This manual claims to be the “authority on Taekwondo competition” in Olympic style sparring. Lesley Jackson wades through all the spelling errors to gain a few useful competition tips in the WTF arena.
Taekwondo Kyorugi: Olympic Style Sparring
Author: Sang H. Kim, Kuk H. Chung, Kyung M. Lee; Publisher: Turtle Press; Year: 1994 (1st Edition), 1999 (2nd Edition); Pages: 218; Languages: English; RRP: £14.99
Review:
This book was originally written in 1994 and an updated second edition was released in 1999, no doubt in time for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, when WTF Taekwondo was at last inaugurated as a fully fledged Olympic sport. What the reader must be aware of before reading this training manual is that it is exclusively aimed at the WTF practitioner, whose eventual aim may be to enter the Olympics, along with their coach. The author describes this book as for, “serious Taekwondo competitors and instructors,” and does not really hold much interest for the beginner in Taekwondo sparring as the information given is strictly practical, technical and often quite dry. Although the ITF practitioner may glean some interesting tit-bits from the text, as with most WTF publications, there is no acknowledgement of the existence of the ITF style, as we are told that, “the official governing body of Taekwondo was formed in 1973.” Anyone with a more holistic knowledge of the politically choppy world of Taekwondo will know that there is a bit more to the story than that.
Although this book is now a few years old, there are not that many books aimed specifically at the Taekwondo fighter. It does attempt to offer the reader (who is most likely to be an experienced competitor or coach) a fairly comprehensive and factual coverage of this slice of Taekwondo practice. Basic skills are covered with very clear and specific photos to illustrate technique, as is preparation for competition, fitness and conditioning. The best illustration of this is chapter nine, “Taekwondo Fitness” where a comprehensive, accurate and broad range of stretching exercises are presented. Also, useful tips for all Taekwondo practitioners are offered in chapter five with the “Competitor Styles” section providing key information regarding tactics against various different opponents.
Where this book does fall down though is in its overall presentation and its inconsistent prose style. The majority of the text is presented in bullet points with various lists of techniques that would really only be of interest to a Taekwondo instructor, which is absolutely fine for the book’s specific purpose. However, grammar and spelling are not this text’s strongest point and can become irritating to read. The prose style is not easy on the eye, varying from short choppy sentences to vague statements like, “to achieve the highest state of mind, it is necessary for Taekwondo practitioners to experience constant battles between the real self and the illusive self.” If you persevere with this book, you can gain some useful tips like, “good footwork is a must for short fighters,” but do not use this publication for any deep thought on the philosophy of the martial arts. Use it to gain a few useful training tips in achieving the advantage in competition.
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