Post by tkdmitch on Aug 4, 2006 14:22:13 GMT
This review is intended for those who have found this site, but not yet bought a copy of the book. Let me state in advance that I have no connection with the author. If you don't want to read the details, skip to the Summary at the end.
Background
Those familiar with the work of Iain Abernethy will have some idea of the major content of this book. Breaking patterns down and seeking more realistic applications for movements or sequences of movements has been an increasingly popular and, I believe, important movement in Karate for several years. Unfortunately there has been nothing similar for TKD, until now.
Contents
CHTKDHS begins with a chapter on the background and history of TKD. Nothing terribly controversial here (although some may think so!), but some interesting info nonetheless and things all practitioners should know.
The following chapters include:
Debunking Taekwon-do myths (eg "TKD is all about kicks")
How TKD movements develop power and specifically how some common movements differ from Karate
Research Sources for new applications
How and at what grade to teach new applications
General principles on researching new applications
Basic TKD movements and how they can be applied in a wider context.
There follow chapters on each pattern, Sajo Jirugi up to Toi Gye. I'm not going to detail much on these as the applications can be discussed on this site, but as a general rule each chapter includes:
Clear photolayout of the pattern
3 or 4 pages of background on the pattern meaning and history.
Applications to movements profusely illustrated with photsequences.
Alternative Applications, which fit less easily into the flow of the pattern or the analytical method the author has used, but are useful nonetheless.
Each pattern is covered in 15-30 pages, so a lot of detail.
The book concludes with a chapter rounding everything up, then a series of notes and appendices, covering everything from Ki to Sinewave to tables of which techniques occur where in the patterns.
What I Like
The background chapters contain some real gems of information and a good general background to TKD. For those outside TKD they should go a long way to destroying the negative stereotypes of our art. As a practitioner I found much of interest here.
The Chapters on the patterns themselves show some excellent applications for the movements. Many are restoring the grappling and close quarters aspects of TKD that have been lost to some extent over the years. Those who have attended seminars on this sort of thing will be familiar with these ideas; but to have so many, in such detail and so clearly illustrated with photographs makes for an invaluable resource.
As always, there are some applications that I don't particularly agree with and some that seem to me as unrealistic as the interpretations in the ITF manual. However there are a handful of these, compared to literally hundreds of other intersting and useful movements. Frankly, if you agree with everything in a book of this nature you're not thinking about the interpretations sufficiently for yourself!
Finally, the extra information on each pattern, over and above the standard meanings learnt by most practitioners, makes for an excellent read. Coupled with the introductory section and the Appendices they make this much more than just an applications manual.
Similar books have been written on Karate Kata, so will this add anything if you already have them? Yes, as it is written specifically with TKD movements in mind, so requires no "translation" when Karate movements differ from ours and so would not work in a TKD context.
As a comparison, this does a similar job as books such as Karate's Grappling Methods, but specifically for TKD, in more detail and with a huge amount of background added. And that is not a criticism of Mr Abernethy's excellent book, more an appreciation of the sheer amount of work which must have gone into this.
What I Don't Like
I used to be an English teacher, so grammatical errors annoy me more than they probably should. The opening chapters especially seem to suffer from typos and grammatical problems. There is nothing that interferes with the meaning of the text, and many may not bother most people at all. If a chapter called "Where's the Applications?" doesn't upset you, you'll have no issues with the proof reading, but I am a little disappointed by it.
Interestingly enough, these typos are much less frequent in the pattern application chapters.
The photography is all black and white, which tends to give an overall "school textbook" appearance. Though always clear, some of the photos would look better at a higher reolution. Colour would of course add significantly to the cost and is understandably not always possible in more limited print runs, but I'm reviewing from the viewpoint of what would be my ideal.
Summary
My gripes are based on proof-reading and limits enforced by production costs. Valid points (for me) but very minor.
What I am hugely impressed by is the scope and detail of the research involved here. The research of the applications themselves alone must have been a massive undertaking, but then the additional material takes this beyond being just a book of interpretations of patterns and into something so much more. The clear presentation through description and lavish use of photographs makes for an easy-to-follow guide which will be of interest to all stylists and deeply enrich and inform the training of all Ch'ang Hon practitioners.
