General Guidelines

Tapping is a vital communication technique designed to keep students safe while training.  Unlike some styles, we do not use tapping as an "I give up" signal, but rather to tell our partner that their technique is working and/or causing pain.  Instead of shouting out in pain, we tap.  In fact, Hapkido students should train to control themselves and not shout out or contort their faces in pain because that gives the attacker more confidence in what they're doing!

When possible, try not to tap out before the technique has reached its completion.  In techniques that go to the ground, unless something goes wrong and you need to communicate a high level of pain early in the technique, you should execute applicable falling skills before tapping out.

We have 3 different levels of tapping to communicate how much pain you are in:

Level 1 Tap
A level 1 tap is on your own leg.  This indicates a low level of pain or discomfort.  This can also indicate that your joint is fully locked out, but that you are not yet in pain.  Most training should occur at this level.

Level 2 Tap
A level 2 tap is on your own chest.  This indicates a high level of pain or discomfort.  This is still an acceptable training level.

Level 3 Tap
A level 3 tap is on your partner.  This indicates an extreme level of pain or discomfort, and communicates that you're about to be injured or broken by the technique.  If your partner performs a level 3 tap, you have taken your technique too far.  Stop your technique and release your partner immediately!  This is not an appropriate training level, and you should train in such a way that you never encounter this.

Situational Guidelines

Depending on the circumstance, your purpose and goal as a partner is different, and the way you use tapping should be adjusted accordingly.

Training
When you are someone's partner for general training:
  1. Use tapping primarily as a tool to keep yourself safe and to indicate to your partner that it's time to stop the technique.
  2. You should also be using tapping as a method of communicating with your partner as to whether the technique is working correctly or not.
​
Teaching
When you are an instructor's partner while he is teaching:
  1. Your primary goal is to help the instructor teach.  Tapping communicates to the student learning the technique what hurts.
  2. Don't tap in a way that is distracting to the student learning the technique.
  3. You should also use tapping to communicate with the instructor to keep yourself safe.

Group Teaching
When you are an instructor's partner while he is teaching to a group:
  1. As with general teaching, your primary goal is to help the instructor teach.  Tapping communicates to the students learning the technique what hurts.
  2. Don't tap in a way that is distracting to the students learning the technique.
  3. If the instructor is being kind and not hurting you too badly, you should still tap in this situation when appropriate.  Make it look real, or the instructor will make it real!
  4. You should also use tapping to communicate with the instructor in order to keep yourself safe.

Belt Testing
When you are someone's partner at a belt test:
  1. As a partner in a belt test, your job is to help the student testing to demonstrate their techniques.  You should not be doing anything to undermine them.  You should be doing everything you can to make them look good.  Tapping is a part of that.  If the technique is correct, you should be tapping in a loud, obvious way so the instructors grading the test and the audience can see and hear it.
  2. You should also be using tapping as a method of communicating with your partner whether the technique is working correctly.  Since adrenaline is often high in a belt test scenario, don't wait too long to tap!  Keep yourself safe.  Tap, early, tap often, tap loudly.

Demonstration
When you are a partner in a public demonstration:
  1. Your tapping is first and foremost for the audience.  You should be tapping for the techniques whether you are in pain or not at the appropriate time during each technique.  Even if something goes wrong, you should be covering for your partner and tapping in a loud, obvious way so the audience can see and hear it.
  2. Make it look real, or your partner will make it real!
  3. As always, you should also be using tapping to keep yourself safe.

Why do we use tapping?

We use the tapping system rather than communicating verbally with words like "Ouch!" or "Ow!" to develop self-control in the face of pain.

We train to control our impulses and our automatic reactions to pain.  We train a response that requires us to think and act.  This helps us to develop the ability to choose our response rather than shutting down in the face of pain.  As Mike Tyson put it, "Everybody has a plan until they get hit for the first time."

By controlling our response to pain, we learn how to endure pain stoically.  It toughens us up.  It teaches us that we can be in pain and still be okay.  It trains us to be comfortable being uncomfortable.

This sort of self-control is also a powerful psychological tool in self-defense situations.  Being able to take a hit and not show any reaction is incredibly intimidating!  Imagine if you hit someone with your best shot, and rather than screaming out and contorting their face in pain, that person just looked at you with no reaction.  How would you feel?  You'd be thinking that your best shot did nothing and that you clearly picked a fight with the wrong person!