Book Description
This ground-breaking work is the first to comprehensively document the traditions, philosophy, and techniques of one of the world's most varied, exciting, and practical martial arts—Hapkido. More than 9,000 photographs introduce over 2,000 martial techniques, including strikes, kicks, blocks, avoiding movements, holds, joint locks, chokes, throws, falls, tumbling, ground fighting, and weapons. Numerous closeups show precise grips, leverage methods, pressure points, hitting surfaces, and direction of force. In addition to self-defense techniques, chapters are included on East Asian philosophy, martial arts history, anatomy, meditation, healing, and pressure point fighting, as well as in-depth, previously unpublished interviews with the world's preeminent Hapkido Grandmasters and renowned Grandmasters of related martial arts. Because of similarities between Hapkido and many other martial arts, including Taekwondo, Jujutsu, Aikido, Judo, and Tai Chi Chuan, this book is a useful reference for practitioners of all martial arts styles, from novices to masters. This unique work of exceptional quality is the definitive text on Hapkido, and destined to become a classic of martial arts literature. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (44)

Great book for every level of student
This is a wonderful book that I have enjoyed so much.It has given me so many new things to look forward to in my art.

great!
i bought this for my husband who is studying hapkido and he absolutly loves this book. recommend it to everyone!

Reference Book
Hapkido: Traditions,Philosophy,Technique is a very good reference book.First the Good
This book has a lot of pictures with close up and different angles to show details of specific moves.This book has a huge range of techniques from punches and kicks to submission holds to weapons.This book has an outstanding pressure point chart with not only pressure points but bone structure, organs, muscle structure, and even the nerve system.
The Bad
This book has tons of techniques, but there are alot of techniques that are just silly.The one on the cover for instance is a very pretty but not practical.He is performing two kicks, one with the ball of the foot and the other with his heel, and he is lifting himself up with his hands while doing them.This is not going to end a fight.The only other bad thing is that the pressure points that are referenced to in the book are accu pressure points.What does that mean?If you are not familar with that system you are constantly looking back to the accu pressure point chart and back to your technique.While this isn't horrible it can be time consuming.
Overall a very good buy but not a five star.

A true martial artist's dream.
I have been involved in martial arts and teaching for more than 20 years and this is one of the mast comprehensive manuals on martials arts that I have ever come across.It has some of the best technique in easy to follow daigrams and it is an excellent source of information for any and all martial artists

Great service for a great book
Book was delivered is great condition and ahead of schedule.Thanks! ... Read more

Book Description
This is the first introductory text to accurately portray Hapkido in its entirety. One of the world's most exciting, varied, and practical martial arts, Hapkido consists of thousands of techniques encompassing all forms of martial skills: strikes, kicks, blocks, avoiding movements, joint locks, chokes, throws, tumbling, ground fighting, weapons, meditation, and healing. Clearly written and expertly photographed by the author of the landmark Hapkido: Traditions, Philosophy, Technique, this unique book is essential reading for anyone seeking a concise, honest, and accurate overview of Hapkido's history, philosophy, and techniques. It includes:
Over 680 high-quality photographs, and 48 illustrations
More photos and techniques than any similarly priced competitive book
Precise anatomical drawings of 83 common Oriental pressure points
Comprehensive chapters on history and philosophy
Sixty practical self-defense techniques, spanning most types of attacks
Basic material to guide novices during their initial training
Essential reading for anyone seeking a concise overview of Hapkido ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A good introduction to Hapkido
This is a very good book for anyone interested in learning Hapkido. It explains the basics of the art very well, but doesn't cover many details. Besides its relative lack of complexity, my only other complaint is that this book seems to be just one big ad for the larger and more complete version.

Hapkido the little book.
If you have Tedeschi's first book, the big one Hapkido trad/phil/tech.
You will be very upset when you find out that this book is a very
condensed version of that book.
The first book was like 1300 pages, this book was something
like 200 pages. It has the same everything, pictures, techniques
, information just condensed. I was hoping for something new.
And I felt like I was jipped, because it was not listed anywhere
that this book is useless if you already have the big one.

