Best Karate, Vol.8: Gankaku, Jion

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.

This whole series by Master Nakayama is superior to everything else out there in my humble opinion. All levels can benefit tremendously from every book. The kata described in these books are presented with outstanding camera work and superior foot work diagrams. The tempo of each kata is also demonstrated (usually at the front of the book) so that proper timing and speed can be taught. After each kata is a small (couple of pages) demonstration of a couple moves in the kata describing a particular use and common mistakes. Brilliant!!!

This book, and the entire "Best Karate" series, have the typical JKA (former JKA that is), high production values and painstaking attention to detail. With the exception of the first few kata books of this series, novice rank students may find it difficult to understand many of the nuances of the techniques presented, but in fact, the entire series is a virtual warehouse of infomation for the more advanced student, and is perfect as a reference source. The late Mr. Nakayama has always produced publications of high quality, and this series is no exception, even for students not aligned with the JKA or even Shotokan, for that matter.