Paul Mitchell
2nd Dan TAGB
Background
Those familiar with the work of Iain Abernethy will have some idea of the major content of this book. Breaking patterns down and seeking more realistic applications for movements or sequences of movements has been an increasingly popular and, I believe, important movement in Karate for several years. Unfortunately there has been nothing similar for TKD, until now.
Contents
CHTKDHS begins with a chapter on the background and history of TKD. Nothing terribly controversial here (although some may think so!), but some interesting info nonetheless and things all practitioners should know.
The following chapters include:
Debunking Taekwon-do myths (eg "TKD is all about kicks")
How TKD movements develop power and specifically how some common movements differ from Karate
Research Sources for new applications
How and at what grade to teach new applications
General principles on researching new applications
Basic TKD movements and how they can be applied in a wider context.
There follow chapters on each pattern, Sajo Jirugi up to Toi Gye. I'm not going to detail much on these as the applications can be discussed on this site, but as a general rule each chapter includes:
Clear photolayout of the pattern
3 or 4 pages of background on the pattern meaning and history.
Applications to movements profusely illustrated with photsequences.
Alternative Applications, which fit less easily into the flow of the pattern or the analytical method the author has used, but are useful nonetheless.
Each pattern is covered in 15-30 pages, so a lot of detail.
The book concludes with a chapter rounding everything up, then a series of notes and appendices, covering everything from Ki to Sinewave to tables of which techniques occur where in the patterns.
What I Like
The background chapters contain some real gems of information and a good general background to TKD. For those outside TKD they should go a long way to destroying the negative stereotypes of our art. As a practitioner I found much of interest here.
The Chapters on the patterns themselves show some excellent applications for the movements. Many are restoring the grappling and close quarters aspects of TKD that have been lost to some extent over the years. Those who have attended seminars on this sort of thing will be familiar with these ideas; but to have so many, in such detail and so clearly illustrated with photographs makes for an invaluable resource.
As always, there are some applications that I don't particularly agree with and some that seem to me as unrealistic as the interpretations in the ITF manual. However there are a handful of these, compared to literally hundreds of other intersting and useful movements. Frankly, if you agree with everything in a book of this nature you're not thinking about the interpretations sufficiently for yourself!
Finally, the extra information on each pattern, over and above the standard meanings learnt by most practitioners, makes for an excellent read. Coupled with the introductory section and the Appendices they make this much more than just an applications manual.
Similar books have been written on Karate Kata, so will this add anything if you already have them? Yes, as it is written specifically with TKD movements in mind, so requires no "translation" when Karate movements differ from ours and so would not work in a TKD context.
As a comparison, this does a similar job as books such as Karate's Grappling Methods, but specifically for TKD, in more detail and with a huge amount of background added. And that is not a criticism of Mr Abernethy's excellent book, more an appreciation of the sheer amount of work which must have gone into this.
What I Don't Like
I used to be an English teacher, so grammatical errors annoy me more than they probably should. The opening chapters especially seem to suffer from typos and grammatical problems. There is nothing that interferes with the meaning of the text, and many may not bother most people at all. If a chapter called "Where's the Applications?" doesn't upset you, you'll have no issues with the proof reading, but I am a little disappointed by it.
Interestingly enough, these typos are much less frequent in the pattern application chapters.
The photography is all black and white, which tends to give an overall "school textbook" appearance. Though always clear, some of the photos would look better at a higher reolution. Colour would of course add significantly to the cost and is understandably not always possible in more limited print runs, but I'm reviewing from the viewpoint of what would be my ideal.
Summary
My gripes are based on proof-reading and limits enforced by production costs. Valid points (for me) but very minor.
What I am hugely impressed by is the scope and detail of the research involved here. The research of the applications themselves alone must have been a massive undertaking, but then the additional material takes this beyond being just a book of interpretations of patterns and into something so much more. The clear presentation through description and lavish use of photographs makes for an easy-to-follow guide which will be of interest to all stylists and deeply enrich and inform the training of all Ch'ang Hon practitioners.
Paul Mitchell
2nd Dan TAGB