Yes the book is probably the best intro to Hapkido that I've seen.
For sure the big book is the best that I have ever seen on the art
of Hapkido. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

Good Resource
I think this book does a great job of presenting an overview of the self defense techniques and the overall philosophy of Hapkido.I also like the history of hapkido that is presented in this book.It does a good job of providing the reader with a deeper understanding of the art.

This book is a good resource and a good addition to anyone's self defense library.

Not in-depth, but good.
This very thin book covers some good variations on locks & throws as well as some interesting self-defense options. The information is a good supplement if you already have a strong foundation in these types martial arts techniques.
A very big drawback is that the sequential pictures are not clear at all, contrary to what is stated in the editorial review. Fortunately the instructions of each technique should suffice, but only if you are familiar with the type of technique presented.

Understandably Good
As one of the few practitioners of Hapkido in Hong Kong I have read Scott Shaw's articles on Hapkido in magazines like Black Belt and Taekwondo Times for years.So, it was no surpirse to me when I picked up this book that I found it to be well put together and a great source of information on this advanced system of self-defense.There are two things I really like about this book.The first is the presentation of the true history of Hapkdio.The second is that each self-defense technique is clearly and completely described.This book is a great source of reference on Hapkido.RECOMMENDED.

Hapkido is Self Defense
This is a straight to the point book on Hapkido Self Defense. No nonsense, just straight-ahead techniques. Recommended!

Excellent Hapkido Self Defense Text Book
Having practice the martial arts for over ten years, I find this book to be an excellent resource for both the Korean martial art of hapkido and self defense.The history section is great.The ki section is very interesting.The self defense section is very detailed and teaches true hapkido.This book is a necessary addition to anyone library.Recommended. ... Read more

Book Description
Here is the first complete book in English on hapkido, the kick-oriented Korean martial art. Included are warm-up exercises, basic fighting position, punching and striking, blocks and kicks, and hapkido defenses. Illustrated with more than 500 dynamic photographs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

GM Bong Soo Han was one of the Great HKD Grand Masters
As I write this review, it has been just over a year since Grandmaster Bong Soo Han passed away.It was quite a loss for the Hapkido community.Many of us first learned of Hapkido in the 1970s from the Billy Jack movies, with GM doing the fight scenes in Billy Jack, and then having a speaking roll as a Hapkido master in Trial of Billy Jack.

This book, published back when those movies first came out was one of the first English books on the art of Hapkido.Unfortunately, like other reviewers have already posted, the book offers nowhere near what Hapkido offers or the wealth of Hapkido knowledge GM Has possessed.

The book has a tiny bit of history and philosophy (3 pages) and then four pages about tan-jon breathing,an important part of Hapkido training.Then the book illustrates pictures of the striking parts of one's body.After that, there are 20 some pages of basic warm up and stretching drills.After that, you have a basic picture text of fighting positions, strikes, blocks, and kicks.All of these are shown with photographs with brief written descriptions.

The next section of Hapkido Defenses focuses mainly on punching and kicking back after blocking incoming strikes and kicks.The joint locks and throws that hapkido is known for are missing in these defenses.

Finally, in the very last chapter titled Self-Defense Techniques, with a female performing the techniques and not GM Han, we see our first joint lock.It is an outer wrist lock applied against a cross arm grab.There is one other arm bar type technique, and that's about it for the devastating joint locks that the hapkido curriculum contains.(Joint locks, by the way, are probably my favorite techniques of hapkido, thus the reason I spend a lot of time teaching them in seminars and videos)The book also lacked any mention of the weapons hapkido contains.

Overall, there are better resources for hapkido.And while there are not nearly as many books on hapkido as some other arts, this book is one of the most lacking in regards to joint locks, throws, and weapons that hapkido is know for.

So why the five stars?Good question.I gave the book five stars out of respect for Grand Master Han.I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet him at his school a number of years ago, and then to return to his school to take part in a black belt class he was teaching.He was one of the pioneers of hapkido and he lived and shared the art with so many.I knew the book was not the best book on hapkido when I purchased it.But because it was by GM Han, I wanted it in my hapkido library.For that reason, out of respect for one of the great hapkido Grand Masters, I recommend the book for any hapkidoin's library.

