Best Karate 1
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If Karate The Japanese Way is supposed to have a decent Book reviews section, this series, The Best Karate Series, needs some exploration, or at least some thorough mention. I have to admit that I am going to be at a loss as to how to review all the kata books, since I am still learning more than half of them. But I hope that you will keep that in mind as I go along through the texts. It will also be an encouragement for my own training to focus on kata I do poorly, and some that I do not know at all.
First off, the Best Karate series is a collection of 11 (count 'em!) books. The first book is called “Comprehensive”, followed by a book on Fundamentals, two books on Kumite and then seven books on kata. It is a beautiful series of books, and as a serious Shotokan student you must go and buy them all. That sounds serious, and it is. Much more than you know.
On a recent visit to Tokyo I went to both the giant Maruzen and the Utsunomiya bookstores to browse and shop. Neither carries the Best Karate series on their shelves. Several years ago, they carried all the texts, but no longer. I have no idea what that means in terms of what the publisher will do with these texts. Does that mean that these books will soon disappear? I have no idea. But if I did not have these books myself, I would get them right away. You have been warned. Order them through a book dealer near you ASAP.
Ok, well, that being said, let's take a look at this first book. On one level, this book is OK, but not great. Dynamic Karate is great. This book is more of the same, and is kind of an introduction to Shotokan karate. The text covers a lot of ground in showing different punches and kicks, covers some basic training material, discusses kata and kumite, and has some information on tournaments and makiwara. As a text for information, this book is fine, but a shadow of Dynamic Karate. The nice thing about this book are the photos of Osaka-Sensei.
Osaka-Sensei is the otherwise known as THE MAN in Shotokan circles in Japan. He is a master teacher, and in the re-unified JKA, his word is the law. Sugiura-Sensei is the head cheese at the Honbu, but Osaka-Sensei travels around Japan, doing gradings, holding seminars, and maintaining the standard of what Shotokan karate is supposed to look like. He is a severe task-master and he is the model throughout this book. For that alone, you should pick up this book. He is Karate the Japanese Way.
Highly recommended. Run, do not walk, to the bookstore and get this. Order on-line while you can. Whatever you do, start getting this series, read it, digest it, and re-visit it often.
Mark Groenewold
Kanazawa, Japan
December, 2002
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