Rating: 
Summary: Hapkido American Style
Review: The overall presentation of this book is very good. It is nicely constructed and the photos are high quality. The problem I have with this text is that it presents the unrealistic, (what I like to call American), version of Hapkido. What I mean by this is that the book details the overly exagerated, very unrealistic, style of Hapkido. The style where though the techniques are very pretty, they are completely unrealistic in hand to hand combat applications. Having first been exposed to Hapkido growing up in South Korea, I can state with authority this is not Korean style Hapkido. Though the book is a great source of basic visual reference, I believe it is important to keep its overall value, to the true student of Hapkido, in perspective, "Great to look at. But, hard to truly learn from."
Rating: 
Summary: Most Thorough of the Big Hapkido Books!
Review: There are two groups of people who will want a book this thorough: serious practitioners of Hapkido or Hapkido bases systems (kuk sool, hwarangdo, etc.), and martial artists who are serious about studying and understanding techniques from any source. Author Mark Tedeschi has worked hard to provide a complete and non-biased book on the subject of Korean Hapkido. From the beginning, Tedeschi offers a series of interviews with the masters of Hapkido based systems, allowing each teacher to offer his knowledge in his own words, rather than lumping this information together to form a general history (he has included a section on history as well, which includes pictures of Hapkido founder Choi Yong-shul and the logos of prominent hapkido associations). We hear the voices of Choi Yong-shul (1982 interview by Jong-bae Rim, Joseph sheya, Ken Cross, and Chin-il Chang), Han-jae Ji, Bong-soo Han, Kwang-sik Myung, Tae-man Kwon, Jong-bae Rim, Merril Jung, Joo-bang Lee, In-hyuk Suh, He-young Kimm, Wally Jay, and Willy Cahill. There are detailed sections on anatomy, accupoints and meridians, pressure points, philosophy, etc. The first part of the book, which includes all of this pertinent information (this is BEFORE the section on techniques!) is 180 pages! Tedeschi doesn't skimp anywhere. Every section is complete--the technical portion of the book opens with revival techniques (most other books have this information at the end, if at all). Sections move on to stancesm rolling (for falls), attack points, hand strikes, standing kicks, knee strikes, ground kicks, kicks for blocking, jumping kicks, etc. Thoroughly covered are holds, locks, throws, strikes, combinations, etc. Tedeschi shows common and uncommon uses, and differs from the vast majority of books on Hapkido and other martial arts by offering the HOW and WHY of each technique, as well as helpful advice one would normally get from a teacher after oh say, 3-7 years and deep research on one's own. There are sections on weapons (the traditional hapkido weapons--staff, sword, short sticks, rope, cane, etc.), and a bibliography and index at the end. This is also the LONGEST book on ANY martial art that I know of, at 1136 pages. Tedeschi keeps no secrets, and puts on no airs. He is honest, humble, and to the point. I can only wonder at the effort it has taken to assemble this volume, and the drive of the author to be so complete in his assessment and documentation. Although the other big Hapkido books are nice (Suh and Seo's books on Kuk Sool, Kimm's and Myung's books on Hapkido, Joo Bang Lee's volumes on Hwarangdo), nothing, on any grappling or striking art, compares to the depth of this single volume. That this book is so affordable surprises me--books with half the information sell for more! This volume is a value and a treasure.
Rating:
Summary: Best Hapkido Book Available
Review: This 1000+ page book collects information from Tedeschi's other published works on Hapkido (holding techniques, throwing, etc.) along with new valuable material. Tedeschi has produced the most comprehensive text on Hapkido that anyone could hope to find. I have a shelf full of smaller Hapkido books that each address a few dozen techniques, but Tedeschi's book includes thousands of techniques--each demonstrated through illustrations, photos, and descriptions. The range and volume of techniques included could only be learned through daily and decade-long training with a knowledgable grandmaster--something increasingly difficult to accomplish today. In addition to extensive coverage of stances, kicks, strikes, throws, holds, blocks, and self defense techniques, the book includes techniques for usage and defense against knives, short stick, long staff, cane, sword, and rope. Beyond the practical techniques, however, the book also includes well written sections on the philosophy and history of Hapkido, along with interviews with grand masters in Hapkido and related martial arts.
