Gen. Choi's Condensed Encyclopedia (review)

[Thomas]

Preface: General Choi's condensed encyclopedia has been on my "wish-list" for quite a while but between the price and some of the reviews I had seen, I had been holding off. A friend loaned me his copy to preview and I have spent the past week going through it.

I'll probably get "flamed" for my review but I hope that dissenters can point out positive qualities that I missed. As a student of Taekwondo (with a background that goes back to Oh Doh Kwan as well as WTF roots), I was disappointed with the book's content overall. I was expecting something more in scale with Dr. Kimm's Hapkido I (especially with the size and price comparison) but I don't think it delivered.

Anyway, feel free to add your own reviews, comments, questions, and feel free to argue, I'm just posting my own opinion.



The edition being reviewed is Taekwon-Do (The Korean Art of Self Defence) by Gen. Choi Hong Hi (International Taekwon-Do Federation: 1991), second edition, printed in USSR. (1st edition dated 1988)

This is a big, solid book with a beautiful hardbound cover and lavish illustrations and photos inside. It runs about 765 pages in 8.5 inch by 11 inch format.

The first section covers a wide array of material, including a preface, charter, theme song, explanation of the TKD tenets, moral culture, physical fitness, advantages of TKD, relationships between instructors and students, and theories of power, all of which are handled fairly well and can be interesting for most practitioners, even if the coverage is relatively superficial. 11 pages of the 50 page section cover the “definition of Taekwon-Do”, “Origin and Development of Martial Arts” and history of Soo Bak-Gi, Taek Kyon, and Taekwon-do. These sections are very bare-bones and go into little depth.

General Choi makes a case for the originality of Taekwon-Do and a case for some sort of connection between this art and the lineage of the Hwarang warriors and other various Korean traditions, none of which is backed up by any real evidence in the book. For an “encyclopedia”, he provides no concrete evidence of Taek Kyon’s actual contribution. Adding a section showing some of the Taek Kyon patterns he had learned or somehow showing its influence would have been nice use of space. At the end of the book is a really nice article on General Choi’s background with lots of great pictures, names and dates, making this quite valuable for those interested in that aspect of history.

The bulk of the book, about 450 pages, has illustrations and English text detailing the various techniques of Taekwon-Do, from stances, blocks, kicks, and punches to different ways to practice them. Various views are provided and many clear photos of “incorrect” ways to do the technique. Many of the techniques are repeated later showing how to add a step from various angles and views. This makes it rather cluttered and hard to follow. Removing the “incorrect” photos and leaving just the correct ones, with the variations and/or stepping included once, would have made it an easier-to-use reference and freed up space for more useful material. Some of the techniques themselves are a bit questionable for “self defence” (the subtitle of the book), ranging from “flying horizontal double side punches” to “flying square punching kicks”.

Criticisms aside, there is some good material in here as well. Aside form being a fairly comprehensive catalog of the core techniques, there are instructions for building training tools and some very nice drills for conditioning, body hardening, and training.

The next 70 pages covers patterns (tul) and begins with a nice, simple summary of the meanings behind each one as well as the belt rank for each one. For all of the space that was spent in the book covering the same basics over and over I was disappointed to see such short attention paid to the forms. Each form is presented as a dense block of text with just a few key photos. The forms should represent the art’s fundamentals and in my opinion, this section should have broken down each form step by step with photos for every single step and change involved. The space wasted doing this with the basic techniques would have been better used here. As it is, the reference to the forms is hard to use and difficult to follow.

There is a section on step sparring and free sparring runs about 80 pages. The basic setup should provide a nice reference for students trying to memorize and practice step sparring. Some of the material is direct and looks effective. Some of it is very flashy and doesn’t look very effective. The partner in each scene shows no resistance or movement as the “defender” applies several strikes in a row to him (sometimes mixes of flying, jumping and standing attacks). Hopefully students will train the skills in class with resistance and see which techniques fit them best and/or actually work.

The last section is labeled “Self Defence Techniques( Hosin Sul)” and only takes up 40 pages (despite the subtitle of the book being “The Korean Art of Self Defence” ). The fundamental self defence presented is not good at all. Many of the grab defenses seem to be superficially Hapkido techniques but without the circular movement or balance disruption found in that art. Furthermore many of the breakways and attempted locks end in high section flying kicks and other impractical self defence applications. Blocking rifle/bayonet strikes with a knifehand (p.717), doing a flying sidekick to an attacker who has attacked you in a chair from a chair (p.699), using hopping punches against knife thrusts (p.715), and so on do not inspire confidence in the self defence applications.

Overall, I have a hard time justifying a positive recommendation for this book, especially at the price of $100 (US) or so. The “good material”, for example the proper form for basic techniques, is that which you will learn in class anyways. For that, I’d say save your money and buy a notebook and good pen. Many students use reference books to help practice the patterns and this book falls very short in that regard.