Not what I experienced
I trained at Grand Master Han's studio in Santa Monica, CA in the late '80s. I was a blue belt working for my brown when I moved and could no longer attend classes there. This book is an extremely oversimplified representation of what I experienced. I cannot explain the shortcomings of the book other than it being dated and one of the first books written in English on the subject. Lost in translation? Maybe. Grand Master Han was a great man. This book is a pale representation of his teachings.

Early, important work
I agree with James Lee that the people who criticize this book don't understand its significance. It was one of the first books out in English on Hapkido, and so of course it presents the style's basic techniques in a non-technical and easy to understand way. At the time few people knew what Hapkido was, and O'Hara's book was designed as a basic intro to the art, not a definitive text. The book is brief and could have been longer, to be sure, but that's what further volumes are for.

I also was fortunate enough once to visit Master Han's studio in Los Angeles back in the early 70s and had a chance to observe his class, and see one of his black belts teach, and they were practicing the same basics presented in this book.

Of course, with the easy availability of inexpensive videos these days, older books like this are less important than they were at the time, since you can learn so much more by watching the techniques in action. But for its time, this was a pioneering effort and introduced the art of Hapkido to many people for the first time.

Great Place to Start
As a Hapkido practitioner for over twenty years, this was the first book I purchased on the subject. It is written by one of the most respected masters of the art in the world and it presents the essential elements of this style in a direct and easy to understand format.

People who have criticized this book do not understand the essential importance of the basics in Hapkido.This is what this book presents, the essential basics, which all of the advanced techniques of Hapkido are based upon.

This book is a must for any library on Hapkido.

The first significant book on hapkido available in English
I think the buyer of this book should take into consideration that this was the first significant book published on the subject of Korean Hapkido in English. Joon M Lee also published in the 1970s but few people saw his 2 books as they never became really popular.

There now exist more extensive books of worth by Myung Kwang-Sik and Kimm He-Young but this book by Master Han provided those wishing to learn more about the art with a good overview of hapkido's general tactics and range of techniques performed by a true master.

I think it is worthwhile because it features a truly great teacher performing the basics of the art. ... Read more

Book Description
The Korean Art of Self Defense. A fully illustrated book on the Martial Art of Hap Ki Do.Filled with over 400 photographs.Designed to show Hap Ki Do in a easy to follow step by step method for the beginner.Included are close-up photos of various wristlocks, arrows to show certain steps and minimal wording on the steps, to make this book very easy to follow. The large format (8.5 x 11) also makes this book easy to read and handle.

The Hap Ki Do practitioner diverts or suppresses an attackers flow of energy peacefully, this diversion allows him to use the attackers power against himself leading to the attacker's defeat.Through the use of certain skeletal joints and pressure points, very little strength is needed to overcome an opponent. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Hap Ki DO by Master Choe
A complete waste of money.Way too basic to learn anything new for anyone that has even minimal experience in Hapkido.And some of the pictures were poorly taken and made it hard to see the grip applied throughout the entire technique.I looked at this book for all of MAYBE 5 minutes!

great forreference
I would say if you are new to Hapkido, orlooking maby to join a class then this book is amust. I just started several months I use it as a reference. The one thing you will find about Hapkido is there are slight varations fom school to school. The one thing I do recomened is if you are going at a school look at what federation your school belongs to. Just happends my school belongs to this association. I gave this a five rating for couple reasons. The pictures, directions are easy to follow,great if you want to have a reference,or you want to get a friend willing let to practice.The one negative I did find on this book was that it should went overbreaking falls better. There isn't to many Hapkido books out there good as this! IT was money well spent, I am giving it ***** !

Hap Ki Do:The Korean Art of Self Defense
Excellent Hap Ki Do book.I'm a taekwondo'er and found this book very easy to understand with big clear pictures for illustration.I've purchased all three of Master Choe's HKD books and found a certain amount of redundancy in the techniques, but highly recommend all three any way.I originally found one of these in the library and realized right away that these books were the best I've found.

Not for Beginners
This book is straight to the point on joint locks and take downs.The book is broken down into chapters by how the joint is locked with varying grabs and attacks.One must already have good control and be familiar with stretching, striking and falling before applying this text.Master Choe's other book (Practical Hapkido Textbook) is a better introduction and includes some striking and falling techniques.

