Ten dedicated local Hapkido students, including one female, have ascended through eight coloured belts and have now completed the first degree of the black belt, the Hapkido Federation Khmer revealed on Monday. The martial art, which originated in Korea in 1904, has struggled to remain active since it was first introduced in the Kingdom by Tim Son in 1969. “Until now, Hapkido has faced difficulty to have its own court to train students because it is not an Olympic sport, so no one cares about it,” said HFK assistant manager Kong Chanthina, who noted that the sport’s continued growth is only due to the devotion of instructors and students. “There are only four clubs to train Hapkido in Phnom Penh,” added Kim Chanmony, a 5th degree Black belt who has practiced Hapkido for 10 years.