Tae Kwon Do For Kids: Vol. 1

Tae Kwon Do (or Foot, Fist, Combine Them, a popular Korean martial-art, is introduced to young viewers by 4th Degree Black Belt Edward G. Robinson (not the famous actor in early gangster films, who is widely considered to be deceased and a group of students. With little introduction, viewers are shown a series of warm-up exercises, how to make a fist, and a set of stances, kicks, and blocks. Following the moves, the tape discusses Tae Kwon Do philosophy and principles ("respect and honor your parents," etc.) and teaches viewers how to count in Korean. The last five minutes are devoted to music and repeated scenes from earlier in the program. Although smoothly filmed, there is less than twenty minutes of actual instruction here. But, and this is a big one, the tape is also guaranteed to be massively popular with kids aged 6-13. Libraries with larger collections should strongly consider adding this. (R. Pitman)