This is a revised edition of the classic 1976 text used by thousands of TKD students, and is essential for new students who wish to one day attain their black belt.

This is a MASSIVE book (8.5 X 11 and 600+ pgs) packed with about 1,500 B&W photos. The last third of the book is devoted to kata -- which need to be memorized in order to pass formalized tests for each belt rank. However, some sections (particularly the onces pertaining to stretching and exercise) assume prior knowledge and are incomplete, so this book is no substitute for qualified instruction.

I liked the section devoted to hand strikes, as a variety of obscure "hand weapons" with no sporting application were detailed. A few are not seen in most other martial art texts.

The only two complaints I had about this book were the fact that the rigid fingered "spear hand" strike was depicted as being capable of breaking boards, yet no cautions were stated about the possibility of a novice injuring themselves while practicing this technique on the heavy bag; and the knife disarms from the original 1976 edition are extremely risky and ill advised.

Overall, this was a solid textbook well recommended for any serious student of TKD.