Martial arts research library

[LLLEARNER]

I recently picked up the ultimate stretching guide

[Safroot]

Hi Guys,

I am looking for a pdf copy of : "The Kyokushin Way" by Mas Oyama. Is it something easy to find or not ?!

Soft copies need a fortune

[DWx]

Two new additions to my library:

Taekwon-Do: Origins of the Art: Bok Man Kim's Historic Photospective (1955-2015) by Kim Bok Man

For those who are not familiar with him, Kim Bok Man was one of the early pioneers of Taekwon-Do and helped spearhead the art in South East Asia. He was a master sergeant in the Korean army and lead the first ITF demo team in 1967. GM Kim was there from the beginning and was instrumental in the early days of the style, including helping to develop the majority of the Chang Hon forms.

GM Kim's book is a photo album of sorts with 250 pages of photographs from 1955 through to 2015. There isn't a great deal of text but if you are already familiar with the history of Taekwon-Do or just interested in seeing behind the scenes it's a great book.

Martial Arts Instructors's Desk Reference by Sang H Kim

Dr Sang H Kim is a Taekwondo instructor who has written a number of martial arts books, including Ultimate Flexibility and Teaching Martial Arts.

"Desk Reference" is a pretty good way to describe this book. It's not going to be something you sit down and read from cover to cover. But it will be a book that you keep on your shelf stuffed full of bookmarks and post-it notes.

This book contains chapters covering practical advice such as drills, exercises and methods for training forms, and also chapters on successful marketing strategies and public relations. Overall a great book for both new instructors and old.

[italian_guy]

Regarding krav Maga I recently bought Complete krav Maga by Darren Levine. Quite a good book with lots of well illustrated techniques.

[singularity6]

I am currently reading A Killing Art: The Untold History of Tae Kwon Do by Alex Gillis.

About half way through, I'd say it's a fascinating and relatively easy read, and very much worth the time.

[bushido_man96]

I am currently reading A Killing Art: The Untold History of Tae Kwon Do by Alex Gillis.

About half way through, I'd say it's a fascinating and relatively easy read, and very much worth the time.

This is a very good read. I think every Korean stylist, not just TKD practitioners, should read it. I believe there is a new version out now, too, with some added info.

[DWx]

A new addition to my library which I can't recommend enough:

The Fighter's Mind: Inside the Mental Game by Sam Sheridan

I got this on audiobook to listen to in the car thinking it would an easy listen.. It's so good that within a day I bought the print version too.

The book examines what separates true fighters from the rest of us and Sheridan interviews legendary trainers like Freddie Roach and Greg Jackson and fighters like Randy Couture, Frank Shamrock, and Marcelo Garcia. Each chapter looks at a different person and he talks to guys training Muay Thai in Thailand, BJJ with the Gracies, UFC fighters, college wrestlers etc. but also talks to soldiers and ultra-marathon runners to see what allows them to push through the pain and train like they do.

I found it really interesting for not only my own mindset when training and competing, but also as a coach and how to get the best out of my fighters. Would definitely recommend.

Another book that I've had for a while but that I've found myself picking up recently:

The Strength and Conditioning Bible by Nick Grantham

Nick is a former TKD fighter who used to be on the England squad before going on to become strength and conditioning coach for various sports teams in the UK including professional football teams and GB Olympic Taekwondo and Judo. I bought this book after Nick got involved with our squad again and I went on a course ran by him focusing on Youth Athletic Development. The first 3 parts of the book covers some strength and conditioning theories and effective programme design for athletes and the final part (last half of the book) details various stretches and strength exercises broken down by body part or movement type. Really useful introduction to effective strength and conditioning and handy reference for exercises (including bodyweight, dumbbell and barbell).

[bushido_man96]

Two new additions to my library:

Taekwon-Do: Origins of the Art: Bok Man Kim's Historic Photospective (1955-2015) by Kim Bok Man

For those who are not familiar with him, Kim Bok Man was one of the early pioneers of Taekwon-Do and helped spearhead the art in South East Asia. He was a master sergeant in the Korean army and lead the first ITF demo team in 1967. GM Kim was there from the beginning and was instrumental in the early days of the style, including helping to develop the majority of the Chang Hon forms.

GM Kim's book is a photo album of sorts with 250 pages of photographs from 1955 through to 2015. There isn't a great deal of text but if you are already familiar with the history of Taekwon-Do or just interested in seeing behind the scenes it's a great book.

Martial Arts Instructors's Desk Reference by Sang H Kim

Dr Sang H Kim is a Taekwondo instructor who has written a number of martial arts books, including Ultimate Flexibility and Teaching Martial Arts.

"Desk Reference" is a pretty good way to describe this book. It's not going to be something you sit down and read from cover to cover. But it will be a book that you keep on your shelf stuffed full of bookmarks and post-it notes.

This book contains chapters covering practical advice such as drills, exercises and methods for training forms, and also chapters on successful marketing strategies and public relations. Overall a great book for both new instructors and old.

I have both of these books, and quite enjoyed both of them. I have quite a few of Kim's books, and have found them all to be quite useful.

I recently finished reading Ch'ang Hon Taekwon-do Hosinsul: Self Defence Techniques From Ch'ang Hon (ITF) Taekwon-do, by Stuart Anslow. This book is the next in line of the Anlsow series, and he has, in my opinion, become quite the ambassador for ITF style TKD. This book is well organized, and formatted like Anslow's other books, which I like. There are some grammatical issues I've noticed here and there, but those aside, I think anyone looking for some Hosinsul ideas that tie in with the ITF forms for their classes will find some useful ideas here. Aside from laying out various techniques and applications (and referencing movements in the patterns when applicable), he lays out approaches to safely and effectively train hosinsul, from the initial learning and practicing of the techniques to applying them with some resistance.

As with any self-defense techniques, some of them make me wonder, "will that work?" But, I'll leave all doubt aside until I've actually worked with the techniques as he's described them. A last note I would make concerns his approach to grappling. Anslow if very clear in this book that TKD lacks grappling, and that this is a concern for the style, and he recommends seeking out some instruction from a grappling instructor to help fill in these holes in TKD's curriculum. I commend Anslow for this. With that stated, he does go forward and provide a few basic grappling techniques for an opponent mounted and choking, or striking, or pinning. These are pretty basic, but are a good starting point for an instructor not versed in grappling.

Overall, I feel that the book is a good resource for anyone looking to either add regular hosinsul to their training, or looking to find ways to augment and improve their hosinsul training. I've enjoyed Anslow's other books, and this fits in with the rest of them, and is worth adding to your TKD library.

[singularity6]

While it's not directly related to the martial arts, The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz is something that everyone should read. Especially if your job involves interacting with people!

I'm reading it now, and I feel that The Four Agreements aligns very well with the 5 tenets of Tae Kwon Do, as well as with many of the other principles taught in any martial art.

[LLLEARNER]

If anyone is interested in Bruce Lee, there is a (I think) recent biography called Bruce Lee: A Life. I heard a podcast with the author and it sounds good. I have it in my amazon cart because I totally need more books in my life.