difference between hwarangdo and hapkido

What is the difference in style between hwarangdo and hapkido. Which is generally more effective in self-defence and in also developing the mind (focus, relaxation ...) Please list some positives and negatives with regards to both arts.

john

hapkido puts a great emphasis on the four ranges, and hwran gdo tends to favour kicking more. Hapkido i found to be a more rounded art.

In general, Hwarangdo tries to instill a sense of Korean samurai-ness and national Korean pride into the practioner. Hell, even white Americans become Koreanized. Hapkido is more concerned with realistic fighting situations and less about your uniform, etc. Hapkido does not use stances, forms, etc. and Hwarangdo is big on them. Hwarangdo is basically Hapkido w/ alot of 'fluff' and pomp added to it.

Before you buy.

That is quite true, given that hwarangdo, often claimed by some to be hundreds of years old, is actually an off-shoot of hapkido, with a lot of pseudo-mystical stuff added to rope in the unwary.

'Hapkido is more concerned with realistic fighting situations and less about your uniform, etc.'

I orignally thought that to be true, until I got out of HKD and went into Combat Hapkido. I'm kinda sorry I wasted my time with traditional Hapkido.

'Hapkido does not use stances, forms, etc.'

Interesting, When I took HKD, we had stances, but my sensei took out the forms for me. When I checked out another school, they taught stances, and forms.

The differences I saw was that HRD uses a lot more traditional weapons, like swords, and they spend a lot of time with meditation and, later on, learning acupunture. And they have alot of 'flashy' kicks.

Shane