Taekwondo Techniques and Tactics »

Master Yeon Hwan Park is an eighth-dan black belt in taekwondo. He runs seven taekwondo schools on Long Island, New York, and serves as the secretary-general of the United States Taekwondo Union (USTU). Park's extensive experience and accomplishments include more than 30 years of competition, teaching, coaching, and developing instructional materials for taekwondo.

Master Park coached the 1988 U.S. Olympic team and the 1991 Pan-American Games team. Since 1984 he has also been the coach of the U.S. National team. Park created a series of six videotapes and has written four other books on taekwondo. Besides his dedication to taekwondo, he enjoys golf and swimming. Park lives in East Meadow, New York, with his wife, Kanie, and their daughter Nina and sons Edward and Elliot.

In writing this book, Park was assisted by Peter Zirogiannis, a freelance writer and 1992 silver medalist in the New York State Taekwondo Championships. Zirogiannis is a longtime student and assistant instructor for Master Park. His wife, Marianne, is a black belt, a former gold medalist in the New York State Taekwondo Championships, and a student of Master Park.

Tom Seabourne, PhD, is a sport psychologist and director of physical education at North Texas Community College. He has authored hundreds of articles and three other martial arts books. A third-dan black belt in taekwondo and Shorinryu karate, Seabourne is a two-time Amateur Athletic Union and Pan-American Games taekwondo champion and a silver medalist in the World Taekwondo Championships. He is a two-time member of the U.S. National taekwondo team.

Seabourne is a member of the USTU and serves on its medical board. He frequently presents programs to clubs, schools, and industry on achieving peak performance. A world-class cyclist who holds four world ultra-distance cycling records, Seabourne has completed the Race Across America. He lives in Mt. Pleasant, Texas, with his wife, Danese, and their daughters Alaina, Laura, Julia, and Susanna and son Grant.

Taekwondo is a Korean martial art practiced all over the world. Its popularity stems from many reasons. Virtually everyone who is involved with this art agrees that it is an outstanding way to improve physical fitness, mental focus, and self-discipline. Children who study taekwondo often exhibit greater motivation and increased self-esteem. Besides these benefits, participants can train for competition and learn effective self-defense techniques.

The authors have chosen 38 of taekwondo's most effective breakfalls, stances, strikes, kicks, blocks, and steps. Each of these, singly and in combination, is described and illustrated with clear language and photos. The book serves well as a companion to formal instruction or as a stand-alone text.

In Taekwondo Techniques & Tactics you'll learn:

- the proper way to stretch,
- how conditioning will improve your performance, and
- foolproof strategies for defeating your opponent in the ring.

Novices will have no trouble recognizing how to perform techniques. The chapters on the origins, traditions, and language of taekwondo provide a good introduction to the art, including advice on getting started and choosing an instructor. Experienced students will appreciate the level of detail and the tips for improving their techniques. They'll also appreciate the chapters on tactics, conditioning, and preparing for competition.

Sidebars on self-defense point out adaptations for effective street defense, whenever these differ from competition techniques or tactics. Advice on competition and tactics is especially strong since both authors were champion competitors. Seabourne is a two-time Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and Pan-American champion and a silver medalist in the World Taekwondo Championships. Park is an undefeated former Korean national champion who moved to America to coach the U.S. National Team.

Chapter 1. Getting Started Chapter 2. Roots of Taekwondo Chapter 3. Language of Taekwondo Chapter 4. Falls and Rolls Chapter 5. Stances Chapter 6. Arm Strikes Chapter 7. Kicks Chapter 8. Blocks Chapter 9. Steps Chapter 10. Forms Chapter 11. Tactics Chapter 12. Competition Chapter 13. Conditioning