Good for beginners
This book is excellent for those just beginning Hapkido or are at least low ranking.Advanced Hapkido practitioners would not find it very useful.The photographs are excellent in showing proper hand position and body movements.However, the section on breaking falls is incomplete.Theauthor fails to describe or show proper body positioning for left side,right side, back, and front falls; he only shows the rolling fall.Anyoneinterested in martial arts should learn in a Dojang with a competentinstructor, not from a book.Use this book to supplement your study ofHapkido, not as your only source.With that in mind, I would definatelyrecommend this book. ... Read more

Product Description
An excellent book on Hapkido taught by Master Chung Kee Tae.Included are pressure points, throws strikes and all the good stuff that make up Hapkido one of Koreas strongest fighting arts. 120 pages of knowledge and information including escapes falls stretching and lots more make this a must have book for anyone interested in the art of Hapkido. ... Read more

Book Description
Teacher, Warrior, Master Choe continues his outstanding series of books on the Korean Martial Art of Hap Ki Do. Hap Ki Do is a discipline of coordination, a way of strengthening the mind and body, of fusing the individuals physical and mental powers so that he or she will emerge as a more fully integrated human being.Master Choe has beautifully intertwined theory and philosophy along with basic and advanced self defense techniques in this third book Hap Ki Do: A Guide To Black Belt Studies.Over 400 photographs of unparalleled clarity and rich text illustrating joint lock, throwing and finishing techniques.Realizing the student studying to be a black belt is eager to learn the many techniques to test for Black Belt Master Choe turns his focus on the theory and philosophy of Hap Ki Do suggesting to the student to think and establish a martial moral philosophy as well as practicing Hap Ki Do techniques.The student of martial arts or student of life will relish in every word of wisdom that takes them to a deeper understanding of their own style and moral philosophy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

"A Guide to Black Belt Studies"? Not quite.
The title of this book, in my opinion, is misleading. I was under the impression that it would lead a Hapkido student from white belt through black belt, but no. As you can tell from the table of contents, this book is not organized according to belt progressions. In fact, there is no mention which technique belongs to which belt/ranking category.

I purchased this book, mainly because I was overwhelmed by the number of techniques that I had to learn from my Hapkido school, and I thought a book that showed details and sequences of those techniques would greatly aid my learning. (At my dojang, which belongs to Korea Hapkido Federation, most techniques do not have proper names but are simply numbered. e.g., Technique #1, #2, etc. It can test the limits of your memory when dozens and dozens of these techniques pile up on you.)

For my own purposes, this book is of little use. Most of the techniques I have been learning are not even covered in this book. The author of this book, Master Choe, heads the World Hapkido Federation, different from Korea Hapkido Federation. Hapkido schools are divided into many federations, and apparently each federation adopts different teaching methods and techniques. If I had the chance to look over this book prior to purchasing it, I would have passed.

While the book includes some nifty throws and grappling moves that are missing in other hapkido books, the bulk of the material is based on joint locks that can be applied in response to a wrist grab. There is no section on any kicking or punching.

The techniques illustrated here can definitely help a hapkido practitioner. But a guide to black belt studies? I think not.

very good, but similar to other text
This book is an extended version of Master Choe's other book, Hap Ki Do The Korean Art of Self Defense.The new book is arranged a little better and includes more text on philosophy, training and teaching techniques.This book is a great reference and is worth getting, even if you already have the other book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Hard Hitting Hapkido
Some of the previous reviewers have been exceptionally tough on this book.My copy is dated 1988, and I believe that this was an exceptionally good book for its time.

Within this book, there is a good history of Hapkido, and as well some basic dojang rules.An instructor might want to repeat these to his students or include the thoughts in an introductory handout for new students.There are many good black and white illustrations for the new student, and I would think that this is a very good purchase.

As an instructor of Combat Hapkido, (dare I call it John Pellegrini's syllabus) I was interested in the similarities and the differences, and I found it enlightening.Spear did a very good job, and I will keep this book on my Martial Arts shelf.I doubt that I will re-read it again, but it served its purpose for me.

There are some critical remarks made by other reviewers about the reality of being punched, and simply leaving the punch out there for someone to work on.While it is true that this does look artificial, how does one capture the speed of a punch with a black and white photograph? Spear makes it clear in the text of his book that this is the problem, but I guess one of the harshly worded reviews was written by someone who only looked at the pictures.

