New Martial Arts Studio Offers Purest Form of Hapkido

A new martial arts studio has made its home on Sierra Madre Blvd., with classes in Hapkido, self-defense, CrossCore and more.

G3 Academy of Martial Arts opened March 20 by owners and SoCal natives Gary Gapezzani and Bill Darlas, who have been studying Hapkido for 24 years.

“We were two of the top guys of Grandmaster Chong S. Kim’s Hapkido. After Grandmaster Kim passed away and his son took over headquarters, we decided to open up our own studio. This was a perfect opportunity,” Gapezzani said. The two grew up in the Sierra Madre area and began studying martial arts together in 1988.

G3 is offering the following classes: traditional Hapkido, women’s self-defense, children’s classes, weapons class, sparring, Ki Gong and CrossCore. Gapezzani and Darlas, along with Robert Gilliam—a certified Ki Gong instructor under Grandmaster Kim—teach the various classes.

“The Hapkido we teach here is the purest Hapkido because our Master’s Master originated Hapkido. Bill and I are second generation and our students are third, which is why we named our studio ‘G3,’” said Gapezzani.

To drum up business, G3 is currently running a promotion- the first 50 students who sign up for classes will get a discount.

The women’s self-defense class teaches how to de-escalate a situation, how to become more aware of surroundings, and how to use everyday purse items for self-defense. 

The CrossCore class provides rotational bodyweight training—exercise that uses a person’s own bodyweight suspended from a pulley system. 

Lastly, Ki Gong—literally translating to “energy practice”—is a low-impact class that teaches controlled breathing to promote vitality and core-strengthening.

“The different classes are mutually beneficial for all ages because Hapkido teaches to use an opponent’s force, balance, and leverage instead of just relying on strength,” Gapezzani said.

G3 Academy offers morning, afternoon and evening classes Monday through Saturday. More details can be found on their website.

G3 Academy is located at 303 W Sierra Madre Blvd. in Sierra Madre.