Submitted by Ed Ricciuti
(June 14, 2022)—If you – or your offspring – hanker to work up a sweat and have fun learning a street savvy martial art this summer, but do not want to make a long-term commitment required by many studios, now’s the time. Green Hill Martial Arts, a long-established school in the Olde Town Hall at Killingworth Congregational Church, offers special summer programs during July and August for kids, teens and adults.
Regular classes are open to summer-special students on a monthly basis for two months. Besides that, a class in basic martial arts skills will be taught Tuesday mornings. In addition to its extra summer offerings, Green Hill is accepting students for its highly successful Hapkido Hornets class, tailored for children ages 4 and 5 years. Through games, exercises and simplified drills, the little ones learn martial arts basics while having fun and enjoying interactions with their peers. Started only last year, the program already has graduated students into the school’s youth classes for students ages 6 to 12 years.
The summer special accepts students in youth and adult classes at the regular monthly tuition rate of $99, without the six-month contract normally required. People who enroll learn with regular students, although without credit for promotion in the ranked color belt system. Adults, 13 years and up, train in Combat, or Chon-Tu Kwan, Hapkido, a modern, dynamic self-defense system that offers all the benefits of classical Martial Arts, but without rituals, rigidity, obsolete techniques and unsafe exercises. Hapkido, which began as a Korean art, focuses on joint locking and joint manipulation, low-line kicks, targeted striking, ground survival and weapon disarming techniques.
The Youth, or Chung So Nyun, Hapkido program focuses mainly on a simplified version of the adult program and also exposes children to some of our favorite techniques in other arts.
Many children are enrolled because they are bullied in school. In addition to teaching them how to defend themselves from physical harm, they learn how to defuse aggressive situations.
Combat Hapkido, used by military and police forces worldwide, is well suited for people of all ages and sizes because physical strength and great athletic abilities are not essential. On our mats you will see students from their teens to their eighties. “Hapkido” is a Korean word that means “The Way of Joined Energy,” as the art uses an opponent’s force to advantage.
See our website for more information: http://www.greenhillmartialarts.org
