Tae Kwon Do: The Ultimate Reference Guide to the World's Most Popular Martial Art [Hardcover]

Yeon Hee Park (Author), Yeon Hwan Park (Author), Jon Gerrard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1999

Written by Tae Kwon Do masters Yeon Hee Park and Yeon Hwan Park with American black-belt Jon Gerrard, Tae Kwon Do is the definitive and only international reference to the sport. A highly effective tool to assist students and aspirants build and maintain skills, this volume is illustrated with photographic "walkthroughs" of every posture and contains: a concise history of the art; warm-up exercises; clear instructions for learning the basic techniques; important tips and strategies for sparring; a glossary of English to Korean terms; 700 photographs throughout the text (25 new to this edition) to clearly illustrate each move. Endorsed by the World Tae Kwon Do Federation.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This is another in a plethora of manuals claiming to be "the ultimate" guide to the practice of Tae Kwon Do. Most of the book deals with exercises and sparring techniques, while providing disappointingly short sections on the martial art's history and philosophy. Appendixes give additional information on the rules and regulations of Tae Kwan Do competition. The book's limitations recommend it only to public libraries desiring exhaustive martial arts collections. Otherwise, libraries would do well to rely on the more standard works, especially Duk Son's Korean Karate ( Prentice-Hall, 1968; Wehman, 1982. reprint) and Choi Hong Hi's Tae Kwan Do ( Wehman, 1980. o.p.).
- Ron Chepesiuk, Winthrop Coll. Lib., Rock Hill, S.C.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Praise for the previous edition:

"A serious presentation for the serious student. . ." -- Booklist

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Facts on File; Upd Sub edition (March 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816038384
• ISBN-13: 978-0816038381
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,858,020 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Reference Guide to Tae kwon do I have seen to date, March 24, 2006

By 

Brian L. Schrage Jr. - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tae Kwon Do: The Ultimate Reference Guide to the World's Most Popular Martial Art (Facts on File) (Paperback)

This book is above par. I am a soldier deployed in Iraq and I purchased this book to continue my study while on deployment. It has accurate information and pictures to explain everything from the basics, to advanced level forms, and top notch sparring techniques. A great purchase.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book!, February 7, 2001

By 

Eric Olson (IN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tae Kwon Do: The Ultimate Reference Guide to the World's Most Popular Martial Art (Facts on File) (Paperback)

I am a 4th dan black belt in Tae Kwon Do and believe this is a critical book in my Tae Kwon Do library. In fact, I have found this book so useful that I require all my students to own a copy. The Taeguk forms are covered very well, there is a great section on WTF sparring rules, and there is a good glossary of Korean terms. I highly suggest it for any WTF Tae Kwon Do student.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Less useful than it first appears, April 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Tae Kwon Do: The Ultimate Reference Guide to the World's Most Popular Martial Art (Facts on File) (Paperback)

The beginning of this book is full of great information--stretching, basic blocks, stances, kicks, etc.

HOWEVER, this book is based on WTF (sport) style Tae Kwon Do. I study ITF (traditional) style Tae Kwon Do, so I found the bulk of this book's information, such as the Tae Guek forms and WTF style rules, to be useless. If you study sport TKD or WTF style, this book might be useful.

If you study Traditional TKD/ITF style, don't waste your time or money. There are better choices out there.