Karate-Do Kyohan: The Master Text | Gichin Funakoshi

Karate-Do Kyohan: The Master Text | Gichin Funakoshi | This Book Should be a Requirement for New Students

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Karate-Do Kyohan: ...

	Karate-Do Kyohan: The Master Text Gichin Funakoshi Kodansha International, 1973 - 256 pages average customer review:based on 38 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Best karate book ever

This is the seminal book on traditional Okinawan karate. It is vey well-written and the pictures are plentiful and first-class quality. Funakoshi is the father of modern karate but never strayed from the belief that this is a way of life and a combination of the physical and spiritual.

Funakoshi has no time for "point-fighting" and superflous moves. His martials arts comes from the tradition of hard training where you only fought if you had no choice and then you fought to the end.

Case-in-point, the diagram at the end of the book emphasizes strike points that can disable or kill an opponent. This is not for your average "rent-a-dojo" or "kid's karate" system.

Bottom-line: this is THE book for those interested in the real thing.

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This Book Should be a Requirement for New Students

I just recently began studying Shotokan Karate in October 2005 and I believe that this book should be required for all students who study the art. Just like when a person is in college, the student is required to obtain a text book to learn the subject matter thoroughly. In my opinion, it should be the same with karate. This book helped me to understand the correct way to perform all of the katas as well as the kihons. Its funny how you learn it correctly in class and over time you forget little steps here and there. This book helped to reinforce the basics and remind me of the little things that make a good kata great. By simply reading a few pages a couple of times a week, it helped me to perform better. I have not read the entire book since I only read up to Heian Sandan, which is the kata I am currently working on, but I will refer to this book throughout my studies all the way to Black Belt.

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Just amazing!

It contains all the most widespread Katas found in Shotokai - Shotokan schools. The images are great as well as the diagrams that show how the Katas should be executed. Shotokai students should be aware that all we have in here belongs to the time prior to Master Egami's evolution which was fully authorized by Master Funakoshi. So special care should be devoted in this regard since the postures were rather tall at that time. There are some changes highlighted by the translator as to the new instances already in use at that particular time but do not cover all the changes found in the Shotokai school.

On the other hand it is the cornerstone of all Karatê as conceived by the Master of Masters: Karatê as a "Way" of perfectioning one's character. It's the legacy given by the Master as Karatê should be trained and transmited until the end of times. So it is a book to be constantly studied even by the nowadays Masters and see how the "Way" is been fulfilled.

The bottonline? It is the Master Text! Don't miss this one!

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Accurate

I was fortunate enough at the Univ. of Pittsburgh, back in the early 1970s, to have received occasional instruction from Tsutomo Ohshima (translator of this book, and one of the last students under Gichin Funakoshi, a true Master himself)when he came through. This book provides some superb insight in translation by an actual student of the Master which I believe expresses it's true intent. It is a must. Luckily, I still have my original first edition signed by Tsutomo Ohshima which is an excellent source of reference.
P.S. The book is a bargain. 33 years ago it was $15.

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The Master Text