of defense and offense allows practitioners of any size, no matter how small or big, to learn effective self-defense techniques while controlling the level of aggression towards the attacker.