Taekwondo & Martial Arts Books

Below are my favorite Taekwondo & martial art books. I have also added a quick review of each book.

Taekwondo Books

• Taekwondo: The State of the Art - This 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. I often refer to this book when I am getting ready for my next belt test. Two thumbs up!
• Competitive Taekwondo - This 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.
• Ultimate Flexibility: A Complete Guide to Stretching for Martial Arts - This book provides Taekwondo students with a huge variety of stretching exercises that will improve their flexibility. Hundreds of stretching exercises. This book is a must for any martial arts student who wants a higher spinning hook kick or who just wants to prevent/treat a nagging injury. Each stretch comes with pictures and instructions. Two thumbs up!

• Martial Arts After 40 - This book is geared towards "older" martial arts athletes (like myself). It looks at how to take a martial arts course when you are past 40, the best stretches/exercises for older athletes, how to prevent age-related sports injuries, etc.

* Looking for other Taekwondo books? Visitors to this website have also purchased the following Taekwondo books - Taekwondo: A Path to Excellence, Tae Kwon Do Basics, Techniques and Forms: The Indomitable Martial Art of Korea and Taekwondo: Ancient Wisdom for the Modern Warrior.

* Other popular Taekwondo books from Amazon.

Other Useful Martial Art Books

• Complete Krav Maga - An excellent book with numerous pictures that show a wide range of self-defense techniques. This book teaches useful skills that you can use to enhance the knowledge that you have already learned at your Taekwondo school. Krav Maga is an Israeli self-defense program focused on practical techniques (anything that works). Two thumbs up!

• Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu - If you want to learn ground fighting in order to complement your Taekwondo skills, you should read this book. There are tons of detailed pictures and excellent instruction on how to deal with an opponent if the fight has turned into a wrestling match (and you can't use your awesome roundhouse kick). Two thumbs up!

• Hapkido: Traditions, Philosophy, Technique - A HUGE book on the Hapkido - the Korean version of Aikido. A great resource book! Teaches you chokes, arm locks, pressure points & much more.

* Other popular self-defense books from Amazon.

Other Useful Books

• The Men's Health Big Book of Exercises. It has HUNDREDS of great exercise routines covering your back, chest muscles, quads and any other muscle that you can think of! It has thousands of photos and very precise instructions. An awesome book if you are looking to improve your overall martial arts strength & power.

Taekwondo & Martial Arts Books for Kids

• Kung Fu Panda - Book versions of the highly successful children's movie. They have put together a number of early reading books based on Kung Fu Panda.

• Tae Kwon Do! (Step Into Reading) - This Taekwondo book is good for preschoolers (but not very useful for older kids). It helps kids to learn simple reading skills through Taekwondo. Check your library for a copy.

• Julie Black Belt: The Kung Fu Chronicles - Children learn the value of hard work, dedication and determination. Illustrated book. Great for girls taking or thinking about the martial arts!

* Other best selling martial arts books for kids from Amazon.