Essence of Okinawan Karate-Do Kindle Edition

I have quite a large library consisting of approximately 300 martial arts publications. This tops all on my list. It contains actual photographs of Nagamine himself performing ALL original 18 Matsubayashi-Ryu Kata plus so much more.It tops Funakoshi's book by a long shot because it is 100% Okinawan and does not vary from the most effective traditional Te. Whether you are a beginner or you are a master, this book should be your go-to guide. Nagamine Sensei was a very educated man that really knew what he was talking about.This is my top 5 recommended reading:1. The Essence of Okinawan Karate-Do by Shoshin Nagamine2. Karate-Do Kyohan: The Master Text by Gichin Funakoshi3. Goju-Ryu Karate-Do Kyohan by Gogen Yamaguchi4. Tiger Scroll of the Koga Ninja by Jay Sensei5. The Judo Handbook: From Beginner to Black Belt by Brian CaffaryHonorable mentions include The classics: The Art of War and The BubishiMy experience includes a Shodan in Goju-Ryu and Hachikyu in Kobayashi-Ryu.

I knew nothing of karate and its history and this book gave me a great insight. It explains its forms( katas) and why each technique was created. I grew up learning boxing, thai boxing, and grappling and was curious of karate and its many styles. My reasons for giving this read five stars is because it gave me a greater insight on real combat and not sport. Karate is great self-defence to learn, but the only reason I say this is because I have experience in fighting arts and I was told that karate was not affective in combat. I chose to have an open mind and found a great reason to learn karate. Enjoy.

This book is for people trying to master the art-form in addition to having a sensei - Doesn't help someone trying to learn karate by themselvesThan again, karate is about learning from others and propagating it...Has some history about the art form and names a lot of people that propagated it world-wideIt has lots of pictures and diagrams for each step of all the katas.Would have been better if there were textual or diagrammatic descriptions of moves themselves in addition to starting and ending position.Even better if the book explained the significance/purpose of each move (probably a textual description of the bunkai's)

this book is packed with vital information on shorin ryu. worth the money i paid and then some. Sensei Frost

Came as expected. Gives complete overview of karate as a tool for societal development.

Easy to read

This is a classic of Shorin-ryu. A must have if you practice or appreciate classical Okinawan karate. Those who practice a Japanese or Korean style should well consider their origins which are well described in this book. Comprehensive, with clear pictures and stance diagrams. Emphasis on practice of kata untainted by the modern tournament revisions.

Great book

An amazing piece of work with excellent photos of the late master demonstrating kata of the Shorin-Ryu Karate, and helpful historical information. Great value - I have the e-book and the paperback

A great book my a great Okinawan Karate master.

Love this book regarding the history of karate, well presented

Perfect... illustrations are really helpful for maintaining training standards in-between sessions.

Bought for my son for Christmas. He loves it. It was delivered quickly.