Book recommendation's

[Shogun of Harlem]

I am interested in a few books on Okinawa Karate history any body have suggestions

thanks

[ShotokanKid]

A good book to read would be Karate Do: My Way of Life by Gichin Funakoshi.

[SenseiMike]

Yup, Funakoshi's biograghy is very good read.

[Shorin Ryuu]

I think a far better book would be John Sells' Unante: The Secrets of Karate (2nd edition). It is about 50 dollars, but the best book in English I've read on karate history (Okinawan and Japanese). If you want to know Okinawan karate history, that would be it. Most other books seem just like a Reader's Digest version in comparison.

Funakoshi's book certainly does have some interesting anecdotes, but any one serious about learning the history of Okinawan karate should invest in John Sells' book.

This may be the only place to buy it (perhaps?): http://www.martialsource.com/Unante.htm

[AndrewGreen]

Weaponless Warriors - Richard Kim

Tales Of Okinawa's Great Masters - Shoshin Nagamine

Essence of Okinawan Karate - Shoshin Nagamine

Bubishi - Translated by George Alexander and Ken Penland

Ancient Okinawan Martial Arts 1 & 2 - translated by Patrick McCarthy

Watashi no Karate-jutsu - Choki Motobu (translated McCarthy)

[ivette_green]

Anybody read that "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" book?

[Mark Groenewold]

For a history text you can't go wrong with either Harry Cook's beautiful text, or Randall Hassel's "Shotokan Karate: It's History and Evolution". Granted, there is a fair bit of Shotokan focussed stuff there, but the material on the early karate pioneers is quite excellent as well.

Mark

[NidaninNJ]

For a history text you can't go wrong with either Harry Cook's beautiful text, or Randall Hassel's "Shotokan Karate: It's History and Evolution". Granted, there is a fair bit of Shotokan focussed stuff there, but the material on the early karate pioneers is quite excellent as well.

Mark

That book by Harry Cook is awesome. I should buy it someday. I've read it by borrowing a friend's copy. It took a while to get through. Great stuff. Some it is about before Funakoshi's time, in Okinawa. Some of it's about Japan and the JKA. It's pretty much everything you wanted to know about Shotokan and then some.

More good books about karate in Okinawa are Nagamine's 'Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters' and Kim's 'Weaponless Warriors'. I know there are a couple more not already mentioned but I don't remember the titles.

[NidaninNJ]

Sorry. I just noticed somebody else already recommended the 2 books I just did. Well at least that shows you their worth reading, right!

[Killer Miller]

I checked out your website Mark. Very Nice...

- Killer -

For a history text you can't go wrong with either Harry Cook's beautiful text, or Randall Hassel's "Shotokan Karate: It's History and Evolution". Granted, there is a fair bit of Shotokan focussed stuff there, but the material on the early karate pioneers is quite excellent as well.

Mark