The History of Karate and the Masters Who Made It: Development, Lineages, and Philosophies of Traditional Okinawan and Japanese Karate-do

The purpose of buying this book was as another source for research into the Matsumura line of Shorin Ryu. From the hour I've spent with this book, I find it near worthless."Some researchers" say this or that does not rise to the level of quality I'd except from someone who claims to know the topic and to understand writing and history.I own a substantial library of martial arts books, dating back to Gogen Yamaguchi's biography from 1967, which not by coincidence was when I first walked into a dojo. If anyone has a more complete genealogy of the Matsumura family karate system, I'd like to see it.There are better books to buy then this one. I'd suggest; Mark Bishop's Okinawa Karate, or Clark's "Okinawan Karate a History of Styles and Masters", or Karate Do History and Philosophy by Nakaya, or Okinawa No Bushi No Te The Hands of the Okinawan Bushi by Lindsey.

I was looking for a book on history of karate and was lucky enough to find this book just a few days after its release. I really liked the structure of the book and the author’s style of writing. It was very easy to read the book even after the working day (and being a non-native English speaker).A short glimpse on Okinawa’s history and the sociopolitical situation of the time karate was born is given at the beginning. Biographies of most prominent karate masters follow the historical introduction. Biographies are arranged into 2 main lineages, which puts development of karate into clearly defined perspective. Several philosophical issues are discussed at the end of the book.I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the history and development of karate. No specific technical knowledge of karate is required to read and enjoy this book.

I bought two of these, one for me and one for my instructor. He added it to his collection

Absolutely fantastic. This should be part of every karate practitioners library.

The author is extremely knowledgeable, and there are many historical photos.

I used for my own personal enrichment into the Okinawan past great resource to discover the roots of karate and your own martial art lineage

Worth reading. Pretty in depth history.

A well written book and a good read for any inspiring martial artists let us never forget our roots 🙏

Es un muy buen trabajo recopilatorio sobre este arte marcial, nos permite observar la construcción de los distintos tipos de estilos y sus fundadores. Muy recomendable para quienes practican este arte marcial o están interesados en el.

Desmistificou muitas histórias sobre o karatê. Possui descobertas muito interessantes sobre o assunto. Super recomendo, principalmente, aos amantes desse esporte.

As a dan belt I really enjoy learning of the history of our martial art, very informative and enlightening.