Karate: The Complete Kata

Great buy!!! My 11 yr old son is a green belt in Karate and is loving this book that actually explains each move!!!

Excellent step by step photos and explanations.

Very good book, hardcover, with plenty of images and information about karate, and kata. The book is divided in chapters, so it is much easier to find the information about the kata you want. The quality of the photos is very good, although they are small, compared to the size of the book, which is big, so you may find a lot of pictures in one page, but that's not a problem at all, because they are big enough to understand and see the position of hands, feet, head, hips etc.I recommend the book , because every shotokan karateka should know kata deeply, once they are the karate enciclopedia of techniques and movements.Well, and talking about amazon service.. I am from brazil, and I post my order by july 5th , and the estimated data of arrival was august 5th , and it arrived august 7th , so there were no significant delay in the delivery of the book, and I found amazon service very good, so I fully recommend the book , and the store.

This book is very thorough in photographing and labelling the movements for each Shotokan kata. The bunkai illustrations and explanations for each kata are worth analyzing. Presenting the tecnique's name and stance in japanese is very good, considering that a complete glossary is included in the last pages. The symbols for kiai, degree of kime, and type of breathing accompanying each technique are also presented and help illustrate the kata.I am currently using this book to complement my learning of kata in the dojo and it is very helpful for memorizing the sequences of movements. My reasons for not giving a five star review are:*There are no embusen diagrams presented for the kata. This would have made the kata presentation even more complete.*The introductory texts for each kata emphasize too much their history and possible origin, but do not explain enough of the meaning that each kata tries to convey.*On the sequencing format, I would have preferred to have each photograph be labelled directly underneath. Instead, the upper portion of the page presents all the unlabelled pictures while the lower section presents all the text.Overall, a very recommended book if you're interested in complementing your dojo training of Shotokan kata.

I studied Shotokan when I was 18 for 2 years and now in my 40s I wanted to get back into it, particularly kata practise so I bought this book just for that reason. Having just paged through it, it looks like I wasn't wrong in my purchase. Although the photos are B&W and a little old the book presents each kata in a clear and systematic manner. I am looking forward to reminding myself of the kata I learnt as a teenager and eventually moving on to the more advanced forms I didn't manage to get to. I believe this book will certainly allow me to do that. I think would have liked to have this by my side when I was a karate student way back when so would recommend it to any new students, particularly if you have a Sensei who expects you to know your latest kata just a day or two after passing your last grading, like I did....lol

I love the kata they included. If you are trying to learn kata from a book, and have the patience for it, this is an invaluable resource. The bunkai is iffy, but not every practitioner has solid bunkai for every position, which is one point of kata in the first place- practice and form your own ideas for how to use the techniques. This collection is worth its weight in gold if you wish to take the traditional path to study techniques.

This is by far one of the best books on the subject I have read so far. The detailed explanations of necessary focus and speed provided via a consistent key - even for intermediate movements - makes this a great reference tool for even more advanced Shotokan practitioners. The background/history provided in the foreword to each kata also contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the kata itself. A foot-movement diagram as in some other books (eg - Best Karate series) might have been of help to a beginner, but the multiple photographs from various sides almost completely makes up for this.The inclusion of photographs of the author from various demonstrations tops off a book that would be a great addition to any Shotokan practitioner's library.

This is an excellent book for any serious Shotokan Karateka. It's well laid out, and clearly states the facts complimented by sharp, relevent photos, from well thought out angles. This book answers many questions on the hows, whens and whys of doing S.K.I.F. SHOTOKAN KATA. I had the honor of training under Kancho's masterful 'eye' and he is a genius for detail, correctness and solutions. He's a humble man with many decades expirience and wisdom. If you intend to become a master in Shotokan kata, this is THE book.I wish you much luck on your path...PeterAnthony. Las Vegas S.K.I.F.