Taekwondo Kyorugi: Olympic Style Sparring

Having been involved in the martial art of Tae Kwon Do for over 25 years and currently holding a 4th dan black belt in the art, I am always more critical on books and DVD's on the subject of Tae Kwon Do more so than I am towards most any other martial art, with an occasional exception or two. Therefore, I was almost a little reluctant to read this book, but relented anyhow after skimming through the first few pages. Now normally I try and write a fairly complete and descriptive review on each unique section in a book, however, in this case I am going to forego my normal style and simply base my review on the overall quality of the entire book. If you are already a senior ranking student (gup) or black belt in Tae Kwon Do, then this book will not only be a welcome addition to your martial arts library, but the information provided within it is very valuable and relevant to the subject of "free sparring" in Tae Kwon Do. I can't imagine anyone not being able to learn a considerable amount about the subject even at just a first cursory look through this book. I found the material very well organized and easy to understand, if you already have a significant amount of experience in Tae Kwon Do. If you are a novice or beginner student, then I would recommend that you hold off on getting this book until you within a year or so of testing for black belt. This book recommends that you primarily use the following three kicks in competition. Roundhouse Kick Back Kick Axe Kick I should make note that its not that other kicks aren't used, it's just that these kicks tend to be more effective in the competition arena. This book covers just about every possible subject that could or would come up on the subject of Tae Kwon Do "free sparring," although not all subjects are covered in great detail, they are discussed to varying degrees and offers the reader a pretty good overall view of the subject. I highly recommend this book to all individuals interested in Tae Kwon Do "free sparring." Shawn Kovacich Martial Artist/Author of the Achieving Kicking Excellence series.

I trained in Korea from 1992 to 2000, and can honestly say the programs outlined in this book are equal to if not more complete than the training I received in Korea. In conjunction with the "Future Champions" video there is no better training product.

Even if you just started sparring or if you are a seasoned competitor, you will find this book infinitely valuable to you in your training. I am a first degree black belt and I read this book and my sparring strategy, speed, accuracy, strength, power, responses, and reflexes were all improved dramatically. There is no other book on Taekwondo sparring that can improve your sparring ability this much. It is simply amazing. Kuk Hyun Chung is very well known in Korea and I consider him to be one of the best taekwondo Competitors on this planet. Kim Sang Hoon is also a terrific martial artist and Author. Together, they have made the most informative book on sparring ever. So if you are serious about sparring, get this book and you won't regret spending that extra 20 dollars.

This book helps with the fundamentals of Olympic sparring and gives the student or instructor a clear understanding of how to apply the basics. A lot of good combinations. Maybe not the book for someone who does not work out in a Dojahng. You do need to know something about Taekwondo.

This is a very good manual for drills, attacks and counters for the beginner and also the advanced student. For an instructor, the book is invaluable. Jam-packed with drills of all sorts, sparring classes will never be dull again. I look forward to the next book by Chung et al.