- and then the forms section, one can refine the form they want to practice quite accurately. I have found the most useful way to learn forms is to use the book along with the official "youtube" video for WTF forms. The only drawback is that it is mostly written in Korean with a little English translation and sometimes that translation lacks clarity. I ordered the book after reading a blog of noted Taekwondo masters discussing that this was the most official forms book they had seen and was easier to understand than the Kukkiwon official manuel for forms. It appears that the book was first written in 2007 and English translation corrections were made in 2008 and then reprinted in 2011. As a 3rd gup I have found the book very helpful in learning the details of my forms.

I have recently changed style of Taekwondo and, as I am preparing to test for my second degree, I had to learn all the forms. I have been searching for something more than just "how to do it." I wanted something that could give me a solid foundation not only for my degree test but also for competitions. I definitely found the right book. This book goes through all the forms - from Taegeuk 1 to Ilyeo. Before going to the forms, there is a chapter with introductory material: stances, strikes, kicks, blocks, etc. Then, each form is described with an incredible amount of details - the distance between the fist and the knee as you do a low block, for example or the distance between the toe of your left foot and the right foot, etc. I believe that these are all the details I need to know for competition. Something I found very helpful are the text boxes; these are of two kinds: one gives extra details in describing the movement during a form and the other kind is even more helpful: deduction of points. This one highlights what the judges may be watching during a particular move of a form. Why 4 stars? The book is bilingual, Korean and English. The English translation is at times very difficult to understand. I had the impression I was reading something from a website translated with one of those webtranslators. You know the words but sometimes they don't quite make sense in current standard English. Although it's hard to follow at times, I have been able to recognize the pattern of speech. Also, every strike, stance, block, etc, are always in Korean.

Dit boek is een belangrijke aanvulling om via de -World Taekwondo Federation- en -Kukkiwon- eisen alle stijlvormen eigen te maken. Alles staat specifiek beschreven met fotootjes en alle teksten zijn zowel in het Engels als in het (voor mij onleesbare) Koreaans weergegeven. Taekwondo leraren zien o.a. dit boek als een waardevolle aanwinst op stijl gebied en ook de individuele Taekwondo leerling zal er zijn / haar kennis mee kunnen vergroten en bijschaven. Enige kennis van de originele Koreaanse Taekwondo benamingen is wel al handig bij het gebruiken van dit boek.