History and Traditions of Okinawan Karate by Hokama, Tetsuhiro (2000) Paperback Paperback – December 2, 2009

This is a very useful overview of Okinawan martial arts: karate and kobudo (weapons). The author personally interviewed all of the masters in Okinawan and has given us a glimpse into the martial culture that existed in Okinawa, at one time reserved for the upper classes and practiced in secret, only later disseminated through the public education system and, after WWII, around the world.Many oral traditions are recorded here for the first time, and all major and most minor schools are examined. Therelationship between folk dance and karate is also explored in detail, a subject often overlooked. The text is replete with photos, any rare, and for this reason alone it is worth owning.Other books of interest may include:  Okinawan Karate: Teachers, Styles and Secret Techniques , Unante , The History of Karate: Okinawan Goju-Ryu , Nintai: Philosophical Lessons in Okinawan Karate , In the Dojo: A Guide to the Rituals and Etiquette of the Japanese Martial Arts  and  Karate-Do: My Way of Life . There are several other good resources for sure, including the martial arts journals one finds at stores, but these books are handy references for history (you don't learn techniques from books usually).A final tidbit of interest: Mario McKenna recently translated one of the pioneering books on karate, edited and partly written by Genwa Nakasone, which features the outcome of the meeting of several masters in the 1930s to try to set some sort of standardized basic karate system in place on teh island and in Japan. Photos of Chibana, Gusukuma (shiroma shimpan), Miyagi, Kyan, Taira Shinken, Mibuni and others are shown, most not found anywhere other than the Japanese text. Also, essays by Gusukuma and Taira and others add to a hithertoo inaccessable peice of karate knowledge and history for non-Japanese speakers. A real gem, it is translated as "An Overview of Okinawan Karate-do". It is THE must have if you are into the history of Okinawan karate. It is currently not available here, but it is available via a search.

Hanshi Hokama is one of the leading experts in the history of Okinawan karatedo. He has access to photos of the old masters, some that no one else has, and published them in this book.

I have some respect for Tetsuhiro Hokama. He is a good karate practitionner, the first who had the idea to do a karate museum. He seems like a nice person with an open mind... But this book is really bad !The first half of the book :The first half is on karate history. It has tons of photos of old masters and karate pionniers. The image quality is average, but the pictures are still interesting and some cannot be found on internet (the less interesting ones). There are tons of calligraphy from the autor... it really is used as a filler, and, except if you are a fan of calligraphy, is really of no interest. The karate history itself... not much text... no citations... no bibliography... no argumentation or reflexions whatsoever. It is mainly a brief resume of old text or oral traditions from the autor point of view.The second half half of the book :... more fillers. Description of esoteric technics without any images. Photos of ressucitation techniques without any explanations. Seisan kata (goju.-ryu version) in picture sequence with no explanations and no bunkai.Conclusion :This book is of no interest ! If you whant to have a look at original texts and oral tradition un-abrieged and translated in english, check the internet for Sanzinsoo translations. If you whant good pictures of karate pionners... google it, the quality will be better and you can find most of the more interesting images of this book. If you what to read a book about karate history that is well researched, by someone who uses a scientific approach, chek out Christopher M. Clarke "Okinawan Karate : A History of Styles and Marters" Volume 1 & 2.

I bought the book in support of the author, a wonderful, knowledgeable (and quite dangerous!) man, Hokama Sensei.This fits well in my collection, I love the discussions and the photos.

Great book with historic photographs and loads of information about Okinawan karate and Kobudo.