A Killing Art: The Untold History of Tae Kwon Do, Updated and Revised

Tae Kwon Do always has been one of the most perplexing arts to me. It's rapid global adoption, the variability of its practitioners' skills, a professed history that runs nearly a millennium. Its schools range from hard-hitting knockdown academies to McDojo belt mills where people bounce up and down and play foot tag.Gillis thoroughly documents the art, becoming a heresiarch in the process as he debunks the martial myths and nonsense. To my interest, he also shows the splits that occurred in the art's formation that gave us Choi's hard-hitting schools and Kim's foot-tag Olympic variant.Gillis' book shows the evolution of TKD from a derivative of Japanese karate to something very distinct. We also gain perspective into the machinations of the Korean CIA, South Korea's nationalist dictatorships, the interplay of a powerful cult, and the viral growth of TKD into its modern status as a world art. Much of the book seems far-fetched to the point of nonsense -- it isn't. Matters accepted as articles of faith by practitioners have the human fallibilities and hubris of storied founders painstakingly documented and challenged. Gillis' sources include first-person interviews, articles, congressional hearings, and personal insights.Even if you're not a martial artist, the invented traditions would interest a cultural anthropologist or political science student as TKD became intertwined with Korean nationalism and identity. TKD gained more esteem in my mind, knowing it was so effective and applicable for state and nefarious purposes, as opposed to some mythic lineage to the Choson rulers and prior. I've studied various arts, including kung fu, which has manifold issues in nearly every offshoot's storied history and myths.Ultimately, every martial artist would benefit from this book to challenge undue reverence and belief and to move beyond martial nonsense and contrived demonstrations to focus on what works. Gillis shows instead of tells, and one walks away with the sense that those who focused on finely honed fundamentals prevailed in their execution of the art.

The author is an ideal combination of investigative journalist and martial arts expert (5th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do). The book is an extremely well-researched history of Tae Kwon Do: 499 footnotes, 3 pages of listed interviews, and a 5-page bibliography. In addition to the origins of Tae Kwon Do, its development and growth in the Korean War, and its spread throughout Asia and then the rest of the world after the Korean War,the book explores the history and psychology of the two men who would struggle for the growth and future of Tae Kwon Do. Choi Hong Hi and Kim Un Yong dominate the book just as they struggled to control and dominate the future of Tae Kwon Do. The book is an admirable combination of history and psychological studies, richly spiced with historical incidents that sometimes read like a spy novel or a thriller or a script for a Bruce Lee movie, occasionally peppered with a few of the author's own personal feelings and experiences.I had the great good fortune to have studied under GrandMaster Nam Tae Hi who “was also a founder.” (page 46) I studied under him for seven years in Chicago, had dinner with him and his other black belts, spent time in his house, and my first wife was baby-sitter to his third son. As well as I knew him, there were things I didn’t know until I read Alex Gillis’ book, which I highly recommend.

I've been practicing Tae Kwon Do for 2 years now, and I have been very interested in learning about the history. This book was affordable, and fairly highly rated, so I figured "why not?" Overall, I found it to be a fascinating read! Mr. Gillis walks you through General Choi Hong Hi's journey of creating the martial art. Not much description is given to techniques, forms or the mechanical differences between the different styles. This book focuses on the political and ethical turmoil the martial art suffered from the time of its inception, to present, with healthy doses of espionage, subterfuge and corruption. I highly recommend the read to anyone who's interested in learning the history of Tae Kwon Do, and to those who may enjoy reading about military history, as WW2, Korea and Vietnam all had significant impacts on the development of Tae Kwon Do.

Good reading. ITF heavy focus. Makes one think about one’s perceptions of taekwondo and its history

You don't have to be a martial artist to find this interesting. The history of Tae Kwon Do is full of stuff, which would make the box office to explode in Hollywood. For us interested of the history part, it's an excellent read. I highly recommend.

Can't put down the book that Im easily lose track of time . Very much interesting details in the story of development of taekwondo and it's relation to other Korean and Japanese striking-based martial arts.

A great book. It clarified a lot for me, and opened my eyes to much more. I've studied Tae Kwon Do since 1971 and this allowed me to piece together some confusing history facts I'd been taught over the years. I realize Gillis researched much of the information in his book through interviews so there is probably some minor inaccuracy because it's second hand information, but I found this tremendously enlightening and I recommend it to anyone who has any interest in the history and development of Tae Kwon Do. Every black belt from a Korean discipline should read this!

Thoroughly researched! Kudos to the author for being sedulous. Fully one quarter of the book comprises his notes and sources, thus substantiating his views. Nor does love for the art cloud his judgment of the institutions.

This book was recommended to me by the master of my dojang as a good background on TKD. It was great. Airs a ton of dirty laundry and I can't imagine the author hasn't received some flak for writing it, especially from some of the older masters and grandmasters that are still with us. The author obviously did a ton of research and names names and lays it out like it was and still is in some ways. Gives a great breakdown of the early days and the genesis of the art and I also very much like the recent updated chapters which deal more on a "renaissance" or enlightenment of the sport, especially regarding Grandmaster CK Choi and his efforts. Absolutely recommended to a TKD practitioner, old or new, or anyone seriously interested in the sport. Just be prepared to have your beliefs or understandings of the art challenged if all your TKD history has been told to you buy a master that may have rose colored glasses or be biased in their memory.

I read this cover to cover when I received the book, couldn't put it down as it so engrossing. The development of taekwondo is mired in corruption and intrigue. This book charts the path of the rise of those early pioneers who made the art into the family friendly hobby it is today.Yet although the roots of this modern art is dark, the author notes the current situation is no better. The corruption still persists today.

I had already read and loved the first edition of this book, and now I'm more than eager to say that this version is updated and revised and even more beautiful than the previous one. You can read it as a novel and is full of historical facts and accurate researches. This book is really objective and tries to unmask lies and bias that have been spread in the last 60 years. But this book is also full of love for the martial art portrayed in its pages, a love that has no need to lies and myth to be strong and deep. A book every Taekwondo practitioner should read.

Having trained in the 1980"s {before I took a 25 year break) I knew a bit about the tensions between the ITF and WTF, and I was involved with the legal side of trying to put proper organizatioal structures in place for the Canadian and Ontario federations. But I had no ideanofbrhebsordid, but very interesting history presented by the author.Extremely well researched and well peesented

Peccato la versione cartacea non sia disponibile. Ho dovuto prendere quella elettronica. Un libro che gli amanti del taekwondo dovrebbero leggere, anche se secondo me un po' troppo critico in alcuni sensi