Hapkido: Korean Art of Self-Defense

The person who originally instructed Han in Hapkido basics was Max Baer the famous pugilist. This book contains all the basic Hapkido boxing movements anyone needs to know. If you master all the techniques in this book, the student need not fear anyone. Muhammed Ali was another Hapkido student. If you review his early fights, he uses exclusively the first three boxing techniques seen in this book. Buy this book and hoard it as a classic. Once it is out of print, it will be gone.

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 Han 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 known 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. Reviewed by Alain Burrese, J.D., author of Hard-Won Wisdom From the School of Hard Knocks and the dvds: Hapkido Hoshinsul, Streetfighting Essentials, Hapkido Cane, the Lock On Joint Locking Essentials series and articles including a regular column on neg

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.

I read most of the reviews here and thought I should share my own perspective.This book is an excellent introduction to Hapkido written by the best authority on the subject. You are not going to get your black belt by reading this book. If you are already a black belt, you may find this book or any other book on another martial arts philosophy somewhat simplistic.This book on the other hand introduces you to the philosophy of Hapkido and some of the key components of it. It would help you understand Hapkido better and will in fact show you the eclectic nature of it. I found it very helpful and recommend it to those who are not in love with any one style and have an open mind and yearn for learning.

This is a Great Book on Hapkido! Grandmaster Bong Soo Han is the Father of American Hapkido. Not only was this the first book published on this art, but it is full of techniques and understandings. There is no way that the true student of Traditional Hapkido would not love this book. What I like most about this book is that it does an excellent job of demonstrating the kicks of Hapkido and how they can be used in self defense. It also does a great job of demonstrating the self defense applications of Hapkido's hand and arm strikes.If you want Hapkido self defense, then read Master Scott Shaw's book on Hapkido. If you want kicks and hand strikes, this is the book for you. BUY THIS BOOK!