Hapkido: The Integrated Fighting Art

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.

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'sbook 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 lotwhen helping my senior instructor plan class.He owns it as welland thinks highly of it.I highly recommend it to anyone interested in hapkido(especially beginners).Mitch Jenkins

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.

Robert K. Spear's introduction candidly cautions as follows: "The important aspect of this book is that it is just a beginning." The 184 page manual neither purports to be an exhaustive study of this complex, pragmatic martial art nor does it suggest that Hapkido can be mastered from a book alone. It is what the author says it is: a beginning. The author provides just enough information on the history, philosophy and instruction of Hapkido for the reader to decide whether it is a combat system suitable for them warranting further examination. The clear instructions and not-so-clear photographs provided are adequate to arm even the neophyte student of hand-to-hand combat with useful techniques in addition to a sampling of how the system operates. Only enticing glimpses of advanced levels of study with and without weapons are provided. The book gets five stars because you get more than you bargain for considering the price: you get a great beginning to a fascinating martial art. My only disappointmet with the book was that it was not 500 pages longer.

Robert K. Spear's introduction candidly cautions as follows: "The important aspect of this book is that it is just a beginning." The 184 page manual neither purports to be an exhaustive study of this complex, pragmatic martial art nor does it suggest that Hapkido can be mastered from a book alone. It is what the author says it is: a beginning. The author provides just enough information on the history, philosophy and instruction of Hapkido for the reader to decide whether it is a combat system suitable for them warranting further examination. The clear instructions and not-so-clear photographs provided are adequate to arm even the neophyte student of hand-to-hand combat with useful techniques in addition to providing a sampling of how the system operates. Only enticing glimpses of advanced levels of study with and without weapons are provided. The book gets five stars because you get more than what you bargain for considering the price: you get a great introduction to a fascinating martial art. My only disappointment with the book was that it was not 500 pages longer.