As an instructor of Hapkido, I am continuously looking for new techniques to teach my students and new ways of understanding and explaining the techniques I teach. This book is an invaluable resource for serious Hapkido students and instructors, and I am grateful for Mr. Tedeschi for putting it together.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning!
Review: This book covers all the basic techniques of a wide range of martial arts. It is not a manual on Brazilian Jiu jitsu but does include some fundamental techniques. It is not a manual for cage fighting or mix martial arts competition. It is an over view of Hapkido (and I would say traditional Japanese Jiu jitsu). It has a good deal of stand up grappling that is missing in most arts so I found it very useful in that respect. Throws, joint locks, leg locks, arm bars, weapons, etc. are covered in detail. This is a must have for martial artists of all backgrounds, you won't regret it!
Rating:
Summary: I love this book
Review: This book has set the standard so high, that all martial artists should demand this kind of quality and indepth overview from the author on any given subject in the martial arts. Tedeschi gets specific about Hapkido. We all know how difficult it is to get any concrete information on the art of Hapkido. There is now concrete and complete information. The reason why we have a library of books on a specific style is because we don't understand the art the way we feel that we should. You will understand Hapkido after reading this book. This book answers the questions that we all have, I'm a 3rd Dan in Hapkido who had questions about the art. Tedeschi has done a wonderful job of cutting through the common formalitys of being very general about Hapkido and that it is the almighty superior everything to everyone art. He is refreshingly respectful to all of the other martial arts and not claiming to be better then the rest. This book has filled in the gaps and allowed me to spread my wings. Until this time there has not been a complete text that has been readily availible that has established the parameters of this art. After reading this book you will understand that there are really no parameters but core ideals, philosophys and techniques. With that in mind this book has become my companion that will help me to be the best that I can be in Hapkido and life.
Rating: 
Summary: 4000 photos of white belt jujitsu techniques
Review: This book is *beautiful
*thorough
*informative
*inspirational It's also so big, it can be used as a weapon. ;-) Happy training!
Rating:
Summary: AWESOME (in all aspects of the word)
Review: This book is *beautiful
*thorough
*informative
*inspirational It's also so big, it can be used as a weapon. ;-) Happy training!
Rating:
Summary: Shockingly Good
Review: This book is absolutely astonishing in its quality and level of detail. I don't even particularly like hapkido, and I ordered it on the strength of glowing recommendations I'd heard-- and I can tell you they didn't even come close. At times it looks like an anatomy textbook designed for martial artists; excellent and clear illustrations and photographs round out the excellent quality of this book. I can't even begin to tell you how good it is. It leaves ALL other martial arts books in smoking rubble.
Rating:
Summary: Hapkido : Traditions, Philosophy, Technique
Review: This book is equal to the Hapkido bible by He-Young Kimm. Marc Tedeschi has managed to collect years worth of knowledge and put it too paper. The pictures are a bit small, but easy to follow. This is not a beginners book, but a must for anyone with leass than a third dan.
Rating:
Summary: Great compilation of useful information and techniques!
Review: This book is obviously a result of many years of practice and/or study by the author. Either way, it is the most complete and well organized martial arts book I have seen. I was trained in Hapkido by an 8th Dan (kwanjangnim) in South Korea and most of the content in this book is consistent with the training I received there. The author has done an excellent job explaining and demonstrating Hapkido as taught "traditionally" as well as more "modern" applications of various techniques or skills. As a practioner and instructor of Hapkido and other art forms, I would recommend this book to any serious student or instructor. The negative reviews I have read about this book are totally unjustified and are indicative or either a very narrow mind or simply an attempt to divert readers to other sources of information.
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