The first of two books, it contains the complete syllabus required to take the student from absolute beginner to Green belt. Each section is clearly divided into separate levels for each kyu grade, incorporating all the appropriate techniques, sparring and kata.

A Kata is fighting, self-defence, precision and dynamic force all in one. It represents a fascinating multitude of logical, sequential techniques, with which the Karateka can demonstrate what he can do regarding his body control, powers of persuasion, perfection and fighting spirit. The repertoire of Shotokan Karate contains 26 Kata in all. The Master Kata described in this work belong to the advanced part of the repertoire and carry on from the 17 basic and advanced Kata introduced in Volume 1. This then completes the list of all the Shotokan Karate Kata. There are 9 Kata with Bunkai in this book: Sochin, Meikyo, Chinte, KankuSho, Wankan, Ji'in, Jitte, Gankaku, Unsu. There are approximately 600 photographs and detailed descriptions, which allow a deeper understanding of the Kata and their application. Armed with this information, it should be easy now for the Karateka to be able to improve himself in his routine training, grading tests and competition.

Tsuku Kihon refers to powerful and dynamic techniques used and taught by some Shotokan karate instructors. The idea behind Tsuku Kihon is that power and closing distance are greatly enhanced by propelling the body forward using basic karate principles. A group of approximately 25 Tsuku Kihon combinations was developed by several Shotokan instructors in the middle of the 20th century. Sensei Luis Bernardo Mercado decided to expand and categorize Tsuku Kihon in order to increase its applications and to create a formal structure for teaching them. Many months of trial and error by the author of this book resulted in an additional 42 combinations and three methods by which Tsuku Kihon can be systematically taught to intermediate and advanced karate students. This second edition of Tsuku Kihon is expanded to include several more exercises that will help practitioners improve their skills in this art form. Chapter 3 is for instructors to use as an introduction of Tsuku Kihon to beginners below brown belt. These exercises teach how to drop into an attack and end up in a complete front stance. Chapters 10 and 11 are meant for advanced students who have been training in Tsuku Kihon for about one year. Using the heavy bag and makiwara will sharpen skill at all levels and improve kime and distancing. Chapter 14 integrates sweeps into Tsuku Kihon combinations, which will raise kumite to a higher level of proficiency. Together, these additional drills will make for a more rounded martial arts practitioner, competitor, and improve self-defense capabilities. Another great addition to this updated book is beautiful artwork by Nobu Kaji (tsuku kihon, kihon, and kata techniques), Egil Thompson (samurai scene drawings) and Mike Thompson (wood inlay artwork for back cover). All these original works of art give a sense of real action and martial arts spirit.

"The Invention of Martial Arts examines the media history of what we now call 'martial arts' and argues that martial arts is a cultural construction that was born in film, TV and other media. It argues that 'martial arts' exploded into popular consciousness entirely thanks to the work of media. Of course, the book does not deny the existence of real, material histories and non-media dimensions in martial arts practices. But it thoroughly recasts the status of such histories, combining recent myth-busting findings in historical martial arts research with important insights into the discontinuous character of history, the widespread 'invention of tradition', the orientalism and imagined geographies that animate many ideas about history, and the frequent manipulation of history for reasons of status, cultural capital, private or public power, politics, and/or financial gain. In doing so, The Invention of Martial Arts argues for the primacy of media representation as key player in the emergence and spread of martial arts. This argument overturns the dominant belief that 'real practices' are primary, while representations are secondary. The book makes its case via historical analysis of the British media history of such Eastern and Western martial arts as Bartitsu, jujutsu, judo, karate, tai chi and MMA across a range of media, from newspapers, comics and books to cartoon, film and TV series, as well as television adverts and music videos, focusing on key but often overlooked texts such as adverts for 'Hai Karate', the 1970s disco hit 'Kung Fu Fighting', and many other mainstream and marginal media texts"--

"Simple text and full-color photographs introduce beginning readers to the sport of karate. Developed by literacy experts for students in grades two through five"--Provided by publisher.

Thirty Man Kumite is one of karate's toughest tests. Kumite means fighting, so it means fighting a line-up of 30 people, one after the other, with no pause in between each fight. Each new fighter is fresh, and the person taking the test must move up the ranks fighting higher and higher grades, the strongest last. Few martial artists will ever experience this. This book is a true account of Goran Powell's Thirty Man Kumite - which was much harder than even he had imagined - and the lifetime of martial arts that led up to it. He explains what he learned at each stage and how he put it into prac.