Book Recommendation(s)

[YoungMan]

I always get leery of books below the color belt level. The risk you run into is lower ranking students who read a book and misinterpret what it says out of lack of experience. As a color belt and junior black belt (1-3 Dan), your first priority is your Instructor. Above black belt, books can complement actual instruction if approached properly. Problem is, many people don't know how to differentiate between useful and junk.
I've read Y.H Park's books. Okay but not great. I suppose if you're Jidokwan they're not bad.
Richard Chun's books are really good. Some of the few I recommend.

 

[FieldDiscipline]

Richard Chun's books are really good. Some of the few I recommend.

A very well respected 8th dan told me the same thing.

 

[YoungMan]

Some of the technique is a little shorter than what I'm used to doing. But it's very comprehensive, covering many aspects of Taekwondo.
It also talks about things I think, unfortunately, many TKD schools are getting away from-philosophy, meditation, good mindset, how to practice properly etc. It even discusses proper uniforms.

 

[IcemanSK]

Many students also feel that, by having a book, they don't need an instructor.

That is very true. And with more & more dvd's coming out on every subject, it's even more of a popular thought. I can learn a form from a dvd, but without an instructor (knowledgeable 3rd party) to evaluate & critique me, I really have no sense how I really doing. If I can perform the technique the way I think it should be done (or the way it looks on the tv) surely, I must be doing it correctly.

That critique is why I travel 210 miles to a friend's school & why I get on a plane to see my GM as often as I can.

 

[YoungMan]

I have a friend and colleague who thinks that because he watches and studies a form done on a DVD, he knows how to do it. He may know the actions through observation and copying, but it doesn't mean he knows the form.
Likewise with a book, he thinks that because he reads a form or technique from a book and copies it, he knows how to do it. Ironically, it is when you practice a form or technique with a credible master or grandmaster that you realize how much you DON'T know.
Sadly, he is one of those types (master instructor no less) who thinks that if and because he knows the form practiced at the 6th or 7th dan level he must be the same as a 6th or 7th Dan.

 

[tkd1964]

I have a friend and colleague who thinks that because he watches and studies a form done on a DVD, he knows how to do it. He may know the actions through observation and copying, but it doesn't mean he knows the form.
Likewise with a book, he thinks that because he reads a form or technique from a book and copies it, he knows how to do it. Ironically, it is when you practice a form or technique with a credible master or grandmaster that you realize how much you DON'T know.
Sadly, he is one of those types (master instructor no less) who thinks that if and because he knows the form practiced at the 6th or 7th dan level he must be the same as a 6th or 7th Dan.

If books were all you needed we would only have Libraries and no schools or Universities or teachers.

 

[exile]

I'm beginning to find the tenor of this discussion somewhat strange.

The OP is requesting information about good books on TKD. Increasingly, the posts in response seem to have be carrying the message, 'don't read anything! Just do what your instructor says'. No matter how much critical intelligence someone has brought to bear on some aspect of the art, you keep that book they've written shut and just follow instructions!

I compare this attitude to that which my colleagues and I apply to our students, both undergraduate and graduate level. If a student comes to me to ask for extra reading on a topic, even a technically pretty tough one, we are happy to give them that reading, and to encourage them to try to absorb what's in that literature and try it out in practice. By the same token, some of the very best work being done in my field, and others currently, is being done by brilliant graduate students who haven't yet started on their Ph.D.s even, but who've made fundamental discoveries. And I know, from friends who teach in the math and physics departments, that the same is true over there. No one would dream of telling these students, 'don't read in other areas', or, 'do exactly what I tell you without reflecting on it'; it's precisely the reconstruction of the subject matter in the mind of the students who bring new knowledge to bear on old problems that leads to breakthroughs.

We have a lot of Asian students in our department and they often come to us with deferential attitudes from their own backgrounds that we try to rid them of as quickly as possible, because that sort of attitude ultimately inhibits the kind of thinking that leads to new knowledge and important discoveries. We like to get them to challenge the canonical sources we give them to read at every point. Making a career for yourself in any serious field depends, in part, on developing that kind of critical thinking. That's something that the European and North American education system stresses, and it's paid off handsomely—as vs. rote mimicry—in every domain it's been tried in. Naturally you don't simply hand the student a stack of books and say, go ahead, be brilliant, read these and then tell me about quantum field theory or the evolution of formal logic; you interact with them, supervise them and press them on what they know (and think they know)—but to tell students, 'Don't read anything different from what I tell you until you're on your second or third postdoc' would be absurd.

I know quite a few people in the MAs and I don't know one who thinks you can learn the art from a book. I've yet to meet a student who thinks that, either. Books supply your own critical thinking about what you're doing with grist for the mill. They can be immensely useful as reference guides (some better than others, obviously), as illustrations of methods of analysis, as presentations of history—all subject to challenge, of course, but out there, to be thought about and discussed Lectures and demonstrations, in academic or martial disciplines, are an important part of the story, but an education in these things requires much more than that, and I think books and other resources play an essential role in education regardless of the domain...

My sense of the OP is that the OPer is looking for recommendations on good sources in TKD; discouraging them from reading books on TKD doesn't seem to be speaking to that request.

 

[IcemanSK]

I'm beginning to find the tenor of this discussion somewhat strange.

The OP is requesting information about good books on TKD. Increasingly, the posts in response seem to have be carrying the message, 'don't read anything! Just do what your instructor says'. No matter how much critical intelligence someone has brought to bear on some aspect of the art, you keep that book shut and just follow instructions!

