Tae Kwon Do: The Korean Martial Art
Product ID: 19428389
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Originally published in 1976, this authoritative work has been the guide for thousands of Taekwondo practitioners as they advance in their training. Whether your training is for self-defense, forms competition, or in preparation for the Olympic games, this newly revised edition provides beginner to Black Belt level training to assist you on your journey in Taekwondo. Contents include: History, Philosophy, and Principles Calisthenics Stances Basic Striking – Human Weapons, and Vital Points Movements and Footwork Strikes, Blocking and Kicking Techniques Sparring and Breaking Techniques Self-Defense Techniques Eight Palgwe Forms – recommended for promotion of all color belts and 1st dan black belt by The United States Taekwondo Association (USTA), and used in sanctioned International Taekwondo competitions. Eight Taegeuk Forms – required for promotion of all color belts and 1st dan black belt by The World Taekwondo Federation (WTF), and used in sanctioned International Taekwondo competitions. Rules and regulations of the World Taekwondo Federation, including sparring and Poomse (forms) competitions The ever-increasing popularity of Taekwondo is apparent by the dedication of the tens of millions of practitioners worldwide, and by the inclusion of Taekwondo in the summer Olympic games. With all its popularity, it is paramount that the art be handed down in a clear, knowledgeable, and sustainable way - this book does just that. Review: One of the Original Tomes about Tae Kwon Do in America - I have recently completed Grandmaster Richard Chun's Tae Kwon Do: The Korean Martial Art, published in 1976. The book is prized by many Tae Kwon Do stylists since Grandmaster Chun is one of the original Korean masters to bring Tae Kwon Do to the United States and teach the art to Americans. The book is a veritable tome about Tae Kwon Do, covering a brief history of the art, blocking techniques, hand techniques, kick techniques, stances, striking surfaces, basic commands in Korean, stretching & warm-up techniques, vital target points, self-defense techniques, step sparring, free sparring, falling safely, throws, breaking, equipment, forms/patterns and tae kwon do as a sport. The original hardback edition, published in 1976, is a product of the state of Tae Kwon Do at that time. The original edition covers only Ki-Cho One form and all 8 Palgwe forms, but does so thoroughly, with plenty of instruction and photographs to clearly demonstrate each movement. Unlike many of today's martial arts books, Grandmaster Chun's book does not cut corners, photographs or explanation for the sake of either space or paper. Fortunately, an updated paperback edition is available today from YMAA Publication Center which also includes all 8 Taegeuk forms. In all other respects, the new edition appears to be an otherwise direct reprint of the original. However, the updated edition does not treat the Taegeuk forms equally. While the Palgwe forms are clearly photographed, the Taegeuks are only illustrated, completely lacking photographs or any depiction of transitions, which in today's modern sport competitions are very important. The written explanation of the Taegeuk forms, on the other hand, are of equal quality as the Palgwe. Today's readers of Grandmaster Chun's Tae Kwon Do: The Korean Martial Art will likely notice a few things about the book which are a result of the evolving landscape of Tae Kwon Do since 1976 due to the rise of the art as an international sport. Many readers will notice hand techniques which are unfamiliar, such as wrist strikes, a variety of knuckle punches, and other exotic techniques. Modern readers are also likely to notice that the axe kick is not described, even in the updated edition. (The axe kick first originated in Korea and was not revealed to the West until the first World Taekwondo Games in Seoul, according to another book by Grandmaster Chun, Taekwondo Spirit and Practice: Beyond Self-Defense ). The spinning heel is another surprise. It does not explicitly appear in the book, but I believe that the spinning heel is the American name for what Grandmaster Chun calls the wheel kick. This belief is based on the fact that the names and techniques are very similar, so it is possible that the differences may well be an error in translation between languages, since heel and wheel sound alike. Grandmaster Chun's Tae Kwon Do: The Korean Martial Art also recognizes Tae Kwon Do as a martial art, a combat art. Many of today's martial arts books, written in the modern politically correct world of martial sport, seem to ignore that the martial arts were once meant to defeat, maim and kill if necessary. Grandmaster Chun's book does not mask this truth. Many of the self-defense scenarios in the book end with not only a wrist lock or arm bar, but with breaking the wrist, breaking the elbow, breaking the knee and/or tearing the shoulder out of its socket. This honesty provides the reader, likely a martial artist, with the information necessary to decide how far he can take the technique in practice and, if he is not careful, the full extent of the possible damage. Grandmaster Richard Chun's Tae Kwon Do: The Korean Martial Art is a comprehensive catalog of the state of Tae Kwon Do when it was published. Although the art has changed as it has evolved into a worldwide sport, Tae Kwon Do: The Korean Martial Art marks a time when Tae Kwon Do was new to the West, to the United States in particular, when students of the art learned more than forms and sparring for competition but also the broader spectrum of techniques to effectively defend themselves outside the dojang or tournament. Review: I'm very impressed. - I just recieved this book in the mail yesterday, and finished reading the entire thing last night. It was arouind 1:00 AM befoe I went to bed. I had been looking for a Taekwondo manual to use as a referance for some time, but I've been consitantly disapointed by the quality of books printed nowadays. They tend to focus entirely on Taekondo as a sport (something that irritates me, coming from a strictly non-competitive school that pursues Taekwondo as an art) and have rather poor instructions for poomsae. This book is much different. While it does have