BOOK  LIST 1   6.29.2013

Over the years I have bought everything on karate that I could get my hands on. Of course the books I bought are what I found important to my studies.  I also had subscriptions to a number of karate magazines.  Back when I started to collect books there really weren’t that many books out there and some of them are just not worth having.  When I would travel to another city or state I would search through used book stores, or talk to any karate people for info on karate books.  Remember this was before the internet and Amazon, so it was just a hit or miss on finding books.

I must say that the majority of my books are first edition, which I’m pretty proud of.  I also have some that are signed by the author which I think is pretty cool.

The list of my books are in several categories:  History,  How to, Philosophy, Weapons, all types of styles (Japanese, Okinawan), and from karate men who told their stories.  I have always been fascinated about how the old masters trained and who trained with whom. My spare time, when I wasn’t in the dojo, was reading and tracing our lineage of our Karate. The history of karate books only go back to the early 1900’s,  most of the books or letters or any kind of writing have been lost to the years. There are a lot of books out there that are just rehashed history of Okinawan karate.  Also, I do have a number of Chinese martial arts books that relate to our history and give me a little more insight to how karate came around.

So here are some books that I think are worth checking out and maybe you should add to your library:

HISTORY:

One of the earliest books out there is ASIAN FIGHTING ARTS, by Donn F. Drager and Robert W. Smith (it came out in 1969).  Anything by Mr. Draeger is good, he mostly was a Judo man and studied Japanese weapons.  Mr. Smith has a number of books about Chinese martial arts.

MARTIAL ARTS, TRADITIONS, HISTORY, PEOPLE,  by John Corcoran and Emil Farkas

UNANTE-The Secrets of Karate by John Sells

OKINAWAN KARATE: A History of Styles and Master Vol.1&2  by Christopher M. Clarke These two books came out in 2012, and would be a great way to start reading and learning about the history of karate.  They are very well done and are spot on about the true history of karate and the old masters.

The list of history books go on and a lot of them are just the history of some masters own styles of karate. It seems that the modern teachers would put a book out on their karate history, training methods, and kata, which gives us a good piece of the karate puzzle.

HOW TO BOOKS:

Most of the how to books I own are about Bunkai (kata applications).  The first on my list would be any books by Master Funakoshi, Head of the ShotoKan and the first to write books on Karate.  His first book came out in 1922 and there are a number of books that list his kata (which are close to ours) and the applications.  All of his books are in paperback and are worth having.  If you look around and check out used bookstores you can find them in hardback.

One of my favorite books is BUNKAI JUTSU-The Practical Application of Karate Kata, by Ian Abernethy.

MASTERING KARATE, by M. Oyama.  Master Oyama has a number of books out and all are good.  They show basics and application, and gives information on how to do kicks and punches correctly.

 

While this is just a start of the book list, it might be easier to list some of my favorite authors.  Probably the leading authority on the history of karate is Patrick McCarthy, which is my favorite author.  Mr. McCarthy has translated some of the first books on karate to English:  THE BUBISHI,  ANCIENT OKINAWAN MARTIAL ARTS VOL. 1 & 2,  and a number of letters and writings from Master Itosu, Master Mabuni, and Master Motobu.  All of his work is great and definitely worth having.  Both Harry Cook and Mark Bishop have some good books as well.

Here are books that are a good read and tell a lot about karate philosophy and karate masters:

TALES OF OKINAWA’S GREAT MASTERS, by Shoshin Nagamine (translated by P. McCarthy)

KARATE MASTERS, by Jose Farguas

WEAPONLESS WARRIORS, by Richard Kim

MOVING ZEN, by C.W. Nicol

 

I want to list a few of the Japanese books that are old and more about the Samurai, but they had a large influence on karate and can be applied to our Karate:

A BOOK OF FIVE RINGS, by Miyamoto Musashi Translated by Victor Harris

HAGAKURE, by Yamamoto Tsunetomo (translated by William Scott Wilson)

THE DEMON”S SERMON ON THE MARTIAL ARTS, by Issai Chozanshi (translated by William Scott Wilson).  Mr. Wilson has translated a number of old Japanese books and they all seem to be good.  I know he also translated the Book of Five Rings and I have a great book that he did on the life of Musashi, so any of his stuff is worth checking out.

THE WAY AND THE POWER, by  Fredrick J. Lovret,  a great book on Japanese strategy that we can use in our Karate.

I have hundreds of karate magazines that I have collected though the years but the only one I buy now is CLASSICAL FIGHTING ARTS, put out by TSUNAMI.  It really is the voice of traditional karate.

 

So there’s a few books I think would be a good start on your “way” to building your library.  The best way is just find a book you are interested in and go for it.  I happen to love books so I keep looking and collecting so I can try to pick up something from each one.  The Karate story is a puzzle and it seems like the books from the different styles are just a little part of the picture.  So I’ll keep reading and maybe I can put my puzzle together.  One thing I’ve noticed is that after reading one book it gives me a clue to another book or to another Master, so I can keep learning and trying to figure the puzzle out.

If you want to learn something new, look to the old.

See you in the dojo