I compare this attitude to that which my colleagues and I apply to our students, both undergraduate and graduate level. If a student comes to me to ask for extra reading on a topic, even a technically pretty tough one, we are happy to give them that reading, and to encourage them to try to absorb what's in that literature and try it out in practice. By the same token, some of the very best work being done in my field, and others currently, is being done by brilliant graduate students who haven't yet started on their Ph.D.s even, but who've made fundamental discoveries. And I know, from friends who teach in the math and physics departments, that they same is true over there. No one would dream of telling these student, don't read in other areas or do exactly what I tell you without reflecting on it; it's precisely the reconstruction of the subject matter in the mind of the student who bring new knowledge to bear on old problems that leads to breakthroughs.

We have a lot of Asian students in our department and they often come to us with deferential attitudes from their own backgrounds that we try to rid them of as quickly as possible, because that sort of attitude ultimately inhibits the kind of thinking that leads to new knowledge and important discoveries. We like to get them to challenge the canonical sources we give them to read at every point. Making a career for yourself in any serious field depends, in part, on developing that kind of critical thinking. That's something that the European and North American education system stresses, and it's paid off handsomely—as vs. rote mimicry—in every domain it's been tried in. You don't simply hand the student a stack of books and say, go ahead, read these and then tell me about quantum field theory or the evolution of formal logic; you interact with them, supervise them and press them on what they know (and think they know)—but to tell students, 'Don't read anything different from what I tell you until you're on your second or third postdoc' would be absurd.

I know quite a few people in the MAs and I don't know one who thinks you can learn the art from a book. I've yet to meet a student who thinks that, either. Books supply your own critical thinking about what you're doing with grist for the mill. They can be immensely useful as reference guides (some better than others, obviously), as illustrations of methods of analysis, as presentations of history—all subject to challenge, of course, but out there, to be thought about and discussed Lectures and demonstrations, in academic or martial disciplines, are an important part of the story, but an education in these things requires much more than that, and I think books and other resources play an essential role in education regardless of the domain...

Point taken, exile. And you are right. Learning from outside material can inhance what is being taught in the dojang. We are certainly off track from the OP.

If I were to reccomend books or dvds, I'd got with the books or dvds on TKD by Sang H. Kim through turtlepress.com. Most of them are quite helpful.

 

[exile]

If I were to reccomend books or dvds, I'd got with the books or dvds on TKD by Sang H. Kim through turtlepress.com. Most of them are quite helpful.

He's very good, yes. And he's looked into many different aspects of the MAs—from physical training ideas (his book on training for people in their 40s and later is excellent) to the history of the MAs in Korea. An all-around Renaissance Man of the KMAs!

 

[dancingalone]

I have no sources to back this up, but weren't manuals coveted and sought after by Chinese martial arts people? At least that's the impression I got from watching kung fu theater at the Saturday matinee growing up.

 

[FieldDiscipline]

I'm pleased you mentioned Sang H. Kim again, I keep meaning to buy some of his stuff.

I think books are very good learning tools, especially when used to help people remember things, like patterns. You are always going to get the odd person who thinks because they have read Bruce Lee's book on the Tao, that they know Jeet Kune Do.

If they werent of value, they wouldnt have been written.

 

[zen4me]

I'm beginning to find the tenor of this discussion somewhat strange.

The OP is requesting information about good books on TKD. Increasingly, the posts in response seem to have be carrying the message, 'don't read anything! Just do what your instructor says'. No matter how much critical intelligence someone has brought to bear on some aspect of the art, you keep that book they've written shut and just follow instructions!

Thank you for this. It is one of the reasons (tho a small one) I stopped posting to my own thread!

I know quite a few people in the MAs and I don't know one who thinks you can learn the art from a book. I've yet to meet a student who thinks that, either. Books supply your own critical thinking about what you're doing with grist for the mill. They can be immensely useful as reference guides (some better than others, obviously), as illustrations of methods of analysis, as presentations of history—all subject to challenge, of course, but out there, to be thought about and discussed Lectures and demonstrations, in academic or martial disciplines, are an important part of the story, but an education in these things requires much more than that, and I think books and other resources play an essential role in education regardless of the domain...

My sense of the OP is that the OPer is looking for recommendations on good sources in TKD; discouraging them from reading books on TKD doesn't seem to be speaking to that request.

The thought behind my original post was to find something or things that would help my girlfriend overcome her fear of failure. For me having a book where I can look at the pictures, and read the text, while I have practiced what I've learned in class has been a benefit. She is the same way and so I thought I'd find out some options for her. I didn't realise my asking would cause such a large debate!

Thank you again to everyone for their thoughts/perspectives on the topic, and especially for the recommendations. I fear that as I have no clue what branch/flavor of TKD she is taking, I will have to go directly to the source...her Sensei and ask if she hasn't done so already. I just want to give her as many tools as possible to be successful no matter what.

 

[Kacey]

Thank you again to everyone for their thoughts/perspectives on the topic, and especially for the recommendations. I fear that as I have no clue what branch/flavor of TKD she is taking, I will have to go directly to the source...her Sensei and ask if she hasn't done so already. I just want to give her as many tools as possible to be successful no matter what.

As I said before (or meant to, if that's not the way it came out) - this is the course you need to take. Whatever textual resources your girlfriend's instructor recommends (or association, etc.) is the appropriate one. I would, as I said, be extremely cautious about buying any text or other media without knowing what the association accepts as representing their standards, or which variation she practices, or you will cause more confusion than you prevent. For a beginner, I would not suggest anything outside what she is doing. For black belts, certainly - research is great. For color belt students, especially very junior-ranked color belt students, any text or media that does not directly support the curriculum the student is learning is liable to cause more problems than it solves, especially for new beginners.