Shorin-Ryu Okinawan Karate Question and Answer Book

By William Cummins and William Cummins Robert Scaglione

Shorin-Ryu Karate USA/Matsubayashi Karate of Okinawa. Question and Answer format, containing history of Okinawan Karate. Geneology charts, drawings of all postures and techniques of the system.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0804814260
• ISBN13: 9780804814263
• Release Date: June 1991
• Publisher: Person to Person Publishing
• Length: 90 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.5" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

Wealth of Knowledge

I am a blackbelt student and instructor of Okinawan Shorin-ryu karata located in New York City; I started my training in 1997. This text is a great means to introduce yourself to Shorin Ryu karate as a beginner student; it is filled with facts and history of Okinawan Karate. Although I started this review stating it's a great introductory text, I have owned this book for over 13 years now and still reference it frequently and seem to learn something new every time I do. The next text I would recommend after reading this is Karate of Okinawa Building Warrior Spirit With Gan Soku Tanden Riki by William Cummins and Robert Scaglione. The "green" book focuses on the philosophies of the martial arts and was introduced to me by many of my Senseis upon receiving my Green belt, a number of years ago.

Great book for karate students

This book gives some of the many questions that are asked about Shorin-Ryu Matsubayashi. This is a good book for new and older students to review from time to time. The answers are thoughtful and colorful.

Great source

As a student of Mr. Scaglione, I can whole heartedly reccommend this book. He writes the same information in his book as he teaches in his classes, and this book is considered a bible throughout the school(currently 19 dojos). This book offers clear, concise information about the origins of karate and it's kata, about the courtesy involved, and about all the "details" associated with the art. Learn how to store your gi, how to tie your belt, the japanese terms commonly used in karate class, the traditions of the art, etc. This book is not meant to teach karate, but it is an invaluable source for any student of karate.

Valuable Resourse

This book was recommended to me by my sensei and I am pleased to share it with others. This is a book of lists, quizzes, and general tips and information presented in an extremely well-organized and interesting manner. It clearly points out key information and has helped me greatly with my studies. Most sources are either overwhelmingly detailed or oversimplified and it is difficult to sort through and figure out key concepts. This book does the work for you and is a convenient (and very portable!) challenging study guide. This is one of the very few sources of information about Fukyugata San available, with photos and descriptions of Ueshiro Sensei performing the kata. There are a few errors/debatable answers in the book (the kata information list is a good example), so if something doesn't seem right to you, check other places. This book is by no means a complete resource, but is invaluable when used with other sources of information.

Lots of great history and some interesting general info

I like the way this book was set up. It's easy to read with little "quizes" all the way through. It's got great info on the origin of kata (names and creator), information on japanese martial arts terminology, and some interesting "general martial arts knowledge" info. For example, they say that a well executed martial arts punch can generate 600 foot/pounds of pressure and that bone has a structural strength greater than that of concrete. Are these stats true? I'm not sure, but it makes for an interesting read.