The Best Books to learn Hapkido

When it comes to learning Hapkido, one of the best things that you can do to supplement your learning is also read and study books. Although these days many people like to learn by watching videos (which is also completely fine), reading books and studying the material is also massively beneficial. By doing this, you can progress much faster compared to merely training on your own. By reading, this means you can learn whilst on the go. Especially useful for those with a busy lifestyle, this method allows you to get the most out of your spare time when you cannot physically train. Here’s a list of the top Hapkido books.

Global Hapkido Association Knife Manual by Sean Pearson

This book is ideal for Hapkido practitioners who are interested in learning knife defense. Published by the Global Hapkido Association, this not only teaches knife defense but also offense. If you’ve trained Hapkido then you’ll be aware that weapons training is a key part of the art. However, this is specifically poised towards knives and small blinds. As far as practical self defense methods are concerned, this book is very handy in the modern environment.

Hap Ki Do: The Korean Art of Self Defense by Hui Son Choe

Hui Son Choes book dates back to 1998, but is still very relevant. It has over 400 photo demonstrations and is provides a step by step guide for beginners. In short, it breaks down key principles and tries to show things as simply and analytically as possible. Although this book dabbles in all sorts of moves and styles – it mostly prioritizes joint locks. Ultimately, the idea of this book is that it teaches smaller opponents to defeat larger, stronger enemies through Hapkido.

Hapkido: Traditions, Philosophy, Technique by Marc Tedeschi

This book is a great general overview of Hapkido and as the title suggests, is based on the cultural side of the art as well as the practical techniques. With this in mind, if you fancy yourself as a bit of a Hapkido historian as well as a student then this book is ideal. However, that is putting it lightly. Arguably, this is the greatest book ever written on Hapkido. At over 1100 pages in length with over 9000 photos and 2000 techniques, it’s fair to say that a lot of effort has gone into this and Tedeschi has left no stone unturned. Fancy buying a Hapkido encyclopedia that covers everything? This makes for a great choice.

The System of Tactical Hapkido by James Ziots Jr.

Based on NQA-1 QA methodology, this book claims to teach white belts through to high red belts. Overall, it does a good job at breaking down techniques and as mentioned, is easily understandable if you’re a beginner. A big part of this book is aimed at street fighting too, so if you’re after something with a realistic background then this book may do the trick.

Power Hapkido Essential Techniques by Myung Yong Kim

Myung Yong Kim is a Grandmaster in Hapkido and one of its founders. With this said, you can’t get much closer to Hapkido’s roots than this. Here, he goes through various ways to learn Hapkido and carefully plots out the correct form and stances; something that is often rushed in Hapkido. Nonetheless, you wouldn’t expect much less in terms of learning the fundamentals from a Hapkido founder. This also has a section devoted to efficient breathwork as well as stretching exercises to improve your flexibility for kicks. At 418, it covers a lot of ground and provides the correct framework to start training with.

Global Hapkido Association Color Belt Manual by Sean Pearson

This book goes through the complete curriculum of Hapkido from each belt. It also shows what is required before progressing to the next belt and is an ideal resource for both students and teachers as a result. This means that if you buy this book as a teacher, you’ll be able to track progress and make sure you promote students correctly, whilst also teaching the correct curriculum.

Combat Hapkido: The Martial Art for the Modern Warrior by John Pellegrini

As the title suggests, this book is devoted to Combat Hapkido, which means it revolves mostly around weapons. Ideal for law enforcement and military personnel, Combat Hapkido is designed to teach weapon disabling techniques and does this by grappling with the hands, as well as defense against other weapons. For those in the know, John Pellegrini is one of the founders of American Hapkido, so you know his writing comes with a wealth of practical experience too.

Hapkido, Korean Art of Self-Defense by Scott Shaw

This mostly serves as an introduction to Hapkido, so it may not be suited towards a more advanced practitioner (see Marc Tedeschi’s book for that). Instead, it aims closer towards the beginner and sets out the philosophy of Hapkido well. Here, Shaw describes the self defense philosophy of Hapkido and its similarities with Aikido. Having said this, there’s also a decent amount of practical learning advice that is also featured in this book. With this in mind, it’s a solid choice of literature for someone who is new to the world of Hapkido.

Hapkido: An Introduction to the Art of Self-Defense by Marc Tedeschi

Once again, Marc Tedeschi leaves no stone unturned with this book, albeit it’s less deep than his previous one. Still, it has nearly 700 photos, and also over 80 drawings of pressure points along the body. Again, Tedeschi doesn’t just teach the techniques, there’s also a big portion on the history and philosophy of the martial art. Ultimately, this book serves as an introduction to his previous work, Hapkido: Traditions, Philosophy, Technique – so acts as a very good starting point.

Hapkido: Past, Present & Future by Todd Miller

This book is mostly historical so don’t expect to learn much in terms of technique. However, if you’re into the history and origins of Hapkido then Todd Miller’s book is a great start. Entering from a biographical point of view, Miller writes about his entry into the martial art and tracking down the founders. Here, he embarks on a philosophical journey to try and understand the true meaning of Hapkido.