Examining the notion that someone would "leave their" arm out there, I find that this is EXACTLY what happens when an attacker gets a little tired.As well, I find that small joint locks, e.g. Hapkido joint manipulations can easily be done on a person when the fight goes to the ground.If you find yourself on the top or the bottom, hit someone in the face, and they will push you away with both hands.They will want to keep you away, and "give you a hand, or wrist, or elbow" for you to "play with". As well, some people like to grab you with one hand, and strike you with the other.Gee....there are many situations that would apply to small joint manipulations.I hope that the harsh and negative reviewers return, and consider these remarks.A text is supposed to teach you something, and because you can not figure it out immediately, this does not make the book useless.It may speak to the reader, more than the author.

This book is NOT about everything to be said about Hapkido, but it is a good introduction.While I wish that it dealt with more joint locks, and used Korean terms, it is an above average book.Thank you Robert K. Spear.

Good for what it is
As one of the first, mass-market, books to be published on the subject of Hapkido, I believe that this book is good for what it is.It presents a good overview of the techniques of Hapkido and provides the reader with important food for thought.

There is many way to second guess, critique, and criticize an author and publishing company regarding any book on the martial arts.But overall, I believe that the presentation of techniques and the overall understandings of Hapkido that are presented in this book are a good source of information to readers at any level of expertise in Hapkido.

Okay but could be better
I've heard good things about Mr. Spear's knowledge and skill but this book really doesn't show that in the best light in my opinion, although it might be adequate as a basic introduction to the art. I agree with the other comments here that the photos are a little dark and could be better, although they're not bad. However, the comments by another person here that the material seems a little skimpy is addressed by the author, when he says the material in each of the colored belt sections is only a sample of the actual syllabus.

For someone without access to other material on Hapkido, this would probably be okay as an introduction. However, what with the advent of very high-quality videos on many martial arts, I find it amazing that anyone is still writing and publishing books on the martial arts. Many of these videos are available used on e Bay for less than one would pay for a new book, and one can actually see the martial arts in action and get some idea of what they are like in practice.

However, there is some useful information here. The author says that Hapkido is a combination of the ancient tae kyun art and modern Japanese jiujutsu, which I always suspected. There was another early Korean art called soobak that could also have contributed, but there's no mention of that. But tae kyun was adopted for training the sons of the nobility in earlier centuries because of its reputation as an effective fighting art.

After a brief history of the art, most of the book is divided into technique sections which give some of the required techniques for each belt rank, which are green blue, red, and black. There are also sections on cooling down exercises, pressure points of the human body, breakfalls, and some knife and club and weapons defenses.

After looking at the pictures of knife defense, I would have to say this is not the system's strong suit. Knife defense and tactics are handled much better by the Indonesian systems of Silat and the Filipino kali/escrima systems, which are far more well known today than when this book was published back in 1987.

One of the more interesting sections is on escape from chokes and throws, but only three are shown. This could have been a longer and much more interesting section. There is a brief presentation of upper level black belt techniques such as cane, short stick, and umbrella defense, which are some of the better material in the book.

After 40 years of studying and teaching martial arts, Hapkido is one of the few arts I don't have at least some exposure to or formal background in. I would have been less impressed with the art had I not already had a Hapkido video that was quite good and showed how it looks in action, and it appeared to be an art with a good integration between hand and foot technique and locking and throwing. Even today there aren't many videos on the art available, but I've heard the one from Palladin Press is quite good although I haven't seen it personally.

Myfirst book on hapkido!
After I earned my yellow belt in hapkido about 5 years ago,I
decided to learn as much as I could about the art.Mr Spear's
book was advertised in a martial arts magazine I was reading,
so I decided to order it.To this day I still refer to it a lot
when helping my senior instructor plan class.He owns it as well
and thinks highly of it.I highly recommend it to anyone interested in hapkido(especially beginners).
Mitch Jenkins

a good general over view
I am a hapkido instructor and found this book to be a very good all be it brief summary of hapkido.I was impressed with what was covered and how it was covered.I just wish the book was longer:)It is not the type of book you are going to read and become a hapkidoist, but if you are interested in refining your own techniques or just getting another view of the world of hapkdio then I recommend it. ... Read more

