The History of Karate and the Masters Who Made It

Author: Mark I. Cramer
Publisher: Blue Snake Books
ISBN: 1623172403
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 241

Book Description
A concise yet comprehensive history of traditional Okinawan and Japanese karate, with biographies of the great karate masters This concise-yet-comprehensive history of traditional Okinawan and Japanese karate includes authoritative biographies of the great karate masters of the past and the philosophical issues they faced as karate changed and evolved. Bringing a fresh understanding to the study of the martial arts, Mark I. Cramer dispels many of the often-repeated martial-arts myths as he details the lineages of the modern styles of karate and describes the social, cultural, and political events that influenced them. While most books focus on a single style of karate or the biography of just one of the great teachers, this book offers a well-researched and detailed overview. By bringing all of this knowledge together in one volume, Cramer—an award-winning inductee into the USA Karate Federation’s Hall of Fame—fills a crucial gap.

Shotokan Karate

Author: Randall G. Hassel
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781933901282
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 196

Book Description
The first comprehensive written history of Shotokan karate in any language! In this completely updated edition of the classic bestseller, Randall Hassell presents a masterful tale of the history and evolution of Japan's original and largest karate style, Shotokan. In addition to presenting the compelling story of the style's founder, Gichin Funakoshi, Hassell covers recent developments in the ever-evolving art of Shotokan karate-do. Rare and never-before-published photos complement everything from the Okinawan roots of karate to its development in Japan, the Japan Karate Association, American and international karate organizations, and the current state of the world of Shotokan karate. Also in this edition: The origins and technical value of all Shotokan kata, a genealogy of traditional karate styles, Gichin Funakoshi's 20 precepts, and much more!

Essential Karate Book

Author: Graeme Lund
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
ISBN: 1462905595
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 210

Book Description
The Essential Karate Book is an informative, illustrated guide to the techniques, philosophy and practice of karate. With 20 chapters covering practically every aspect of karate, this in-depth reference will assist students and instructors as they plot their course through karate instruction, benefiting those at all levels. The Essential Karate Book contains 200 diagrams mapping out moves with 300 step-by-step photographs and companion videos, making it a comprehensive general karate reference for Western audiences. Readers of this karate guide will learn about: Stances, blocks, strikes and kicks Preparing your body through warm-ups, stretching, and conditioning through karate-specific exercises Kata grading and fighting (kumite) techniques and competition rules Martial arts weapons (kobudo), and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) applications The origins and history of karate Required behavior, clothing and etiquette, as well as the fundamentals of karate and the different styles that share them The Essential Karate Book is a must-have for any martial arts enthusiast, from beginners to black belts!

Karate-dō Nyūmon

Author: Gichin Funakoshi
Publisher: Kodansha International
ISBN: 9784770018915
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 134

Book Description
This introduction to karate teaches both the physical training and the mentalhilosophy necessary for karate mastery. The book also provides the completeistory of karate.

Karate-Do

Author: GICHIN. FUNAKOSHI
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781715628048
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 148

Book Description
Linking the time when karate was a strictly Okinawan art of self-defense shrouded in the deepest secrecy and the present day, when it has become a martial art practiced throughout the world, is Gichin Funakoshi, the "Father of Karate-do." Out of modesty, he was reluctant to write this autobiography and did not do so until he was nearly ninety years of age. Trained in the Confucian classics, he was a schoolteacher early in life, but after decades of study under the foremost masters, he gave up his livelihood to devote the rest of his life to the propagation of the Way of Karate. Under his guidance, techniques and nomenclature were refined and modernized, the spiritual essence was brought to the fore, and karate evolved into a true martial art. Various forms of empty-hand techniques have been practiced in Okinawa for centuries, but due to the lack of historical records, fancy often masquerades as fact. In telling of his own famous teachers--and not only of their mastery of technique but of the way they acted in critical situations--the author reveals what true karate is. The stories he tells about himself are no less instructive: his determination to continue the art, after having started it to improve his health; his perseverance in the face of difficulties, even of poverty; his strict observance of the way of life of the samurai; and the spirit of self-reliance that he carried into an old age kept healthy by his practice of Karate-do.

