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Black Belt Karate: The Intensive Course (by Hirokazu Kanazawa Hardcover - Jun 22, 2006). Hirokazu Kanazawa is the most respected figure in the karate world today, and a close disciple of Gichin Funakoshi, the father of modern karate and the founder of the Shotokan school. Kanazawa founded the Shotokan Karate-do International Federation in 1979, after gaining his impressive reputation in Hawaii, the U.S. mainland, and Europe as an official trainer for the Japan Karate Association.

The Shotokan Karate-do International Federation now has branches in more than 90 countries throughout the world, including the United States. In Black Belt Karate, this preeminent figure in the karate world offers a systematic approach to basic karate. Karate is a martial art that can be practiced by anyone, regardless of age or gender, and can be undertaken at any time during a person's life.

The training system employed in karate is comprised of three main areas: kihon (basics), kumite (sparring) and kata (forms). Here, using meticulously detailed explanations and illustrative photos, Kanazawa offers an intensive self-study training course designed to be accessible to beginners, as well as to those who are already at an intermediate level. If practiced continuously and diligently over the course of a year, the practitioner will be able attain black-belt-level proficiency.  

The Karate Class Mystery (Invisible Inc. Hello Reader!, Level 4, No. 5) (by Elizabeth Levy and Denise Brunkus Paperback - Sep 1, 1996)The fifth mystery about the Invisible Inc. trio has the three grade-school friends suspecting one of their own. The setting is karate class, with lots of talk about moves, punches, and blocks; but who has stolen Justin's karate belt? Is it his friend Charlene, who is mad at him? Justin is hard of hearing, and the way he copes with his disability is a natural part of the story. The teacher, Sensei Bobby, is encouraging but never condescending, demanding the highest performance from all of them. In the end, the friends find the shamefaced culprit, and order is restored. This is an advanced title in the Hello Readers series, and much of the story is told in dialogue, which may make it less an easy-reading title than a good drama for readers' theater in the classroom. Hazel Rochman  

Best Karate, Vol.1: Comprehensive (Best Karate, 1) (by Masatoshi Nakayama Paperback - Jul 14, 1997) All the basic points of karate arranged systematically for effective learning, step by step--the parts of the body used as natural weapons, the stances, how to block, how to attack, introduction to the kata and to kumite.

The fundamentals as presented in this volume, briefly but accurately, are the distillation of the author's forty-six years' experience in this art of self-defense. As well as setting forth the basic rules that must be put into practice when performing kata or applying techniques in kumite, this volume pinpoints the underlying physical and physiological principles of karate: source and concentration of power; stance, form, stability and technique; movement in all directions; basic and comprehensive aspects of training.  

Best Karate, Vol.5: Heian, Tekki (Best Karate, 5) (by Masatoshi Nakayama Paperback - Jul 16, 1997) Kata, the formal exercises of karate training, were the essence of practice in Okinawa and China, and are the core training method even today.

Detailed here in 1500 sequential photos are the five Heian and three Tekki kata, mastery of which is necessary to attain first dan. Demonstrated by the author and Yoshiharu Osaka.  

The Twenty Guiding Principles of Karate: The Spiritual Legacy of the Master (by Gichin Funakoshi, Jotaro Takagi, and John Teramoto Hardcover - Nov 7, 2003) Gichin Funakoshi, "the father of karate," once said that "that ultimate aim of karate lies not in victory nor defeat, but in the perfection of the character of its participants."

To support this life-long stance and offer guidance to future practitioners, he penned his now legendary twenty principles. While the principles have circulated for years, a translation of the accompanying commentary has never found its way into publication-until now.

Master Funakoshi's approach stresses spiritual considerations and mental agility over brute strength and technique. Practitioners should not rely on technique alone-striking, kicking, blocking-but must nurture the spiritual aspects of their practice as well. Attend to yourself and the rest will follow, was the message he set for posterity over sixty years ago.

As axioms, Funakoshi's principles are open to various interpretations. "There is no first attack in karate" has occasioned endless discussion about its true meaning. Many of these ambiguities are clarified in the commentary, which is also filled with philosophical musings, fascinating historical episodes, and advice for anyone seeking a better Way.

Translated for the first time into English by John Teramoto, a karate practitioner himself, and accompanied by original calligraphy, this long-awaited treatise is a provocative read and, for martial arts enthusiasts, a long overdue godsend.  

 

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