Karate Books

by Kazumi Tabata
What fascinated me about this book is that it describes how things happen in slow motion to the experienced Martial Artist in an attack situation.
This is exactly what happened to me when I was attacked once at around 10pm on George St. About 10 young men came along the street looking for trouble.
One [...]

Karate Dictionary
This Dictionary focusses on Karate terms and their translation from Japanese into English. It includes Kanjii so that you can recognise the meaning within Japanese Literature. It covers techniques, kata, kihon (basics), stances and more from Beginner (e.g. ‘Heian Shodan’) to Advanced (e.g. ‘Ashikubi Kake Uke’).
It’s compact size makes it an ideal companion [...]

If you are looking for your first book that introduces you into the applications (Bunkai) and meaning behind the techniques in your (Shotokan) Karate Katas then this is it. But the emphasis lies on ‘introduction’.
It is well described and clearly documented with pictures. The introductory nature come with the basic application scenarios and techniques that [...]

Bubishi
Translation By Patrick McCarthy
Treasured for centuries by karate’s top masters, the Bubishi is a classic Chinese work on philosophy, strategie, medicine, and technique as they relate to the martial arts. Referred to as ” the bible of karate ” by the famous master Chojun Myagi, for hundreds of years the Bubishi was a secret text [...]

Shotokan’s Secret
By Bruce D. Clayton
This is a book that can help closing a number of history gaps that probably many of us have been wondering about.
Most Shotokan karate practitioners are aware , that Gichin Funakoshi is the so called father of modern Karate. On the other hand, there is not very much known about his [...]

Here are the missing books (Thanks to Hans for completing the list!) of Nakayama Senseis’ Best Karate series:
Best Karate Vol. 1. “ Introduction “
By Masatoshi Nakayama
This book gives a good overview of Shotokan Karate.
It contains an interesting mix from what Karate is all about, to some basic stands and techniques and a number [...]

Dynamic Karate (Bushido–The Way of the Warrior)
If there is something amongst the selection of all these fine books that we could call the ‘book of books in the world of Karate’ then this is it! This book covers absolutely everything you need to know and keep on remembering, no matter whether you just started or [...]

Hi there,
My colleague (who does all sorts of different martial arts and competes at world championships) and I had a quick chat today about stretching. We both agreed that unfortunately quite a few Karate and other Marital Arts instructors don’t really have enough knowledge about the human body in order to conduct and teach a [...]

Here’s this weeks blog review

Conditioning is Not Optional.
Whatever else karate may involve; it is about learning to fight. Students come to karate believing it will help them learn to fight. Fighting requires a high degree of fitness. …

Funakoshi Book Reviews » Blog Archive » Karate Jutsu – This book features basically the same information [...]

Best Karate – Kumite I
I’ve got this book as a birthday present from my Karate buddy James today. (Thank you James!!!!).
As others reported previously it is a fantastic book. It takes me through the philosophy of Karate and why the current movement towards Sport Karate is a concern from a traditional point of view. I’ve [...]