Tae Kwon Do: The Ultimate Reference Guide to the World's Most Popular Martial Art, Third Edition

I gained a simple understanding of the basic movements of Tae Kwon do.

If you are interested in the Kukkiwon, or WTF exposition of the Tae Kwon Do system up to black belt' this is the signature book to have. I have used this book as a reference for many years. It is well organized and has the philosophy, history, poomse (forms) in clear unambiguous detail as well as basic stances, strikes, kicks and self defense techniques . There is also a glossary with terminology and tournament rules. It is quite thorough and uncompromising. Tae Kwon Do , being an Olympic sport has clear criteria for judging the participants performance in sparring, poomse, etiquette, and such. This book is well suited for the student who needs to understand and reference the essential and accepted core curriculum. While individual style and improvisation may have a place in ongoing training efforts or cross training ( note that karate, kung fu, etc may be more varied from teacher to teacher while following general patterns) Tae Kwon Do requires a more standardized adherence to the methods and techniques it teachs , with Individual stylistic differences being more apparent at the advanced levels. While individual schools may teach auxiliary methods/techniques, this book is clearly the standard for assuring adherence to the core Tae Kwon Do methodology. It is also a great reference for students who, for what ever reason ,have lapsed in formal training or simply want to keep up what they learned. Nothing however, is a substitute for formal training if available. A truly excellent resource and indeed more could be said, all positive.

Excellent and educational read. Will purchase the next book in series.Learned a lot of background information . Would highly recommend it for any level of Tae Quan Do.

At the time of this review, I am at a purple belt. My dojan practices the traditional art of fist and hand fighting, so I tend to gravitate towards the classical style rather than the ATA adaptations. Much of the contents are familiar to me since my instructors have introduced them to me via practice. The poomsaes are covered aside from those vital for Belt Testing such as the Dosan, the Chon-Ji, and Won Yo forms. I was really looking forward to those, but these aren’t included. The basics are definitely here including stretches, kicks, and punches. It’s a basic manual overall and it covers some essentials including the application in self-defense and sparring. I wouldn’t deem this as the “ultimate” reference, but it is indeed a superior reference to enhance, compliment, or even inform the practitioner’s study of the art as it pays tribute to the classical style. It’s worthy to include in one’s library but lower your expectations for advanced techniques.

I got this book to add to my library for reference purposes. I read it from cover to cover, followed the pictures associated with the Taegeuk forms. Was impressed by the thoroughness of the authors and how much knowledge and dedication they put into it! Definitely an item to add to your library if you are a serious student of Taekwondo.

After 4 years just earned 1st Dan Black belt and this book help me understand my techniques that I was learning from my master...definitely recommend.

good history of Taekwondo and had basic blocks and stretches. i was looking for the forms so that i could have a written copy.

One of the BEST step by step guide to Taekwondo - I have bought a number of Taekwondo books and this one is by far the best that I've found. I'm impressed that the forms are also in the book - step by step. I'm deeply thankful that I found this book and I highly recommend it to any beginner or someone to is interested in Taekwondo!