Taekwon-do study companion

This volume is exactly what its name implies, a study companion, a scientific aid for the complete understanding of the Art’s Bible, the 15 volumes set of the “ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TAEKWON-DO”, ideally the first edition. The authors’ goal is to clarify topics that need clarification, to revise topics that need revision and to persuade Genuine Taekwon-Do practitioners to follow the Founder’s path, when he stated that “Taekwon-Do is the scientific use of the body in the method of self defence”. What area of expertise is most useful when studying Martial Arts? Physics may be useful, as the Founder of Taekwon-Do implied, repeatedly using common equations for explaining his Theory of Power. Mathematics is probably the purest and most universal form of science and one that does not need translation. A particular branch of Maths, Geometry may be extremely useful, particularly Trigonometry. Medicine, when properly viewed as the exact science about optimal human body function, may have alarmingly common features with serious Martial Arts study. Oriental Medicine in particular has infinite applications, using points in the body with special properties, discovered through ages of practice and study. These points, regardless of their name, may be used in manipulating function, exclusively for healing purposes in Medicine, but with somehow more options in Martial Arts. Effective use of these points requires endless hours of study, in order to master their use. Afterwards, comes the problem of choosing how to use them. Naturally, with choice comes responsibility and that is exactly where Philosophy comes in handy. Obviously, no single area of knowledge may adequately prepare the practitioner for applying Science in Martial Arts. However, scientific methodology is mandatory in Taekwon-Do, in order to appreciate correct body posture and function. Practitioners who realize this simple truth, practitioners who love science and/in Martial Arts, scholar Martial Artists, are the target group of this volume. These scholar Martial Artists, regardless of age, grade, degree, professional or academic background, consider themselves eternal students. Therefore, a student companion to the Encyclopedia should be extremely helpful. The authors do not claim to provide definitive answers, but rather stimuli for further thought or, at times, a different point of view, possibly an innovative perspective.