Best Karate, Vol.7: Jutte, Hangetsu, Empi

The Best Karate Series are the definitive books for learning the art of Shotokan karate. They have been around for many years and still none have surpassed their excellence. They are very helpful for the beginner and the advanced student alike. I have read them all and have found that each book in the series is excellent. Although you can't learn a martial art from a book alone, these books are an excellent supplement to your training and are very helpful in learning the finer points of the art of Shotokan. Each book in this series sets the standard for books on Shotokan training. There are simply none better, at least none better that I have found, and I read a lot of martial arts books. I highly recommend these books for anyone who is interested in improving their karate or who is interested in Shotokan. They are simply the best! Highly recommended. 5 Stars. Bohdi Sanders, Shotokan Blackbelt and author of Warrior Wisdom: The Warrior's Path

Nakayama Sensei's series of books have been a great addition to my twenty years of training in Shotokan. There are so many kata's in Shotokan it's easy to forget a single step that will stop you cold. This series of books explains each kata in numbered steps, each step broken down by a series of pictures showing how they should be performed including where the kiai's are. At the end of the step by step instructions are a series of pictures showing the application of the kata moves. Nakayama founded the Japan Karate Association along with Gichin Funakoshi and was the head of JKA until his death in 1987. It is extremely important to note that you cannot learn karate from a book. There are so many aspects to correct karate training you can easily develop bad habits. A qualified instructor can help you overcome those mistakes. But you will find the best instructors have a set of these books as well.

If you are a shotokan karateka the best karate series is one of the best resource materials around. Buy it today!!!

You need this book and all the books in this series if you are a Shotokan Karate student. Shotokan Karate is one of the most practiced styles of karate in the world, and this series of books by Sensei Nakayama will give you a fairly complete introduction to the style. These books were designed and distributed before we had dvds, and they were designed to provide a reference of correct technique in a world without enough qualified Shotokan Instructors. This volume provides the sequence and execution of three katas in the correct form as taught by Sensei Nakayama before his untimely passing. The kata shown in this volume are jitte, hangetsu, and empi. This book will not teach you to how to perform these katas correctly; for that you need a qualified instructor. However, these volumes are an unmatched reference for Shotokan Karate students. This and all the other books in the series provide the best reference yet for the entire syllabus of Shotokan Karate. If there is a downside to this volume, it's that the book is light on bunkai, or the application of the kata. And the applications that are shown are fairly superficial. On the other hand, the primary goal of this series was to provide a reference that Shotokan students all over the world could address as to sequence and form.

NOTE: This review, along with the other reviews of the books devoted to katas in this series, are identical in nature as the subject matter for each book only differs in the actual kata or katas being demonstrated. The layout and format are identical and that is what these reviews are based upon. This book, along with the rest of the books in the series, is an outstanding source of information on the correct execution of the Shotokan Karate katas in which this particular volume demonstrates. Now if you don't know anything about karate and purchase this book, it will do you about as much good as a screen door in a submarine. However, if you are already a practicing Shotokan Karate student, then this book is a must have for your continued advancement in the martial arts. Every book in this series that deal with the various katas, utilizes the same format throughout each book in order to show you the correct execution of each kata demonstrated. Admittedly there aren't a whole lot of words describing the various moves in the katas, but there are an abundance of photographs taken from various angles that pretty much show you exactly how your body should be positioned not only for each individual move, but also how your body should be positioned as you move from one position to another. At the end of each book is a special section devoted to particular points of interest in each kata that you should pay particular attention to. A nice addition to this already wonderful book. If you are a student of Shotokan Karate, or a student of another style that utilizes the same katas, I would highly recommend that you purchase these books in order to advance your knowledge of whatever particular kata or katas that you are currently working on. You won't be disappointed! Shawn Kovacich Martial artist/Author of the Achieving Kicking Excellence series.