Product Description
The Korean martial art of Hapkido is an advanced system of self-defense. It is designed to teach its practitioners exacting methods to defend against all types of attacks.In this book, Hapkido Master Scott Shaw details refined aspects of this martial art, in order to provide the reader with an enhanced sense of self-defense awareness and combat understanding. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

EVADE, INVADE, CONTROL!
I found this piece a welcomed and grossly overdue twist on "turn the other cheek." It gives the Christian WARRIOR a well written path to understanding his/her place in this twisted society of drugs, gangs, crime, political correctness,and terrorism to name a few.

I believe I read a passage or two in the Bible where God sent his followers into battle. We have a new battle raging in these troubled times and you are NOT spreading God's Word if your DEAD! I'm alive, I've seen dead, ALIVE is BETTER!

Open your mind, sit down with this masterpiece, and reflect on the wealth of knowledge shared by these two Christian Warriors of today.

Christian Martial Art?
I'm surprised the reviewer didn't describe the specific aspects of the book he found so informative and would welcome an explanation of what a "Christian Martial Art" is.I thought it was about Hapkido.

I really enjoyed this book!
Encounter the Warrior's Heart is a must-have for your technical library. Joseph Lumpkin and Daryl Covington have done a wonderful job of presenting the philosophy of Shinsei Hapkido. This book will help you better understand fighting concepts and strategies, plus it is easy to read. Many of the technical aspects taught can be adapted to other styles of martial arts. Shinsei Hapkido is a Christian martial art that has something for every martial artist. ... Read more

Product Description
Hapkido beginers tranning Manual By Grand Master Kwan Sik Myung, 10th dan President of the World Hapkido Federation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

One of the Must-Have Hapkido Books
Along with Dr. He-young Kimm's Hapkido I, this book is one of the best references for Hapkido available. Supplemented by his second volume "Special Self Protection Techniques" makes for an attractive, easy to carry and reference set for any serious student of Hapkido. It is a good sized book, solid and sturdy but a lot more portable and easy to handle than Dr. Kimm's Hapkido I. It provides a nice reference for everything from basic strikes to falls and various techniques.

I have only two complaints about the book. The first complaint is that it is all in English and Romanized Korean. I would have liked to had have the Hangeul for the techniques as well. (The next book fixes this though)

My other complaint about the book falls within the "History" aspect, especially along the lines of:

"Hapkido was introduced to Korea along with Buddhism. Hapkido techniques were originally known and handed down through the heirarchy of monks, ruling families and royal officials as a means of self protection and personal safety.

Therefore it wasn't known among the common classes. Often the origin of Hapkido is misunderstood and thought to be a form of Chinese or Japanese martial art." (p. 24)

and

"Today Hapkido has been brought to light by the father of Hapkido, Yong Sool Choi (1904- ). Yong Sool Choi had studied in a deep mountain since the age of nine. By the time he came back to the world, Korea had been liberated from Japanese colonialrule (sic). Choi has taught all of the techniques to a few outstanding disciples." pp. 26-27

Overlooking the influence of Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu and the evolution of the art by senior students like Ji Han Jae can be justified by the Nationalistic era of its publication and politics of the time, but it still does a disservice by "making up" history. Regardless this book is a must-have. I wish he would have modified the "history" section in the next book, but he didn't, and even as recent as 2002 still quotes from the "history" in these books in articles for martial arts magazines.
Regardless, the history section is just a small portion of the book and the rest of the book is well worth the money.

This is an excellent book by the founder of the WHF.
As a student of Hapkido, I felt I should make plain that theauthor and publisher of this excellent book is the founder and head ofthe World Hapkido Federation, and holds a 10th degree black belt in Hapkido.This 300+ page book covers techniques ranging from beginning level to black belt.While you cannot learn a martial art from a book, it is a handy reminder and study aid for the student. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

One of the Main Hapkido Books
This provides a nice reference for everything in GM Myung's style of Hapkido from basic strikes to falls and various techniques.There is a wealth of basic material and lots of situational defense techniques, all clearly illustrated with photos and detailed captions. It is a good sized book, solid and sturdy, but a lot more portable and easy to handle than Dr. Kimm's "Hapkido I" (Hapkido Bible). It is also a bit cheaper. Combined with the second book ("Special Self Protection Techniques") it makes for a great depth of reference for Hapkido.

