This book details the "problems" with Karate as it is taught today. Unlike most other books of this genre, it details exactly how to remedy these problems. Russell Stutely takes you on a step by step guide to really make your Martial Arts work.

Reveals the origins and purpose of the art of shotokan. This book describes how karate was invented by the world's only unarmed bodyguards to protect the world's only unarmed king, the king of Okinawa, against Americans.

Suddenly, I was dead. Then some half-assed deity performed some half-assed ritual and I'm sent deep inside a wild forest... I've got no magic. No cheats. The only things I can rely on are my wits and my karate! All that's left is to fend for myself in this harsh and unforgiving new world!

Karate is not just a sport or a hobby—it’s a lifetime study toward perfection of character. Here, Dave Lowry, one of the best-known writers on the Japanese martial arts, illuminates the complete path of karate including practice, philosophy, and culture. He covers myriad subjects of interest to karate practitioners of all ages and levels, including: • The relationship between students and teachers • Cultivating the correct attitude during practice • The differences between karate in the East and West • Whether a karate student really needs to study in Japan to perfect the art • The meaning of rank and the black belt • Detailed descriptions of kicks, punches, evasions, and techniques and the philosophical concepts that they manifest • What practice means and looks like as one ages • How the practice of karate aims toward cultivating character and spiritual development After forty years studying karate and the budo arts, Lowry is an informative and reliable guide, highlighting aspects of the karate path that will surprise, entertain, and enlighten.

This invaluable martial arts philosophy handbook presents ancient wisdom for contemporary readers. Secrete Tactics contains brilliant new interpretations of fundamental works of strategy and martial arts tactics by Miyamoto Musashi, Gichin Funakoshi, Yamamoto Tsunetomo, and various martial arts tomes. It distills the important teachings on leadership, character and values found in those books. Readers will unlock the secrets of their art and of themselves. These and a dozen other essays on strategy, combat tactics, psychology, leadership, good character, and the exercise of power, make Secret Tactics an indispensable resource for students of Asian culture, martial artists, and corporate executives.

Breaking Through is about much more than a single kata. Colin Wee describes his four-decade journey in the martial arts, during which he came to recognize common training deficiencies in traditional hard-style striking arts such as Karate and Taekwondo. His ingenious, multi-faceted solution, dubbed the JDK Method, utilizes the strengths of kata to teach key dynamic combat skills and concepts forgotten and overlooked in modern training. Breaking Through is a case study of the JDK Method as applied to Bassai Dai—a pattern trained across many Karate and Taekwondo styles. In Breaking Through: The Secrets of Bassai Dai Kata, Colin plumbs the depths of Bassai Dai, having returned to it for inspiration time and again to deconstruct it and extract its most valuable lessons. The twelve applications presented herein delve beyond simplistic bunkai and traditional step-sparring. The lessons taught through Bassai Dai—which Master Wee and his students have relentlessly studied, tested and trained—are an effective series of principles and defenses against the most common and frequent attacks one is likely to face. When instructors and students link the applications from Breaking Through to how Colin and his students got there—the logic of why the applications work and how the applications address a dynamic combat situation—they learn to fill in the gaps left by traditional training. This is where the magic of the book truly happens. It is truly the book's subject. Once readers establish the link with the applications and the methodology, they can apply this knowledge to any other form in any other system, and it instantly levels up their understanding of how traditional training can be put to work. Published at a time when many have foregone the practice of patterns, claiming they are outdated and of little use to modern students, Colin unlocks advanced lessons encrypted in Bassai Dai kata and by this demonstrates how to universally apply the JDK Method to patterns in any style of martial art.

An entertaining odyssey by all means, which all readers, not only karate-ka, can enjoy. The work describes a fascinating 'voyage of discovery' through the Okinawan martial arts during the author's younger years. Both informative & factual, the work leads the reader on a journey of initiation from the preliminary stages of being a 'live-in disciple' of Goju-ryu & trainee of Matayoshi Kobudo in post-Reversion Okinawa, as he travels with the reader through the exploration of Uechi-ryu, Shorin-ryu & Okinawan te; also of a vast spectrum of connected Ryukyuan cultural entities. His attention to detail is commendable, as the shared expedition becomes an esoteric odyssey to find the zen spark of enlightenment that evades so many seekers, but which can be found within one's own nature. Mark D Bishop is arguably the foremost authority on historical Okinawa karate & martial arts. He continues to write, travel, research and teach extensively on various aspects of these, including its related anma bodywork & zen.

We all know the meaning of the word kata. Even to nonpractitioners it is a familiar karate practice. Plus, the word has long been incorporated into the English language. For this reason I choose to write the plural as “katas,” and not follow the Japanese tradition where “kata” can be both singular or plural. By doing this I’ve ruffled feathers already, since many hold such a sacred bond with the time and place where karate took shape. Trouble with one word? Now how about the whole Okinawan martial tradition as passed on through katas? A kata is much like a family jewel that has passed down through generations. It holds a significance that is difficult to decipher, and many dispute the meaning of every micromovement it contains. Who created it? What are the applications? Is kata practice outdated? Is there more than we can see and understand? You bet. It is precisely because of the confusion and misunderstandings regarding the place of kata in the karate tradition that we are thrilled to present a two-volume e-book on this subject. If katas are learning tools that pass down knowledge of a valued art, then the authors included in this anthology can certainly facilitate the learning process for all interested in karate. Each author has excellent experience in the field, having studied directly under masters, often on the largest island in the Ryukyu island chain. In addition to their long years of physical participation in the school of hard knocks, their depth of scholarly research into the encompassing culture allows their writings to illuminate many aspects of kata practice that normally go unnoticed. In our quest to better understand the full significance of kata practice, we must take a serious look at why old masters formulated the routines. How can kata practice better our health and promise to hone our self-defense skills? Each chapter in this anthology deals with the principles that guide kata practice. Hopefully the reading will reveal some of the secrets to improving techniques. As with other martial traditions, some insights cannot be shared through written word. Like good teachers, may the chapters here inspire you to look deeper into kata practice.

Time moves on, cultures change with the twists of history and secret arts are lost. To understand the essence of karate, kobudo and te is to read and digest this work. To devour the mysteries of the secret principles it records is to dwell in a former time, only then will the reader know the true meanings of what the masters passed on. This book was a classic of the 20th century and, with the passing of time, is now considered to be an historic record for the modern era; both a time capsule and an integrated tool of knowledge transmission. Also featuring contributions from the latest breed of expert researchers, this Expanded Third Edition keeps the original version alive in its entirety, while bringing the Okinawan karate world up to date, as it expands into an ever-increasing international world. Be warned though, it also answers questions that have not been asked until now and topics that could not have been discussed, while expanding on newly debatable issues. This is what the masters were really saying

TARGET YOUR OPPONENT’S VITAL POINTS TO DISABLE ANYONE USING MINIMAL FORCE•Over 300 step-by-step photos show each point and strike•Written by a 9th - Dan Master and renowned expert on pressure point fightingMartial arts lore tells of masters who possessed a mysterious ability to defeat an opponent with a single perfectly placed blow. The Secret Art of Pressure Point Fighting transforms the ancient legend into a modern reality—an anatomically based fighting and self-defense system that allows a smaller defender to defeat a larger attacker by striking at the key points on his body. Straightforward and easy to understand, The Secret Art of Pressure Point Fighting provides a complete overview of the body’s vulnerable points and teaches how to stop an attacker as quickly as possible using a minimal amount of physical strength.