a chapter devoted to Taekwondo as a sport and the rules of tournaments (a chapter I skipped), the majoirty of the book is focused on basic techniques, training, sparring, self-defense, and poomsae. The pictures are very clear and serve well to demonstrate the different positions and movements. I am also pleased see the deep stances of Mr. Chun and his students. Not as quite as deep as my master teaches, but a refreshing change to the lazy, relaxed stances of the World Taekwondo Federation these days. This, along with the various punches and hand strikes (something ignored by many dojangs) make it a valuable resource for pratitioners of traditoonal Taekwondo. I have only a few issues with the book. First, the history section is a little revisonist, useing the name Taekwondo for much older Korean martial arts such as Taekkyun that are almost nothing like the modern martial art. This is probably a politically motivated attept to distance Taekwondo from Karate, the style it is most directly related to. Second, there are a variety of self defense techniques, but they tend to be a bit complicated. They would certainly work, but I prefer much more straight forward methods. In defending against a grab to the wrist, Chun teaches a variety of arm locks to break the elbow and wrist, where I would simply punch the attacker with my free hand. Perhaps I'm just more of a cave man than him. Also, the book includes self defense against a hand shake (the first self defense demonstrated), making me question Mr. Chun's sanity. Finally, while there is a lot of detail in explainging the palgwe poomsaes, the taegeuks are not shown as thoroughly. Since they were not in the original edition, there were no photos of the positons to use, and so they use drawings instead rather than take new photos that would look out of place next to the ones from 1976. Complaints aside, I would consider this a very valuable asset for anyone who does Taekwondo and is probably the best and most complete book available on the subject.
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| Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 64 Reviews |
M**E
One of the Original Tomes about Tae Kwon Do in America
I have recently completed Grandmaster Richard Chun's Tae Kwon Do: The Korean Martial Art, published in 1976. The book is prized by many Tae Kwon Do stylists since Grandmaster Chun is one of the original Korean masters to bring Tae Kwon Do to the United States and teach the art to Americans. The book is a veritable tome about Tae Kwon Do, covering a brief history of the art, blocking techniques, hand techniques, kick techniques, stances, striking surfaces, basic commands in Korean, stretching & warm-up techniques, vital target points, self-defense techniques, step sparring, free sparring, falling safely, throws, breaking, equipment, forms/patterns and tae kwon do as a sport. The original hardback edition, published in 1976, is a product of the state of Tae Kwon Do at that time. The original edition covers only Ki-Cho One form and all 8 Palgwe forms, but does so thoroughly, with plenty of instruction and photographs to clearly demonstrate each movement. Unlike many of today's martial arts books, Grandmaster Chun's book does not cut corners, photographs or explanation for the sake of either space or paper. Fortunately, an updated paperback edition is available today from YMAA Publication Center which also includes all 8 Taegeuk forms. In all other respects, the new edition appears to be an otherwise direct reprint of the original. However, the updated edition does not treat the Taegeuk forms equally. While the Palgwe forms are clearly photographed, the Taegeuks are only illustrated, completely lacking photographs or any depiction of transitions, which in today's modern sport competitions are very important. The written explanation of the Taegeuk forms, on the other hand, are of equal quality as the Palgwe. Today's readers of Grandmaster Chun's Tae Kwon Do: The Korean Martial Art will likely notice a few things about the book which are a result of the evolving landscape of Tae Kwon Do since 1976 due to the rise of the art as an international sport. Many readers will notice hand techniques which are unfamiliar, such as wrist strikes, a variety of knuckle punches, and other exotic techniques. Modern readers are also likely to notice that the axe kick is not described, even in the updated edition. (The axe kick first originated in Korea and was not revealed to the West until the first World Taekwondo Games in Seoul, according to another book by Grandmaster Chun, Taekwondo Spirit and Practice: Beyond Self-Defense ). The spinning heel is another surprise. It does not explicitly appear in the book, but I believe that the spinning heel is the American name for what Grandmaster Chun calls the wheel kick. This belief is based on the fact that the names and techniques are very similar, so it is possible that the differences may well be an error in translation between languages, since heel and wheel sound alike. Grandmaster Chun's Tae Kwon Do: The Korean Martial Art also recognizes Tae Kwon Do as a martial art, a combat art. Many of today's martial arts books, written in the modern politically correct world of martial sport, seem to ignore that the martial arts were once meant to defeat, maim and kill if necessary. Grandmaster Chun's book does not mask this truth. Many of the self-defense scenarios in the book end with not only a wrist lock or arm bar, but with breaking the wrist, breaking the elbow, breaking the knee and/or tearing the shoulder out of its socket. This honesty provides the reader, likely a martial artist, with the information necessary to decide how far he can take the technique in practice and, if he is not careful, the full extent of the possible damage. Grandmaster Richard Chun's Tae Kwon Do: The Korean Martial Art is a comprehensive catalog of the state of Tae Kwon Do when it was published. Although the art has changed as it has evolved into a worldwide sport, Tae Kwon Do: The Korean Martial Art marks a time when Tae Kwon Do was new to the West, to the United States in particular, when students of the art learned more than forms and sparring for competition but also the broader spectrum of techniques to effectively defend themselves outside the dojang or tournament.
