# Anyone heard of this school?



## Kittan Bachika (Nov 29, 2009)

I hope everyone had an excellent Thanksgiving.

Has anyone ever heard of New York Hapkido?


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## Daniel Sullivan (Nov 30, 2009)

I have not heard of it, but it is not much of a website and this exerpt is a bit of a red flag:

_a rare opportunity to learn from a highly skilled world renowned Korean grand master in multiple arts who is offering Hapkido and specialized self-defense classes in midtown Manhattan is now available to experienced martial artists as well as beginners from the Tristate NY area._

Firstly, nowhere on the entire page does it ever tell me who this guy or gal is.

Secondly, I am always leary "grandmaster in multiple arts" claims.  Multiple usually means more than two or three, or if it is only two, they use the word, 'multiple' to suggest more than two.

I also notice that it does not connect the master's grand mastery to hapkido; only that this nameless and genderless individual of presumably Korean ethnicity is a grandmaster in multiple arts who is offering hapkido and specialized self defense.

Now, the school could be wonderful, but if I were seriously in the hunt for a school, this advertisement would not even register on the meter.  Now, I may find my way to the school through another means (drive by, recommendation from a current or former student, chance meeting of the GM at Starbucks), but that ad is not a well written ad for anyone interested in more than just location and a few minor details.  

Important stuff (name of GM, federation if any, GM's rank in hapkido; his grandmastery may be in taekwondo, what these other arts are, etc.), however, is seriously lacking.  

Daniel


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## dortiz (Nov 30, 2009)

Good points Daniel,
 please dont let a website dictate the school. Being a good Martial Artist and a good advertiser or web site admin are not the same thing. They certainly can effect a schools success but truly have no bearing on the instruction.
I have seen the worst make themselves look stunning and I have seen the best have no concern for the webpage or what it states. Even some that know better and still post that silly false history junk.
Call, go and visit and yes, ask all the questions as mentioned above. Just dont pick a school by the web page.

Dave O.


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## Daniel Sullivan (Dec 1, 2009)

Very true.  

Also, one does not need to be of grand master rank to be a good instructor.  One could be an eighth dan in taekwondo and a fifth dan in hapkido.  He or she would not be a hapkido GM, but they would certainly be considered more than qualifed to teach at that level.

Daniel


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