KTJW
at Amazon.com
|
|
| The Cover of KTJW |
|
|
|
Buy this book at Amazon.com |
The rise of the Internet has given voice to untold numbers of people who have something to say and want to say it to as many people as possible. The Internet has made a writer out of everybody who wants to be a writer-whether they know how to write or not. In the art of karate, this phenomenon has produced hundreds, if not thousands, of “writers” whose shared views range from ridiculous to ill-informed to well-informed to vitriolic to antagonistic to downright rancorous.
Now, in the middle of this chaos, comes a young man with a calm and steadfast demeanor, native intelligence, outstanding education, and a clear sense of humor. Mark Groenewold stands as a voice of reason and sensibility in a sea of confusion.
Groenewold is a Canadian who lives in Japan and has practiced JKA Shotokan karate there for more than eight years. His web site, “Karate the Japanese Way,” is a favorite of thousands of surfers looking for reliable information on karate, and his book by the same name is a great leap forward in the world's Shotokan karate literature.
This is a terrific book. Ostensibly a primer for new and potential students of the art, it is actually quite valuable for those of us who have been practicing Shotokan karate for a long time. In fact, I think there are at least 2 more potentially good books lurking inside, begging to be let out.
Groenewold's prose is friendly and warm as he welcomes the reader into the mysterious world of the karate dojo (training hall). Addressing such subjects as karate terminology, the appearance of the Japanese dojo, how to find a good dojo and instructor, and the major concerns of new students, Groenewold brings the reader along gently and with warm, self-deprecating humor.
He then proceeds to describe, in words and pictures, the warm-up exercises, fundamentals of karate technique, kata (formal exercises), and kumite (sparring). All of these are presented clearly and simply, and they should serve as an excellent overview of karate for new students of the art.
The last four chapters, though, are where the author really shines-both philosophically and in the literary sense. These chapters: Typical Training and Dojo Culture, Gradings and Tournaments: Your Karate Under Fire, Karate Today: Issues and Philosophical Questions in Karate, and Karate Tomorrow: The Future of our Craft-are where the author's reason and sensibility really coalesce.
His detailed treatment of the language nuances inherent in the dojo kun (principles of the dojo) is truly outstanding and fills a long-standing void in the literature. I hope he will someday expand his thinking about the deeper philosophical and ethical concepts he has touched on here. This section cries out to be a book of its own.
Likewise with his section on Religion and Karate. This is another potential book, begging to be born. The author devotes a scant eight pages to this subject, but those pages seem to this reviewer like a fine outline for a full-length book.
The weaknesses of Karate the Japanese Way are few, and it appears to this reviewer that they are the result of a lack of technical distance on the part of the author or a bit too much zeal in debunking certain pet peeves. An example of the former is the author's criticism of non-Japanese karate instructors, acting as judges and referees in tournaments, barking out commands in stilted, affected Japanese. It seems pretty clear that the author has never been a judge in an international tournament and simply does not know that using Japanese terminology in the conduct of international tournaments is actually a requirement of all the major international karate organizations. I'm sure most of us non-Japanese sound silly to the Japanese ear, but we have no choice other than to try. It is an ironclad rule and not so silly when the chief referee is from the U.S. (as this reviewer once was) and the four corner judges are from Venezuela, Italy, Germany, and India. I'm sure our Japanese language skills left much to be desired, but because of the rule, we were able to communicate effectively with each other.
An example of the latter is the author's zeal in correctly debunking the idea that the practice of zazen and karate are intimately related. No, of course they are not. However, the impression is left that zen concepts and the practice of karate have little or no connection at all, and this is incorrect. In fact, all Japanese martial arts-and particularly in their modern do forms-have been directly and greatly influenced by concepts and ideals drawn from the zen tradition. From the Zen priest Takuan's “Letter to Yagyu Tajima No Kami Munenori on the Mystery of Prajna Immovable,” to the very influential martial writings of Yamaoka Tesshu, to sources in English like Trevor Leggett's “Zen and the Ways,” Thomas Hoover's “Zen Culture,” and Daisetz Suzuki's “Zen and Japanese Culture,” the connection between the concepts and ideals of zen and the development of modern martial arts like karate has been clearly drawn and thoughtfully analyzed. No, one does not have to practice zazen to do karate. But neither does one have to practice Christianity to be influenced by and have some profound feelings about certain Christian concepts and ideals.
But these are minor points, which no doubt will be brought into clearer focus as the author continues his journey down the long karate pathway of life.
Finally, what really sets Mark Groenewold's web site and book apart from the pack are his enthusiasm, optimism, and ever-positive attitude. He speaks strongly for and against numerous things, but he always takes the high road. He simply refuses to wallow in the quagmire of “mine is better than yours,” and in the world of karate, this alone is worth more than the price of the book.
Karate the Japanese Way is an outstanding book full of valuable information and insights for both new students and the most advanced. I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in karate or any other Japanese martial art.
|
| Hassell Sensei |
Randall Hassell has been practicing JKA Shotokan karate
since 1960 and is a member of the first generation of Americans to
pioneer JKA Shotokan karate in America. He is Chief Instructor of the
American Shotokan Karate Alliance, President of the American JKA
Karate Association, and a Founding Fellow of the International Karate
Society. He has written, edited, or significantly contributed to 28
books on the subject of karate and has published more than 100
magazine articles. He may be visited at his website
This review is Copyright ©2003 by its author.
This page is Copyright ©2003 Mark Groenewold
| Site Home | KTJW Reviews Home |