Deus Misereatur

Taekwondo Grappling Techniques: Hone Your Competitive Edge for Mixed Martial Arts [DVD Included] by Tony Kemerly My rating: 3 of 5 stars The upside to this book is that it draws out several combative and grappling aspects from various Taekwondo movements. The author demonstrates these maneuvers from twelve different katas, and translates them into throws, breaks, arms holds, chokes, and submission holds. The pictures and explanations are fairly easy to follow. The downside is that the Jujitsu applications of the Taekwondo movements seems forced and artificial. There are several times when the moves translate easily from Taekwondo to Jujitsu. There are other times when the Taekwondo positions and sequences are clearly being stretched beyond their intended use. And finally a few of the throws or chokes are well outside of the initial flow. In the end this book is about 50/50. A martial arts instructor could use it as a prompt to help make some sample applications to different steps in...

Tae Kwon Do Black Belt Poomsae: Original Koryo and Koryo by Richard Chun My rating: 4 of 5 stars I have attended three different Martial Arts schools over the years. There have been significant approaches to Tae Kwon Do in each. In fact, moving from one school to the next feels similar to moving from one branch of the military to another: there are commonalities and then there are distinctives. In the first portion of the book Grand Master Richard Chun gives an historical accounting to Tae Kwon Do that helps the reader and practitioner to grasp these differences. His approach is neither demeaning toward any other form of martial art, nor is it disparaging of any of the fellow Tae Kwon Do Kwans. The second segment of the book walks the reader, step-by-step, picture-by-picture through two Poomsae; the original Koryo and the more modern Koryo. Next Grandmaster Chun dispays the combat aspects of several moves for both poomsae. The pictures and explanations are easily comprehended, es...