| "Traditional Taekwondo: Core Techniques, History, and | | | | description of ho shin sool, or self-defense techniques. |
| Philosophy" by Doug Cook is a book that all | | | | It is correct, that ho shin sool techniques provide |
| Taekwondo practitioners will want on their book shelf. | | | | solutions to grabs as written, but ho shin sool |
| It's also a book that will appeal to other Korean martial | | | | techniques also include defenses to strikes, kicks, and |
| artists and even those who don't practice Korean arts | | | | initiating moves. |
| but would like to understand more about the "foot, | | | | I liked the guidelines regarding training, especially the |
| hand, Way" from the land of the morning calm. | | | | emphasis on respect and safety. Then, for the |
| The book is divided into three parts, the first is History | | | | techniques actually demonstrated with pictures, there |
| and Culture, the second is Philosophy, and the final | | | | are 18 Il Su Sik (One-Step Sparring) combinations, 8 |
| section focuses on Technique. The first two sections | | | | Sam Su Sik (Three-Step Sparring) combinations, 18 Ho |
| were excellent and will help all those who practice the | | | | Shin Sool (self-defense techniques), and 16 defenses |
| art of Taekwondo better understand the history, | | | | for women. You can look at this a couple ways. First, |
| culture, and philosophy found within the art. These are | | | | just look at this section as a small sampling of |
| the sections that will also appeal to other Korean | | | | techniques you find in the taekwondo curriculum. That's |
| martial artists and even other arts. The third part, | | | | what it is. And as a small sampling, Cook did a good |
| Technique, did an alright job of showing a few | | | | job of adding it. However, to learn the techniques from |
| techniques from the Taekwondo curriculum, but was | | | | the book would be extremely difficult, just as learning |
| not as strong or as interesting as the first two parts. | | | | any martial art from a book is not recommended, you |
| It is extremely difficult to boil a country's history, | | | | need a live instructor and a partner to train with. I did |
| especially a country like Korea that has a long and | | | | have a fundamental disagreement with the way some |
| interesting history, into a few short chapters. I think | | | | of the ho shin sool techniques were demonstrated |
| Cook did a very good job of narrowing the history | | | | because correct body positions, movement, and |
| down to a few of the most relevant and interesting | | | | weight placement were not illustrated, and I also have |
| historical references, starting with the legend of | | | | difficulties with a couple of the techniques entirely. (i.e. |
| Tan-gun. He briefly covers the Three Kingdoms and | | | | blocking a pipe with your forearm) However, it is not |
| some of the key players in Korea's history. He has a | | | | the purpose of this review to engage in practicality of |
| bit on the Japanese Occupation from 1910 to 1945 | | | | techniques and so forth. So enough said. |
| which is important regarding Taekwodo's development. | | | | There is a short conclusion, and then the appendix |
| The next chapter on the Formative Years of | | | | sections. Appendix A was extremely interesting. It told |
| Taekwondo is very interesting and will be valuable for | | | | of a training experience with Grandmaster Gyoo Hyun |
| all those that want to know more history of the art. | | | | Lee in Korea. I found it interesting and it also made me |
| The Philosophy part had chapters on the role of | | | | homesick to go back and train in Korea. It really made |
| meditation in traditional taekwondo, the development | | | | me yearn for my next trip over there to train. There |
| and use of combat ki, and the relevance of poom-se | | | | were also some Korean/English terms and few martial |
| in traditional taekwondo. These chapters, again, were | | | | arts organizations listed. Nice additions to the book, |
| interesting and educational. I do think they provide the | | | | especially the training experience with Grandmaster |
| reader with a more in depth look at taekwondo than | | | | Lee. |
| just the popular sport sparring. | | | | For the History and Philosophy sections, I rate this book |
| The third, and longest part, focuses on technique. It is | | | | a 5, and for the Techniques section a 3. Therefore, the |
| the longest because it is primarily pictures, illustrating the | | | | book is a 4 overall and a book I recommend all |
| techniques chosen for the text. The chapters cover | | | | taekwondo stylists read and learn from. I also |
| conditioning exercises first, and then a chapter | | | | recommend it to any others who want to better |
| describing training methods. While I agree with most of | | | | understand the history, philosophy, and techniques of |
| what was written, there were a few things that I | | | | traditional taekwondo. |
| would have written differently, especially the | | | | |