Thursday, January 31, 2013

PDF Books Available


Greetings and Salutations All: I have worked toward compiling two small pdf books as an exercises and learning effort on terminologies for martial arts as well as my interpretation of the karate koan most call the ken-po goku-i. I didn't do this to publish for money and I don't plan on trying to charge for these two pdf books in the future.

I am making them available free to whomever wishes to obtain them for study and reflection. If you would be interested in reading them simply send me an email address that I can send them to as attachments. Please note that I am still editing them both so you will find errors and omissions within as to grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. I have a friend who is an editor who has graciously consented to edit the ken-po goku-i effort. When it is done I plan of notifying those who ask for a copy so they can have an updated and hopefully fully edited final edition.

The terminology pdf book is not what you might normally find as it does not give technical/technique oriented terms but rather terms of a teaching/martial philosophical nature. I had this one as a blog for a while but decided it might better serve those who are interested to have a pdf version available to either read and use via electronic means, i.e. either a computer like the iPad or a kindle reader type thing. 

So, send your email to isshin.do.karate@gmail.com and I will gladly send you one or the other or both for your reading pleasure. I would ask that if you do that you give me your review of them, if you wouldn't mind, when you have read them. - Thanks!

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Samurai: The Last Warrior

Bibliography:
Man, John. "Samurai: The Last Warrior." Bantom Books. London. 2011.

Review: One quarter way through as of 13:17 hours on January 24th in the year 2013. I am impressed and will follow up with a more comprehensive review when reading is completed. I can say with enthusiasm that this one should be in any martial art library.

I am stunned by the misconceptions we have regarding both the samurai of Japan and the martial arts that have come to being from as far back as the feudal era to present day.

February 13, 2013: Satsuma, a family name many who practice karate recognize as the family of samurai who conquered Okinawa around the 1600's. It appears that this samurai tribe had far more influence on the changes that Japan, and by osmosis Okinawa, endured during the restoration period.

This book looks at one of those samurai who had a huge influence on this period of history, Saigo. It goes through his associations and connections with Japan, the Shogun and the Satsuma. It is an excellent book on the history, culture and belief of Japan that had a strong influence on its subjects of Okinawa.

Nice addition to the martial library and it will open some eyes as to how things transpired and affected the martial practices of modern times.