Badgett hosts martial arts expert

A master of the little-known martial art Hapkido, Juri Fleischmann of Gaggenau, Germany, came to America last fall at the behest of Tarboro dentist – and first-degree black belt – Dr. David Badgett.
Fleischmann stayed for four days in Tarboro, teaching classes called the “Elite Combat Program” at the Comfort Inn, at the small dojo, or the school where martial arts are taught, where Badgett and four others study, and he also dropped in on several other martial arts classes unannounced, to simply give demonstrations.
Fleischmann, 36, runs a school in Germany, called Kampfkuntschule, where he has taught for 15 years.
"Juri's kind of a big shot in Germany," Badgett said. "He's really cool, he knows a lot about martial arts.
“In one afternoon, you could learn something that could help save your life.”
Even so, mastering this art takes years of study.
“Hapkido takes a lifetime to study and learn, as any martial art does,” he said.
This is because it relies on training the reflexes or developing muscle memory so that the defense becomes automatic, instead a reaction to an attack.
One of the specific demonstrations Fleischmann did involved defending himself while he had a bag in one hand and a baby doll in the other. This would simulate a parent being attacked while shopping and holding her child.
“If you’re walking out of Wal-Mart at night (and you got attacked), what would you do?” Badgett said.
Some of the techniques Fleischmann demonstrated sought to answer that question.
Badgett came into contact with Fleischmann about a year ago, when he was starting his own Hapkido Web site, hapkidonc.com.
"I was starting a Web site to further myself," he said. “I thought Tarboro could benefit from that.”
He met Fleischmann while looking around at other Web sites. Eventually, Badgett asked him if he would come to the United States to teach a class, which he did.
Tracing the lineage of this complex martial art is difficult since it incorporates many different styles into itself. Still, this relatively unknown martial art – and Korean martial arts in general – had a revival of sorts after the end of the Japanese occupation from 1910-45. Hapkido is similar in many ways to Japanese fighting techniques and it is said that the Koreans modified the fighting style the Japanese used against them, and used it to repel the invaders.
It shares certain techniques with better-known martial arts, such as Tae Kwon Do, Aikitsu and Kung Fu.
"If you've seen any Steven Seagal movies, it's similar to what he does," Badgett said.
The German army also currently uses some Hapkido techniques, as do many Special Forces Units and several police forces. Fleischmann taught several police officers in Tarboro during his visit as well.
"We thought it would be good for the local police officers to learn non-lethal techniques to arrest someone," he said. "You can subdue someone who's on drugs or crazy just by using some of the techniques he was teaching that day."
Hapkido is a defense art and uses the energy, or ki, of an opponent against him. For example, the defender forces the attacker to over commit his attack, allowing it to go past the target, and then, when the attacker is off-balance, uses this motion to throw him. It is not a martial art that would be used to attack someone. This means that those who practice Hapkido advocate a non-violent approach, mostly because they know very well how effective their techniques are. Hapkido is so dangerous, that there are no tournaments or competitions, as there are for many of the other martial arts.
"We don't go out and pick fights," Badgett said. "It's not a blood sport.
"Some people say, 'We're Christian, we don't believe in hurting anyone.' Well, that's true, but we don't believe in being a victim, either."
The whole point of Hapkido is to use just the amount of force necessary to protect oneself and no more. Once the attacker is immobilized, the student of this martial art will stop defending himself.
It is just this non-violence and this emphasis on defense that makes this martial art especially attractive to women.
"It doesn't matter what size your opponent is," he said. "You can overcome your opponent with your own energy. It's very good for women."
Lisa Plasencio, a brown belt and Badgett's dental hygienist, is a petite and slender 33-year-old woman. Badgett towers over her by several inches. Still, she demonstrated an easy and effective way to stop him if he — or someone of his size — were to attack her, simply by grabbing his wrist, twisting and pressing on his pressure point.
"I enjoy it," she said. "It makes you feel more confident, that you can defend yourself."
And that is exactly the point Badgett was trying to get across.
"We don't think that you should be afraid if you're walking down a dark alley at night," he said. "But we want you to use the amount of force necessary (to stop the attack), instead of pulling out a firearm and waiting for the police to show up.
"We don't advocate violence at all."
With Hapkido, “it doesn’t depend on strength or size and that’s the message (Fleischmann) brought from Germany.
“Even a small man or a small woman could subdue a large attacker or attackers.”

Photos

Dr. David Badgett, left, and Juri Fleischmann of Germany demonstrate Hapkido, a little-known martial art. "Juri's kind of a big shot in Germany," Badgett said. "He's really cool, he knows a lot about martial arts.”