the best hapkido books?

[LoChu]

I'm looking for a book that has detailed information and close-up photos of techniques. Anyone have recommendations for a Hapkido newbie like me? What about this book?

http://www.amazon.com/Hapkido-Traditions-Philosophy-Technique/dp/0834804441/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-8822255-9019604?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1172814016&sr=1-1

[kmguy8]

i own this book it is amazing
one of the best of any style I have ever seen
the techniques are numerous (although some are dodgy)
however... you will never find a better laid out.. more sweeping book on a martial art
period

[iron_ox]

Hello all,

Well, at least this book is only $50 or so now - still making it a very expensive paper weight in my opinion.

Tedeschi does a great job catologing something, but the VAST majority of technique in here is NOT Hapkido.

Lots of well done pictures, but well, I don;t know where most of this stuff came from...

LoChu, I would spend the money on a few private lessons or a seminar in your area, just my opinion.

[JimH]

Tedeschi's Big Book,is also found for alot less on ebay.

As Iron Ox said Tedeschi's book is not all Hapkido,he took materials from various arts,Hapkido,Aikido,Judo and Jujitsu styles.

Books are Great as companion aids or for variations and reenforcement material,but you can not learn from them as Hapkido is an art of refined skills which are fine motor skill over complex,meaning hand positioning and grabs are more precise than just throwing a punch.

"Hapkido ancient art of warriors" by Myung is Excellent
"Hapkido" by dr Kimm is also an Excellent book.

Other inexpensive entry books would be by Bong Soo Han,Scott Shaw,Choe and Spear.
These books can be bought new for around 15 dollars or less new,they can be found on ebay and in used book stores.

I have and or have read all of these and the best are the ones by Myung and or Dr Kimm,they are expensive books but worth the price.

[LoChu]

Hello all,

Well, at least this book is only $50 or so now - still making it a very expensive paper weight in my opinion.

Tedeschi does a great job catologing something, but the VAST majority of technique in here is NOT Hapkido.

Lots of well done pictures, but well, I don;t know where most of this stuff came from...

LoChu, I would spend the money on a few private lessons or a seminar in your area, just my opinion.

I tried a Hapkido class and intend to enroll but I need supplemental material (books, videos, etc) to help me learn.

[iron_ox]

I tried a Hapkido class and intend to enroll but I need supplemental material (books, videos, etc) to help me learn.


Hello all,

LoChu,
Why do you believe this?

[klaasb]

Your teacher will probably hand you out a paper with all the things you need to learn in his system.
I wouldn't jump into books and video right away. First start feeling comfortable in your own school and style.

[steve mc queen]

Tedeschi's book is awesome. Have fun with the book and your Hapkido training.

[LoChu]

Hello all,

LoChu,
Why do you believe this?

Because that's how I learn and improve in Taekwondo and anything else (drawing, computer software, etc) -- class time supplemented with practice and other materials.

[Jointlock]

I have the Tedeschi book and the Hapkido II book by Dr. Kimm. Both are great books.

Tedeschi's book has a lot of great information. There are interviews of quite a few of the pioneers of Hapkido. There is some good information about pressure points, ki, and the meridians. Every technique seems to be well documented, with fairly descriptive pictures. The thing where it kind of falls short in my opinion is putting the techniques into a curriculum. It doesn't really detail which techniques should be more advanced and which should be beginner. That might have been done on purpose, but I could see the book being a little overwhelming for a beginner.

This is where I like Dr. Kimms book. It has a fairly easy to follow curriculum that builds throughout the belt ranks. However, it does get carried away when it comes to kicking combinations.

[JSun]

I've got the big Tedeschi book. It's helped me have a better understanding of many of the techniques taught in kuk sool. The anatomy and eastern philosophy sections are both great. It might not be "pure" hapkido, but he writes in the forward that it's not supposed to be representative of one school or another, just a general overview of the art as a whole. I highly recommend it.

[Thomas]

I'm looking for a book that has detailed information and close-up photos of techniques. Anyone have recommendations for a Hapkido newbie like me? What about this book?

http://www.amazon.com/Hapkido-Traditions-Philosophy-Technique/dp/0834804441/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-8822255-9019604?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1172814016&sr=1-1

Check out http://www.hapkido-info.net/html/hapkido_books_com.html for a nice general listing of available books.

As far as Hapkido books go, I'd recommend one of the following:

http://www.hapkido-info.net/assets/images/Hapkidobibel1.jpg
1. Hapkido I by Dr. Kimm He-young (Andrew Jackson College Press:1991, 764 pages, hardbound)

This is a big and beautiful Hapkido reference book which will probably cover everything at your school (again- see your instructor first). Aside from its wealth of techniques, the history section is excellent, probably the best out there for Hapkido today. If I could only keep one Hapkido book, this would be it.

List price $89 - contact H.Kimm, 4816 Jamestown Avenue, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70808. Vias/MC orders call (225) 924 - 2837 (this works!). Shipping and handling $8 per book (US) and more for international. I ordered one a while ago and had it in my hands a week after ordering. (See http://www.hanmudo.com/intropage.html)

2. Korean Hapkido Ancient Art of Masters by Kwang Sik Myung, (The World Hapkido Federation: First published 1976, Second printing 1986)

Available from http://hapkido.stores.yahoo.net/kohaanartofm.html for $44.95 plus shipping. From a curriculum point of view, I'd also recommend the second book as well Hapkido Special Self Protection Techniques for $39.95. Both volumes together offer an excellent perspective of Hapkido from a technical point of view. Unfortunately both books have a skewed section on history which is distracting but not if you can ignore that the rest of the book is excellent.
http://www.hapkido-info.net/HapkidoancientartofmastersKwangSikMyung_big.jpg
http://www.hapkido-info.net/HapkidoSpecialSelfProtectionTechniquesbyKwangSikMy ung_big.jpg

Granted, both the Dr. Kimm and the GM Myung's books are a bit pricey but I'd prefer to have one or two good books than a bunch of cheap ones that aren't as good. For the price, both are very good.

Check with your instructor first though before investing the money.

[dortiz]

Thomas,
cant thank you enough for the link. I already had the Tedeschi book. I trained for while at GMaster Merril Jungs school while I worked in San Francisco. I tried finding the other books but had bad links. You Rock!

Cheers!

[hapk1do]

I agree with everyone that any book by Dr. He Young Kimm is going to be just about the best text that you can buy on the subject of Hapkido. However, be prepared to pay the price as he is aware that these are very sought after books.. hehe. :D

[Thomas]

Just a quick update...

The World Hapkido Federation has a new website and has a lot of books available, including "Ancient Art of Masters" and "Special Self Protection Techniques" for reasonable prices. In the past, these have been harder to get but it looks pretty easy to get them from the source. They are both excellent and well worth adding to a collection (even if the "history" parts are a bit "off")

http://hapkido.stores.yahoo.net/books.html

Along similar lines, if anyone wants ANY of the Dr. Kimm books (Hapkido I and II, Hapkido History, etc), they are all available from him - the price is reasonable and they ship pretty quickly. Excellent books.
http://hanmudo.com/merchandise

[Giovanni]

Tedeschi's book is awesome. Have fun with the book and your Hapkido training.

i agree. i love that book. the most important thing is to train, obviously. but the book can show you many techniques and give you a good idea of how to move your body and what is possible--good reference.

[ap Oweyn]

Friend of mine wrote a book that's been e-published (is that a word?) called Toolbox Hapkido. I haven't read it myself and I'm no authority on hapkido anyway. But thought it bore mentioning.