Handbook of Shotokan Karate

"Isn't it too late for me?"

It isn't. Gichin Funakoshi, the man who brought karate from Okinawa to Japan, began teaching it in Tokyo at 53, and today Shotokan is trained by everyone from five-year-olds to people past seventy. This book is the map of the path from the first bow to the black belt.

Shotokan is the most widely practiced karate style in the world: long, low stances, powerful straight-line techniques and the ideal of one technique, one decision. This handbook shows how every technique is done and why it is done exactly that way, and it spells out what is expected of you at every belt.

Inside you will find:

• A detailed syllabus for every grade from 10th kyu to shodan: new techniques, kata, kumite, bunkai, conditioning with concrete numbers, the most common mistakes and a clear "you're ready when..." test


• 16 detailed diagrams: the stances seen from above with foot positions and weight distribution, footwork, the path of power in the reverse punch, the trajectories of the strikes and blocks, the kicks phase by phase, and move-by-move charts of Taikyoku Shodan, Heian Shodan, Nidan, Sandan and Tekki Shodan


• Profiles of every kata to black belt, from Taikyoku Shodan and the five Heian to Bassai Dai, Kanku Dai, Jion and Empi, plus a map of the advanced kata


• A home-training plan: a weekly schedule, a 10-minute minimum for the busiest days, a 12-minute warm-up and how to avoid the most common injuries


• A chapter for every age, from children of four to beginners past sixty, including parent and child training in the same dojo


• Mental preparation: mokuso, kata visualization, an exam-day routine, fear in kumite and the plateau


• The world of the dojo: etiquette, the Dojo Kun and Funakoshi's twenty principles, counting and commands in Japanese, how to choose a dojo, competition rules (shobu ippon and WKF) and a full glossary with kanji


• Exam checklists for every belt and a training log for your sensei's corrections

Who it is for: the undecided parent watching from the bench while the child trains; the beginner in a new white gi who wants to see the whole path; the brown belt preparing for shodan; and the practitioner of another style who wants to understand the logic of Shotokan.

The syllabus follows the most widespread line, that of the JKA and the organizations that grew out of it. Belt colors and details vary between organizations, and your sensei always has the final word. The book is the map; the path is walked in the dojo.

Written as a companion to the author's Goju-Ryu Karate Handbook, with the same structure.

Oss, and welcome to the path.