Thinking about writing a book...

[Makalakumu]

I'm thinking about writing a book in order to expand upon the material that I wrote here. My vision is to do a little more research into the history and practice of the arts that led up to Tang Soo Do so that the reader can understand how it changed. Then I want to provide strong curricular framework that would take the art of Tang Soo Do and transform it into the well rounded art it came from. Lastly, I'd like it be seen as a manual for the reader to change their practice if they choose to do so.

There are some problems with this idea. One is my rank. I am not very highly ranked in the yudansha so many readers might think that writing something like this is presumptuous. Second is the fact that I do not belong to any organization. There is no governing body that sanctions or protects what I do in my dojang and a lot of people might view this as a lack of credentials. Thirdly, I'm wondering if there is even a need for such a book out there. Would people actually use this work to change what they do? Is there any interest in learning how to think about and use hyung in TSD? Would a grandmaster pick up this book and say, "hey, this is a great idea!"

What do all of you think?

 

[exile]

John, just do it. This is exactly the kind of book the KMAs are ready for and are eagerly awaiting (as our pioneering members Stuart A and SJON have shown, I believe). I know your general point of view, and I'd say, you have a ready audience out there.

Some of the very best research in academia is carried out by sharp, thoughtful Assistant Professors and postdocs. So to hell with rank—what counts is the quality of the evidence and argument—the proof of the pudding is in the eating, after all, not the string of acronyms after the chef's name!

 

[Ian wallace]

Good luck, ill look out for it!!

 

[terryl965]

Like Nike Just do it

 

[Makalakumu]

I think this is going to be my next project. Right now, I'm working on publishing my 415,000 word scifi series, but after that, I think a total change of genre would be great. Anyway, if you saw a book like this, would you buy it? Why?

 

[exile]

I think this is going to be my next project. Right now, I'm working on publishing my 415,000 word scifi series, but after that, I think a total change of genre would be great. Anyway, if you saw a book like this, would you buy it? Why?

Yes, absolutely. Because the issue of how to connect the core content of a MA with the best teaching strategy to offer that content in a digestible way to students is a difficult, complex and unavoidable problem for any responsible MA instructor, especially one who rejects 'off-the-shelf' curricula for whatever reason. A combat-realistic view of TSD, with emphasis on the SD defensive content of its hyungs, inevitably raises serious pedagogy problems—how much of this hard-edged content should be taught at what stage? And this is the same problem that other KMAs based on forms face, as well as the senior related arts such as Karate. So what you're talking about has a ready-made market in the pool of dedicated MA instructors trying to figure out how to parcel out the rich content of their respective arts for students at different stages of skill development...

 

[Kacey]

Would I buy it instantly? Probably not. Would I investigate the author's experience and research qualifications, and if I liked them, check it out of the library so I could decide if I wanted to buy it? Certainly. If I liked it, then yes, I would buy it - but you have to understand when I say this that I have over 2000 books in my house already, and I'm running out of room!

I would say go for it - even if you write it for yourself, then you've gotten what you want out of it; if people buy it, so much the better.

 

[JadecloudAlchemist]

If the book is presented well enough then to me I don't worry about the rank. Example look at all the books written by Ashida Kim,Phil Elmore and the likes. They have madeup ranks and low ranks and everything else.

Be truthful about yourself and what you present and people will respect you. There are many legit people who write books and there books are terrible. If you have something that you feel would contribute to others development then by all means write the book. As long as you don't present falsehood.

My father wrote a book of poems. He wrote the book for himself mostly even if he never published it.

I can see it now:

To Jadecloud,

You were the inspiration of me writing this book hahaha

 

[jks9199]

Kacey -- there's always room for books! You've probably got silly stuff like food sitting in your pantries and refrigerator, for example. What with today's take-out & delivery options, there's really no need for keeping food at home. And, appropriately stacked, books make great furniture, though you must exercise care when you replace the book you choose to read at any given moment (Dr. Seuss does not work as a replacement for Michener, for example.)

On a serious note, to Maunakuma -- Go for it. Worst case -- you've clarified your thinking by putting it down, even if no publisher picks it up. (And, today, there are lots of self publishing options, like E-books.) Though I have to ask -- if TSD isn't a well rounded art now, and once was... what happened? I think that's a question you'll have to answer early on...

 

[Makalakumu]

On a serious note, to Maunakuma -- Go for it. Worst case -- you've clarified your thinking by putting it down, even if no publisher picks it up. (And, today, there are lots of self publishing options, like E-books.) Though I have to ask -- if TSD isn't a well rounded art now, and once was... what happened? I think that's a question you'll have to answer early on...