I have only two complaints about the book. The first complaint is that it is all in English and Romanized Korean. I would have liked to had have the Hangeul for the techniques as well. (The next book, "Special Self Protection Techniques", fixes this though)

My other complaint about the book falls within the "History" aspect, especially along the lines of of ignoring the influnce of Japanese arts and the notions of Choi Yong-sool coming up with Hapkdio after meditating in the mountains. The influence of Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu and the impact of other key players should have been explored more in this book, which really represented one of the first comprehensive books on Hapkido out there. Unfortunately, none of the following books or even magazine articles (in the early 2000s) have rectified this historical notion either. I wouldn't let that distract from buying this book, it really is a great book and valuable addition to the Hapkdio library.

Must Have
Though this book focuses primarily on the fundamental techniques of Hapkido, it is a Must Read.This book provided both the beginner and the long time practitioner (like myself) with essential information about the Korean art of self defense. ... Read more

Book Description
The essence of a martial art is competition.The spirit and skill of competition is the foundation of our successful daily lives in society in which we are often confronted by aggressors.Thus, we see the essence of martial arts is to cope with these situations.Since any martial art is a means of self-defense against an aggressor and further, a defense against injustice, the competition of martial arts should thus be accompanied with spiritual refinement and a sense of patience. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Hapkido at its finest.
To the very best of my knowledge, without a question, this book is the best work on Hapkido I have had the good fortune to study.But at the outset, I must confess that my black belt rank is in Combat Hapkido, regardless this is well organized, illustrated with good, but black and white pictures.I am exceptionally happy that many of the joint manipulative techniques have the Korean names as well as the English.This is going to help round out the curriculum which I teach.

For younger people, there are some fantastic acrobatic techniques included, and I think that this might appeal to many.But as I am not young, and not as flexible this does not concern me as much.Yet, the sections on self-defense with joint manipulations was fabulous.There were several sections of this material, and the exceptionally logical sequence and pacing is a testament to Kwang--Sik Myung 10th Dan status.

This book is not simply included into my large Martial Arts section of my personal library, more accurately it is now taking "centre stage".

Excellent Reference Book
This is a continuation of material covered in his "Ancient Art of Masters".This one is a good sized book with a softbound cover, making it very portable and easy to use, yet covers a lot of material. There is a great depth of detail covering the basic strikes as well as combination and special combination strikes. There is a wealth of material covered for specific self defense situations ranging from wrist grabs to garment grabs to kick defense (and everything in between).Reagrdless of the editorial comments, this is a book about self defense skills, not martial competition.

The photo layouts and such are very clear and well done, making it very easy to reference the material. For students of GM Myung's system, I imagine this is a very handy reference. For martial artists of other Hapkido schools (or other traditions) it presents a grand survey of what Hapkido is from its physical techniques.

Of special interest is that the book is in English and Korean (Hangeul) with the text repeated in each language side by side in columns, making references to Korean words and such very, very easy. For anyone interested in such things, this book is a must-have (most books either are all Korean or all English w/ romanized Korean).


The only complaint I have is that the history section was not updated (and corrected) since the previous book. As a "newer" book, it would have been a good time to fix this. But don't let that prevent you from buying this book. This book, along with "Anceint Art of Masters" and Dr. Kimm's "Hapkido I" would make for an excellent reference library for Hapkido enthusiasts. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good Book, Needs More
I was able to read this book thoroughly the other day and it didn't really have much in the terms of written content, most of it is just pictures with descriptions of the techniques and how to execute them.

If you are looking for a book with a bit of theory and something with written substance, this really isn't the book for you. However, if you work well with pictures and explanations then you might just do well with this book.

One thing I wanted to see more of those, since the book was in kind of a picture with description style was, more pictures, particularly those close-ups with hand placement and maybe arrows with movement, other than that, it was fine, no real complaints. ... Read more

Product Description
Intermidaite Tranning for the Hapkido Practitioner 4th and 3rd Gup, By Grand Master kwan Sik Myung 10th Dan President of The World Hapkido Federation ... Read more