Customer Reviews

Tae Kwon Do Classic Forms: 21 Hyung--Novice White Belt through Advanced Black Belt

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If you are looking for a no-frills book on Tae Kwon Do to help you learn and master the essentials of actually *doing* it, there is no better book than this. Unlike many contemporary Martial Arts books that are filled with stories and pictures and generally irrelevant material, Master Hillson gets straight into what to do and how to do it. If what you want to do is practice Tae Kwon Do, then the best thing is to have a Master with whom you can study. Next to that, the best thing is to have a book that "has been created with multiple purposes in mind: * a reference ...; * a study guide ...; * a point of view ..." (from page 1). The explanations are clear and the illustrations are simple. The hints and suggestions provided by Master Hillson make a tremendous difference in gaining insight into the true art of Tae Kwon Do. I am finding this book to be an indispensable learning companion - one that is helping me to make this Martial Art really come alive in my own expression of it.

This book contains many of the classic forms of the Chung Do Kwan style of Tae Kwon Do. I believe that it has 21 forms, including advanced black belt forms. If you're looking for a book on the Chung Do Kwan forms as taught by Duk Sung Son, then this is it. The forms are shown with drawings, so it's a great refresher if you know the forms. If you don't know the forms, then it might be a little difficult to learn them from only the drawings in this book. However, the descriptions of the moves are really good, so with descriptions and the drawings you could probably figure it out. It's a great book because it lists the forms and shows their movements. It also explains what certain movements are used for, which adds another dimension to the forms and makes them much more useful.

If you are looking for a book with a simple yet thorough explanation of the forms of Tae Kwon Do then this is it. It is very easy for the novice as well as experienced martial artist to learn and understand. I find it to be a great reference manual that I go to regularly for clarification as well as to learn new techniques. It is a valuable addition to any library of martial arts books.

If you study this series of forms it is a very useful book. I found the illustrations make this book stand out. Instead of using photos that only show beginning and end of the form, the drawings show the step by step motion of how the move progresses from beginning to end. I like the author's philosophy of balancing both proper technique while still allowing for stylistic variation.

This book does exactly what it says it does, it acts as a reference book for students of the art of TKD, Chung Do Kwan. While learning the forms from this book would be hard to impossible if you didn't have a background in Chung Do Kwan, learning forms you didn't know, or sequences you couldn't remember if you have a background in Chung Do Kwan is pretty easy.

The pictures are well drawn, and the descriptions help quite a bit, especially if you have learned the forms, or know how the CDK forms flow and what eccentricities they have.

Learning new forms can often be difficult and remembering them can be equally challenging. This book is an awesome resource to have around. Its unique format allows you to quickly find that spot in the form where you are "stuck" and gets you back training in a matter of minutes. Once you have learned the "navigational lingo" (one reviewer saw this as a weakness in the book) you will have no trouble working through the forms. Short of having Grandmaster Hillson standing by your side, this book is the best thing you can do for your forms development. As a 4th degree black belt, I have opened this book many times as I have progressed through nearly every form presented in its pages.

I have turned to this book virtually every week since first obtaining a copy from Grandmaster Hillson about four years ago. It has been of immeasurable value in reviewing previously learned forms and aiding dojang study of newly taught forms. The text for each form is concise with every move sequentially depicted by a clear drawing. Numerous applications are explained furthering the reader's bunkai study. In many cases, variations of movements are provided. Even if your school teaches these forms with slight differences, noting these alone is a great learning tool. The short, enjoyable, narrative preceding the forms section on balance, mind, importance of forms and history can't help but cause reader introspection. This book is an absolute must for practitioners studying the included forms and also for those of us wishing to expand our horizons. Brad Bransky, Flagstaff, Arizona.

I like this book. It has helped me work on forms for competition that are outside the traditional TKD forms that I do. I wish there was a compliment book for ITF forms. The drawings are surprisingly easy to follow.

This book was given as a gift. The person that received the book is taking a class on Tae Kwon Do and this book should help him to do well in the class.