Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters (Tuttle Martial Arts) Kindle Edition

Shoshin Nagamine (1907 - 1997) was the founder of Matsubayashi-Ryu Karate-Do. He wrote The Essence of Okinawan Karate-Do, another valuable tome, in addition to this book. Practicing his art for more than 70 years, he achieved the rank of Hanshi (10th dan black belt) in karate and also earned black belts in judo, kendo, and sumo. He was president of the Okinawan Police Station, served as police chief of Naha City, and as an instructor of police judo teams in Okinawa, Japan. The guy not only knew his stuff, but was one heck of a good researcher. His insight into the titans of Okinawan martial arts is fascinating, a "must read" for any serious martial artist. Patrick McCarthy's translations are extraordinary. The book is a quick, easy read, coming across as if it had been written by a native English speaker. McCarthy even translates haiku into poetic, user-friendly English.Nagamine Sensei spent a lifetime researching the budoka covered in his book. He trained and/or talked with some of them personally, interviewing the relatives and students of those who have passed on. He artfully portrays the exploits of Tode Sakugawa, Sokon Matsumura, Kosaku Matsumora, Anko Itosu, Gichin Funakoshi, Chotoku Kyan, Choki Motobu, Kanryo Higaonna and Ankichi Arakaki, to name a few, cutting through the fables and exaggerated legends to get to the truth.The only drawback is that it does not include a glossary or index, so you will probably want to take notes as you peruse it. My copy is battered, dog-eared, and covered with sticky notes. An extraordinary tome, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.Lawrence KaneAuthor of Blinded by the Night, among other titles

Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters is exactly what the title describes, but also so much more. Sensei Nagamine is a prolific writer and historian, and he is transparent in his telling of the legendary martial artists of RyuKyu. He does not seem to hold back the stories he meticulously collected from family members and friends of those in his book.While this book is vastly different from his more widely circulated work, "The Essence of Okinawan Karate-do" (which has detailed diagrams of all the Matsubayashi-ryu katas and movements, along with lengthy, incisive explanations), Sensei Nagamine also discusses the heart, or "kokoro", of what he considers to be the foundations of martial arts. He offers insights into how training should be pursued, physically, mentally, and spiritually, as it was passed down from those before him, and the true journey to conquering the forces within. He keeps nothing a secret, and passes his wisdom through many of these stories.This book is not one that you want to read from beginning to end in one sitting. Many of his insights will be best served to be pondered upon and carefully considered. The chapters do move quickly, since they are quite enjoyable, at turns witty and humble. One can tell that Sensei Nagamine, if he had been born in a different era, may have become an accomplished professor or social scientist as well as a martial artist.

Nagamine Shoshin, the author of thos book, was well qualified to write this book.I liked everything about this book.I would reccomend this yext to anyone who is interested in tesrarching the art of karate.

I waited a long time for this to be released after hearing about it. McCarthy's translation is top-notch. It was interesting to read about the legends of budo and compare them to the modern interpretation of martial arts. Such contrast!

A truly wonderful read. The philosophy of the great masters for me is summed up nicely in the very last paragraph.

A lot of first hand history that needs to be told... a great book

This book is a must have for anyone serious about Karate history. It is the first one to read if you want to know the old stories. Nagamine had interviewed many people who knew the old masters as well as interviewing the masters themselves if they were around. The chapters are at time too brief such as the one on Funakoshi. Breaking Points: Using History, Maxims and Modern Science to Understand Kata

This is a pretty good book. It has some good true stories in it.

a very informative book would recoment

Wer Kampfkunst ganzheitlich von der Wurzel an betreiben möchte, findet in diesem Buch seine Erfüllung, Bestätigung und Inspiration. Kampfkunst bzw. traditionelles Okinawa Karate ist Bewegung in Meditation oder Meditation in Bewegung und ganz große Kunst. Hier wird nicht eine Sportart beschrieben, sondern ein "do", eine Lebenseinstellung. Ich habe mich für diesen Weg entscheiden und bin froh, ein Shorin-Ryu Dojo gefunden zu haben, das mich dabei begleitet.

Versión kindle muy mal. Es mejor libro de papel.