W**N
I'm very impressed.
I just recieved this book in the mail yesterday, and finished reading the entire thing last night. It was arouind 1:00 AM befoe I went to bed. I had been looking for a Taekwondo manual to use as a referance for some time, but I've been consitantly disapointed by the quality of books printed nowadays. They tend to focus entirely on Taekondo as a sport (something that irritates me, coming from a strictly non-competitive school that pursues Taekwondo as an art) and have rather poor instructions for poomsae. This book is much different. While it does have a chapter devoted to Taekwondo as a sport and the rules of tournaments (a chapter I skipped), the majoirty of the book is focused on basic techniques, training, sparring, self-defense, and poomsae. The pictures are very clear and serve well to demonstrate the different positions and movements. I am also pleased see the deep stances of Mr. Chun and his students. Not as quite as deep as my master teaches, but a refreshing change to the lazy, relaxed stances of the World Taekwondo Federation these days. This, along with the various punches and hand strikes (something ignored by many dojangs) make it a valuable resource for pratitioners of traditoonal Taekwondo. I have only a few issues with the book. First, the history section is a little revisonist, useing the name Taekwondo for much older Korean martial arts such as Taekkyun that are almost nothing like the modern martial art. This is probably a politically motivated attept to distance Taekwondo from Karate, the style it is most directly related to. Second, there are a variety of self defense techniques, but they tend to be a bit complicated. They would certainly work, but I prefer much more straight forward methods. In defending against a grab to the wrist, Chun teaches a variety of arm locks to break the elbow and wrist, where I would simply punch the attacker with my free hand. Perhaps I'm just more of a cave man than him. Also, the book includes self defense against a hand shake (the first self defense demonstrated), making me question Mr. Chun's sanity. Finally, while there is a lot of detail in explainging the palgwe poomsaes, the taegeuks are not shown as thoroughly. Since they were not in the original edition, there were no photos of the positons to use, and so they use drawings instead rather than take new photos that would look out of place next to the ones from 1976. Complaints aside, I would consider this a very valuable asset for anyone who does Taekwondo and is probably the best and most complete book available on the subject.
M**R
Newer edition of previous publication
Excellent resource for Taekwondo practitioners.
G**Y
Taekwondo, the Korean martial art book
My brother recommended this book and he’s been doing taekwondo since the early 90s. This is a very long and thorough book with a lot of information and a lot of photos and it explains a lot of things and great detail. It’s about 630 pages or so if you’ve, currently practicing taekwondo, whether you just started or you’ve been doing it for decades I think this is a very good book for you to own.
J**R
Tae Kwon Do explained with tons of pictures
I bought this book because I started Tae Kwon Do. It is the best guide and has clear explanations and tons of pictures that will help understand the philosophy behind this Korean Martial Art, as well as improve the practice.
K**D
It's a very good book on tae kwon do
I had this book many years ago. It's a very good book on tae kwon do. The copy I received was like brand new!
L**E
Is an excellent excellent book for learningTae Kwon Do
Tae Kwon Do: The Korean...Is an excellent excellent book for learningTae Kwon Do!!!...It discusses stances, kicks, punches in detail....Most important to me was the demonstration of the numerous forms or Poomsaes...I would recommend this book to any practioner of the art of Tae Kwon Do...
L**T
The "bible" of taekwondo
This is an excellent resource, full of pictures (foot patterns + degrees), clear instructions and pictures of FRONT, BACK, AND SIDE, usually 2 pictures PER MOVE!! With just this one book alone, you can learn taekwondo on your own without any classes or teachers. It is that detailed.
T**S
Un libro completo
Pase algunos años buscando este libro. Lo compre en 1982 y se agoto la edicion en español. Ahora lo encontre en ingles. Es un libro completo para los practicantes de este arte. No es necesario asistir a una escuela. Aqui viene todo lo que se necesita para aprender este arte.
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