Taekwondo Animals

These are our selections for the best Taekwondo books. We have also added a quick review of each book in order to summarize their value to martial arts students. In addition, we have added some of our favorite martial arts books in order to provide you with even more reading ideas.

Our Favorite Taekwondo Books

• Taekwondo: State of the Art - This Taekwondo book is well written and covers many topics (i.e. kicks, sparring and stances). The best section focuses on Taekwondo forms (WTF forms 1-8) as the book gives you detailed written instructions and visual aids. When I was a color belt, I often referred to this book when I was getting ready for a belt test. Two thumbs up!
• Competitive Taekwondo - This Taekwondo book provides a good overview of the training needed to become proficient at Taekwondo sparring. It covers areas such as training regimes, sparring exercises and strategy. My favorite part focused on counterattacks (i.e. How do I counter an opponent's roundhouse kick?). It gives you numerous counters for each attack.

Popular Taekwondo Books

• A Killing Art: The Untold History of Tae Kwon Do
• Complete Taekwondo Poomsae: The Official Taegeuk, Palgwae and Black Belt Forms of Taekwondo
• The Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do Patterns
• This Is Taekwon-Do, Book + DVD-ROM, ITF Colourbelt Syllabus with First Grand Master Rhee Ki Ha - Book & DVD set focused on ITF Taekwondo.
• Taekwondo: A Path to Excellence
• Tae Kwon Do: The Indomitable Martial Art of Korea

Popular Martial Arts Books

• Advanced Brazilian Jiujitsu Techniques - This BJJ book discards "the techniques that didn't work on larger, stronger opponents. What you are left with is a highly effective and efficient system of grappling that works for and on everyone".
• The Art of War - The famous book on strategy and tactics from Sun Tzu (China's best known strategist).
• The Book of Five Rings - A legendary book on martial arts strategy and tactics by Japan's most famous swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi.
• Bruce Lee's Fighting Method - This books "explains how to survive attacks on the street, increase training awareness, and develop body movements".
• Complete Krav Maga - An book with detailed instructions and pictures for Krav Maga techniques.
• The Fighter's Body: An Owner's Manual: Your Guide to Diet, Nutrition, Exercise and Excellence in the Martial Arts - Author Loren Christensen and personal trainer Wim Demeere combine their knowledge of martial arts, weight training, nutrition, diet and exercise to answer your questions and put you on the road to becoming the best martial arts athlete you can be.
• Jiu-Jitsu University - 5 star book focused on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) techniques.
• Living the Martial Way: A Manual for the Way a Modern Warrior Should Think - This book provides a "step-by-step approach to applying the Japanese warrior's mind set to martial training and daily life."
• The Marine Corps Martial Arts Program: The Complete Combat System - The Marine Corps Martial Arts Program "draws from the best martial arts techniques of boxing, jiu-jitsu, judo, sambo, krav maga, karate, aikido, escrima, arnis, hap ki do, karate, tae kwon do, kung fu, and kick boxing. Fighting techniques including: battle skill orientation; stance; posture; movement; weapons handling and function; striking; cutting; grappling; restraints and manipulations; and integration of weapons".
• The Tao of Jeet Kune Do - This book focuses on Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do. "The science and philosophy behind the fighting system Lee pioneered himself—jeet kune do—is explained in detail, depicted through hundreds of Lee’s own illustrations".
• Ultimate Flexibility: A Complete Guide to Stretching for Martial Arts - Ultimate Flexibility "is a complete guide to stretching for martial arts, from the very basics of why you should stretch to detailed workout guidelines for every style and level of martial arts practice".
• Zen in the Martial Arts The author shows how the "daily application of Zen principles not only developed his physical expertise but gave him the mental discipline to control his personal problems-self-image, work pressure, competition".

Martial Arts Books for Kids

• The Five Ancestors - This martial arts fiction series is for pre-teens and focuses on a number of young Kung Fu monks.
• The Martial Arts Book - This book will help children learn about a variety of different martial arts styles and systems.
• Taekwondo for Kids (Martial Arts for Kids)
• Taekwondo Kids: From White Belt to Yellow/Green Belt - A visitor favorite!