The only real positives I have for recommendation are that this is a version of the first real “catalog” of Taekwon-Do, as put forth by the (main) founder of the art and that some of the material in here is good. Devoted students will enjoy that aspect, even at the high cost. As an instructor of the art, I wouldn’t recommend this for my students nor would I recommend it for any of the instructors at the school. There are much better references out there at a much lower cost.

[TheMadhoose]

Its a bit pricey but its got all the necessary stuff from the 15 vol encyclopedia in one book great fro a class reference. lots off info but if yer not ITF its not realy a must have

[EternalRage]

Is the non condensed encyclopedia any better?

[TheMadhoose]

If Your ITF then yes but if not its worth a read but not essential

[Moosey]

I thought some of the definitions were a bit suspect.

Originally Posted by General Choi's Encyclopedia

Aardvark
I invented the aardvark in 1952 based on an animal found in ancient Korea. Some people have argued that I actually imported the animal from its native Africa, but they are wrong. Ancient Korean aardvarks were well known amongst the Hwoarang and are therefore part of Korea's heritage.

Abbey
An abbey is a type of large church which I invented in the 1950s based on ancient Korean churches. Some people have argued that Korea has no history of Christianity and its style of architecture differs significantly from the construction of Christian abbeys, but they are wrong. Ancient Hwoarang warriors built abbeys and I simply modernised the system, therefore abbeys are native to Korea.

Absinthe
Absinthe is a green, alcoholic spirit which I invented in the 1950s based on ancient Korean booze. Some people have...

[martinnharvey]

If you are an instructor it can currently be purchased for approx $109 including shipping which at the great exchange rate works out approx £55.

When you consider a paperback second rate book on TKD could set you back £15, then £55 isn't really that much.

Whilst I admit that it could be better I'm sure you would learn something from it.

If anyone wants a copy go to www.comdo.com and order it. I've used them before and they are very good. Delivery from Canada only took a week last time

Cheers!

Martin

[Ragnarok2005]

Originally Posted by moosey

I thought some of the definitions were a bit suspect.

LOL!!! **** me that was funny.
That had me in tears.

Ah... Choi.

[gemtkd]

personally I found the condensed version really helpful!! I also have the 15 vol. which I personally think is invaluble.

[kmguy8]

sorry to poke my head in here.. however... those definitions are jokes right?
i feel like an idiot even asking.... but the "ah.. choi" bit and the citing, along with the revisionist korean tendancy has me questioning this assumption

[Mandras]

erm... yes, that was a joke

[Moosey]

Originally Posted by kmguy8

sorry to poke my head in here.. however... those definitions are jokes right?
i feel like an idiot even asking.... but the "ah.. choi" bit and the citing, along with the revisionist korean tendancy has me questioning this assumption

Yeah, the definitions are a joke - it's actually an encyclopaedia of taekwondo, not a general encyclopaedia.

[martinnharvey]

This thread got me thinking. The last edition printed AFAIK was in 1999. With all the political splits and 3 ITF's who actually owns the copyright on the book.

Will there ever be another reprint?

Cheers!

Martin

[Kwajman]

Originally Posted by Mandras

erm... yes, that was a joke

Hmmm, the mental image of Grandmaster Choi after a few rounds of absinthe is an interesting one.

[Qdmasta]

I actually agree with the points you make, Thomas. I have the encyclopedia myself and was thinking the same things as I was going through it. I just didn't feel like I was in the position to critisize. I found the first 500 or so pages, besides the historical background section, to be pretty much filler stuff that I already knew. Maybe that's more of a testament to the good instruction that I've received coming through the ranks than anything else.

I do,however, find the encyclopedia a useful reference for the patterns but beyond that I don't use it for much else. The self-defence section was definitely one of the more questionable things in the book to me. They have most of the models taking classical stances. I could understand having the models use perfect walking stances, x-stances, and rear-foot stances, to demonstrate the other aspects of the art, but having the models use them in the SD section may send the wrong message. Also, many of the blocking techniques, in the SD against a weapon section, are done with the foot, which in reality, is very difficult to do in a high-stress situation. Blocking a rifle-butt stroke with a side rise kick? Come on, now. Another thing was that I felt that there should have been more punches/hand techniques in the SD section.

[Alexander]

Originally Posted by Thomas

General Choi makes a case for the originality of Taekwon-Do and a case for some sort of connection between this art and the lineage of the Hwarang warriors...

A funny point to perhaps bear in mind is that according to some historians the Hwarang were not warriors at all. Neither were they an order (implying that members were members for life), etc... They were more an intellectual elite who were training to run the Kingdom of Silla efficiently. I'll try and dig out the source for this.

Originally Posted by Thomas

The last section is labeled “Self Defence Techniques( Hosin Sul)” and only takes up 40 pages (despite the subtitle of the book being “The Korean Art of Self Defence” ). The fundamental self defence presented is not good at all. Many of the grab defenses seem to be superficially Hapkido techniques...

Probably because they are. Check out Dakin Burdik's history of Hapkido for the story here.

By the way, can someone tell me what additional stuff the 15 volume encyclopedia has that the condensed one hasn't? I'm considering buying the full version for research purposes and just wondered what it contained.