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

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 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.

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.

Great book on the history of Taekwondo. A lot I did not know, and I have been doing TKD for over 20+ years. It is interesting to learn all the little things that have taken place over the years that very few people know about. Like anything else, we are taught one side of history but not the other side. Highly recommended read for anyone interested in martial arts, not just Taekwondo.

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.