What's a good handbook?

[number1]

Can anyone recommend a good handbook or website with a general overview of TKD and it's terminologies? My master is Korean and I have a hard time understanding him. He's great instructor but I need to get my lingo right. I feel I'm missing on the learning process. When I first started TKD my master didn't give out a handbook and he advised against buying reading material as I would get confused. He said it's because every instructor has his own style of teaching. Don't laugh but I picked up a copy of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to TKD" anyway. It helped some but not enough. He's right...some things he taught are slightly diferently. I don't want to give up TKD. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

[tufrthanu]

There's nothing wrong with reading up on your art. Just make sure when you go to class you do it HIS way and don't say "Oh, but this book I bought says to do the kick like this and this and they pronounce the words differently."

Anyhoo, one of the best TKD books on the market right now is Marc Tedeschi's monster volume of TKD. It's called Tae Kwon Do: Traditions, Philosophies, Techniques. He also has a companion volume to that with detailed analysis of all of the WTF forms. Don't know if you do those or not. Those are expensive books but well worth it.

[number1]

Thanks for the recommendations tufrthanu! I'll look into those books. Yes, you hit the nail on the head! I learned by example not to question my instructor but it doesn't mean I don't question it in my head or ask the other students. There are 2 other schools nearby but I hear they're not as good. My decision is to stick with my current school and read up. How's that for patience?!

[Kicker Chick]

I agree with Tufrthanu about Mark Tedeschi's book. It has a good explanation of both WTF and ITF forms, history, strikes, etc. Although it looks like a coffee-table book because of its size, it has some great information. Shop around for prices, because I've seen it for $50 up to $70.

Another less comprehensive but good book is "Taekwondo: State of the Art" by Whang (pub. 1999). It is particularly good for WTF forms, kicking, striking, and drills -- and the paperback version only costs about $15.00.

As you may have seen from other threads on this forum, however, there are several different Korean translations and pronunciations. No book will really help, but if you surf the Web, you'll find different sites that have pronunciation help.

[number1]

Thanks for the information, kicker chick. I really haven't done a lot of reading so I may start with your suggestion. I believe it's the WTF we're being taught. I haven't seen the ITF logo anywhere or maybe I'm not looking hard enough. If my school is affiliated with the US TKD Union, US Olympic Committe and Pan/American TKD Union, what does that tell me about the school?

[theadric]

Thanks for the information, kicker chick. I really haven't done a lot of reading so I may start with your suggestion. I believe it's the WTF we're being taught. I haven't seen the ITF logo anywhere or maybe I'm not looking hard enough. If my school is affiliated with the US TKD Union, US Olympic Committe and Pan/American TKD Union, what does that tell me about the school?

That would be WTF style Tae Kwon Do. There is a great web site out there as well that has good references. just do a search at your favorite search engine for: "tkd" and "tutor" and you should find it no prob.(Not sure that I should share links)

[number1]

That would be WTF style Tae Kwon Do. There is a great web site out there as well that has good references. just do a search at your favorite search engine for: "tkd" and "tutor" and you should find it no prob.(Not sure that I should share links)

Excellent! The website was very helpful. Thanks also for clearing up which style of TKD my school is associated with. By the way, I think it's okay to share links (as long as it's not used for commercial purposes).