The Essence of Karate

Author: Gichin Funakoshi
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 1568365241
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Gichin Funakoshi is a legendary figure and the founder of Shotokan karate, the most popular style of Japanese karate, with millions of practitioners worldwide. In The Essence of Karate, Funakoshi creates, in his own words, a narrative of modern karate. He explains the philosophical and spiritual underpinnings and includes memories of his own training, as well as recollections of other karate masters and the history of the martial art. He also discusses the importance of winning without fighting, and the reason why many great martial artists improve with age. The preface has been contributed by Hirokazu Kanazawa, President of the Shotokan Karate-do International Federation (and Funakoshi’s disciple). He fondly writes of his memories of Gichin Funakoshi during his youth and what he learned from the master. In the afterword, the founder's great-nephew, Gisho Funakoshi, shares previously unknown personal anecdotes about his "Uncle Funakoshi."

Okinawan Karate: Teachers, Styles & Secret Techniques, Revised & Expanded Second Edition: Master Version

Author: Mark D Bishop
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 0244145954
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 220

Book Description
Progression is a positive trait, as long as one keeps in touch with the past and has a staple backdrop to focus or fall back on. Although the Revised Expanded Third Edition contains all the wording and photographs that are reproduced in both the first edition, as well as this Revised and Expanded Second Edition, it comparatively represents a step into what was, for these latter two books, the future. The year 2019, in which I am writing this foreword, represents respectively 30 years and 20 years into the future since the publication of these two books, so I think this faithful reproduction of the Master Version by Q&I Publications is well timed. For some readers it might bring about nostalgia, for others it might be an eye-opener into a world that is not always truthfully represented, due to commercial or other reasons. For the teachers who I interviewed and have been embodied herein, I hope this Master Version will remain a testament into how they wished to be represented for time immemorial.

Analysis of Genuine Karate

Author: Hermann Bayer
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781594398438
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Book Description
Socio-cultural arguments to preserve Okinawan karate versus the Japanization, Americanization, and Commercialization of the art. Supported and illustrated by an analysis of the training variances between self-protection, self-perfection, and the never changing kata principle's role in Okinawan karate. This work provides a clear picture of the art, void of distortions put in place by people and institutions with their own agendas.

Okinawan Karate

Author: Christopher Clarke
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781478188636
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 376

Book Description
"Okinawan Karate: A History of Styles and Masters, Volume 1: Shuri-te and Shorin-ryu" is the most comprehensive and complete book available on the origins of Okinawan Shuri-te and Shorin-ryu karate, with descriptions of the various branches, detailed biographies of the major Okinawan Shuri-te/Shorin-ryu masters from ancient times to today, analytical assessments of some of their accomplishments, and numerous photos and illustrations. This book is a "must-have" for all serious martial arts students.

Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters

Author: Shosh Nagamine
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
ISBN: 1462918190
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 190

Book Description
Now available for the first time in English, Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters, the late Shoshin Nagamine's groundbreaking work, recounts the legacy and life histories of Okinawa's greatest martial artists. In addition to profiles of the legendary tegumi wrestlers, Nagamine-sensei features many of the world's great karate masters, including the founder of the core styles from which modern karate sprang. Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters corrects historical inaccuracies surrounding Okinawan martial arts and brings alive the greatest of the great masters. In this seminal martial arts history and biography, Nagamine-sensei presents the martial legacy of the Okinawan people and, to complement and emphasize what is of greatest importance in these tales and life histories, concludes with detailed instructions for the practice of zazen (sitting meditation). Already a classic in the Japanese edition, Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters is a must-read for all karate and tegumi enthusiasts, practitioners and researchers alike.