Customer Reviews

WTF Taekwondo Black Belt Poomse Vol. 1 [VHS]

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I have all three of the black belt poomse tapes and they are all quite good. The instructors who perform the katas are all very technically competent. The forms were filmed from four different vantage points: front and side up close, and then front and side from a somewhat further distance away, so you get four different performances of each kata. The two different viewing angles also make sure that there's no confusion about any of the moves.

The performances are accompanied by some catchy rhythms and music, which I really didn't need, but it's okay, you can always turn the volume down if you don't like the music.

As long-time student of the martial arts and martial arts instructor, I have always enjoyed forms (which not everybody does) and I primarily do ITF, Shotokan, Goju, and Okinawan Kobudo forms, doing most of them from each system, along with a smattering of miscellaneous forms from other styles, and a few kung-fu forms. That means I do about 80 different forms. I started doing martial arts when I was 11 (and recently turned 50), so you can learn a lot of forms in 39 years in the martial arts. Well, I realize that's a lot forms, and these days I don't always have all of them worked up at the same time (although there were times when I did every kata during a workout) and videos like these are one way I make sure I'm getting everything right.

Since we're on the subject of training alone, another great thing to do is to get yourself a cheap camcorder. Since you can get a cheap one now for a few hundred dollars, and then a tripod for say, 50 bucks (since you'll probably be filming in-doors you don't need a really sturdy, expensive tripod), it's not that expensive to get yourself a little video setup. Then you can video-tape yourself, and then compare your performance with the person on the tape. If you do things like this, you can continue to improve and advance even if you're alone.

I find I like these forms too, having learned them after the ITF forms some years ago. I have sometimes lived in areas where I didn't always have access to an instructor, and I learned all of my forms back before they had cheap video tapes like these, so these tapes are a great boon to instructors and students like myself who are sometimes isolated, even as an advanced black belt, as I was.

Well, fortunately I have had a few really great instructors along the way, but lacking that, these tapes are the next best thing. They help me keep my katas tuned up when I have only myself to work out with.

All in all, these tapes are an excellent resource for the student and instructor alike. I feel very comfortable recommending them for the aspiring student or even instructor.