Kwan Nyom Hapkido.Master Geoff J. Booth is a 7th Degree in Hapkido under the Art's founder, Grandmaster Ji Han Jae (10th Degree).
On 19 January 1993, Master Booth decides to establish his own organization. He names this the Australian Hapkido Group (AHG) and the international Hapkido Alliance (IHA), of which he is the head instructor. This organization opens several dojangs in Sydney. The head-dojangs where Master Booth teaches and trains, are located in Moorebank and Hurstville. Master Booth developed his own Hapkido style and gives this the name Kwan Nyom Hapkido what means "school of concepts" in Korean. Traditionally Hapkido is taught as set responses to set grabs, for example, 10 releases from wrist grab then 10 from cross wrist grab etc. This means that the students sees a wide variety of techniques repeated throughout the process of learning a defence from each of the major grabs and attacks. Kwan Nyom students are taught concepts or formulae on how to apply a defensive technique, this is shown through the application of the lock to a number of different grabs. From there the student learns the concept and can then apply that technique regardless of where the attack is. |
It becomes important to understand that certain techniques can be applied in certain situations due to their formula and once you truly understand this, the attack and where/how your opponent attacks you becomes irrelevant. This helps in real life defence as you need to react in a situation that is not controlled or expected. Having an understanding of the concepts of Hapkido means that you can apply whichever formula suits the situation, rather than trying to think what the defence should be against that particular attack. Master Booth is also ranked in both Taekwondo and Southern Shaolin Tiger and Dragong Kung Fu. He also gained many martial art titles in the period of 1995-2001.
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