Customer Reviews

Ultimate Guide to Tae Kwon Do

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I like this book. Most overview books on the martial arts are very disjointed. This book is not. Though it presents chapters written by various authors, it presents these chapters in manner that the reader can truly learn the various subtle aspects and techniques of Taekwondo. I believe this book is a good read, full of important information about how to become a better practitioner of Taekwondo and a better martial artist in general.

This book presents Taekwondo in a unique manner. It take ideas and techniques from various Taekwondo Masters and puts them all in one book. Whereas most books on Martial Arts only share the ideas and opnions of one individual or one organization, this book combines the thoughts of many. Thereby, making it a unique, all encompassing, way to learn about Taekwondo.

This is a very interesting book. It is made up of articles which first appeared in Inside Taekwondo magazine between 1993 and 1995. This magazine was edited by John Corcoran, who has made some notable contributons to the martial arts with his editing, writing, and his martial art encyclopedias. So, you can be sure the articles are pertinent and well written.

What this book provides the reader with is a excellent overview of Taekwondo from some of the great modern Masters, including: Hee Il Cho, Scott Shaw, and Keith D. Yates. Moreover, this book is not simply filled with pages of photo techniques. It details the history of Taekwondo, Trainning Methods, and Taekwondo Combat Techniques. This book is a great addition to the library of any discriminating reader.

As long as you remember what this book is trying to be, it's not a bad book. The book reprints articles that originally appeared in the now defunct INSIDE TAE KWON DO magazine. As such, none of the articles go into great details on their given topics, but you get enough general information to whet your appetite.

As a beginner in Tae Kwon Do, I didn't find this book helpful for learning the basics. It did give some good advice though (assuming) for enhancing your abilities. However, if you are not familiar with all of the basics (i.e. punches, kicks, etc.) then most of this book will go probably over your head. Plus there are not many graphics and they are explaining different excersizes and techniques. If you are a person who learns by being shown like me, don't get this book.

First, I am a 2nd degree black belt and instructor in Tae Kwon Do, and I approached this book from that perspective. I guess that this book could be good for the beginner as an introduction to Tae Kwon Do, but you could probably do better just by going to your dojang. I certainly didn't buy it.