I think that I am going to do it. I've got the material, it just needs to be organized. I'm not sure how long it will be when its done, but I'm guessing it should push 80,000 to 100,000 words. My intent is to put out a template for curriculum so people can actually start asking the right questions when it comes to teaching hyung and application. They can modify as they see fit.

As far as TSD being a well rounding, combat ready, art, I'm not sure it ever was. TSD comes from Shotokan and Shotokan came from an Okinawan art that was combat ready. A lot of the story I'm going to tell is how the art moved away from those roots. That will be controversial, but it's a story that needs to be told.

Lastly, I think another needed aspect of this book is a critical examination of the way things are now. I want to give the reader a curriculum/educational argument for changing their practice. It's all about aligning with learning objectives and making sure the peices of the art legitimately teach what is being claimed.

 

[bluemtn]

It wouldn't hurt anything to go ahead. Rank and affiliation really wouldn't matter too much- had an instructor that published a book on the art he taught, and not affiliated with anyone than about a handful of dojangs.

Would I buy it? Depends on if it grabs my interest. Definitely would look into it, and chances are I would.

 

[Yossarian]

There are very few TSD books available anyway and your idea sounds great. You should definately go for it ive seen similar things done with Karate etc and I would say there would be a market for such a book.

 

[IMP]

I'm all for it. A book like this would tremendously help me in training simply for understanding Tang Soo Do better. I think people would use it well and resourcefully.

 

[hkfuie]

I am TKD, not TSD. But since we share roots, I would love to read your book.

I have Stuart's book and after reading the history portion at the beginning of the book, I felt that it was worth the investment for that portion alone - and then there's all the rest of it, too! I would love to read about the history of TSD and how it relates to Shotokan and even precursors to Shotokan. I think it is very exciting research and very generous of you to share some of what you have come up with.

I hope you do write your book. I cannot wait to learn more.

I think your approach of teaching the teacher how you organize your curriculum and how you extract info from the hyungs will be something I would really value.

My brain is ok at looking for the applications, but when it comes to organizing all this stuff, YIKES!

I can tell you have put alot of thought into it.

As far as your rank/organization affiliation is concerned, For me, personally, it does not matter. You have obviously put alot of thought and research into this. I think it would be foolish of me to not learn something of value because of rank/organization membership. If someone wants to judge you on those things (and I am sorry, but they will - it's just how some people are) then they are choosing to limit themselves. As for me, I don't want to wait 20 years for your book so you can get more rank!

 

[MBuzzy]

I would buy it instantly....First of all, as Yossarian said, there are so few books out there on Tang Soo Do anyway that any contribution to the library is well worth it. Particularly if it is in the history or curriculum area. We have books that give examples and show how to do things and books that tell you what organizations are doing for their standardized curriculum, but none that talk about the actual theory of building a curriculum. Between that and the convoluded nature of TSD's history, I think the book would be very well received.

As for your qualifications, most important point is that your research and book is well documented and backed by verifiable facts. That is always my most important issue for author credential. Your lack of an organization will actually help this process more than hurt it. Think about it, if you are in an organization, first, you can't publish anything without permission and most of the profits go back to the organization. Then, you are very very limited to the organization's version of history, their techniques, and their curriculum. Last, in an organization, your rank does matter, as an Ee Dan, you would never be permitted to write a book within a large organization. It is simply the nature of large organizations to only listen and give responsibility to the highest ranking members. That is just how beurocracy (beurocracy in the organizational/leadership version of the word, not the negative connotation) works.

People would definitely buy something like this. Especially the others who share your unique situation, those who do not belong to an organization and who are cut off from their original instructor. Go for it, I'll buy it.

And if you're still not convinced....go look at some of the other works available - I am 100% positive that yours will be better than many of them.

 

[Gi1]

Cool I'd be interested in hearing how you get on with your research.

 

[foggymorning162]

Go for it you'll regret it if you don't!

As for me, I don't want to wait 20 years for your book so you can get more rank!

I agree 20 years is a long wait

As for your qualifications, most important point is that your research and book is well documented and backed by verifiable facts.

There are a lot of well written and informative books on a lot of different subjects that the author researched but was not a practitioner of.

As for whether or not I would buy it... I'll be perfectly honest with you. I'm cheap so only if it's in paperback.

 

[Makalakumu]

How important do you think an MLS citation format would be for this book? Would you as a reader appreciate this style of research or would you prefer a reading list or maybe a footnote style of research format? What do you think?

 

[jks9199]

I personally don't care about the format of the citations/footnotes so much as that they're there. I want to know what's the writer's own work, versus what came from research -- and where that research was.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Go for it! Having written several books myself and knowing how much fun I have had I would advise you to start writing. If you need any help just let me know as I can give you quite a few details that can save you some headaches.