Traditional Shotokan karate
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Traditional Shotokan karate
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If you think the links and recommendations here are in the wrong order, they
are not. Without a strong mind, you cannot develop a strong karate.
Further reading for the mindGichin Funakoshi's own autobiography Karate-Do: My way of life is a must to read for any serious kareteka. So is his The twenty guiding principles of karate and The essence of karate.One has to try and understand a little bit about the Japanese society during the time these books were written. It was a society with many layers of etiquette, and the books are written with at least two meanings of everything that are written there: The form and the message. Most important was the form, so to not upset anyone in the Japanese society. So some times the writing can feel high-drawn and a bit too polite. But remember, these texts are old. Maybe there is something for us to learn from the form as well as the actual message? A bit more esoteric maybe, but very interesting, is Dave Lowry's book Moving toward stillness. Extra-curricular reading for those who has already finished all of the books above: The karate way - discovering the way of practice also by Dave Lowry. Further reading for the bodyAgain, starting with the old grand master Gichin Funakoshi, his Karate-Do Kyohan: The master text is a great source of inspiration for the what and how to train. Just like the books in the previous section is giving you insights to why.After that Karate: The Complete Kata by Hirokazu Kanazawa is a good source to look at the moves in any kata. There might be details that differ from the way we do the katas. But the general concept is the same. The book 25 Shoto-Kan Kata by Shojiro Sugiyama is a really good complement to the above books. Same note here: Details might differ slightly. Also entertaining and interesting reading / watching is almost anything anything by Iain Abernethy or Johnny van Weenen Katas on YouTubeNote: The links here are only to be considered as a help for you to jolt your memory. There might be details in the video that differ from the way we do the katas. But the general concept is the same.9th kyu, orange belt Kihon (here called Taikyoku shodan, which is the same kata.) 8th kyu, red belt Heian Shodan 7th kyu, yellow belt Heian Nidan 6th kyu, green belt Heian Sandan 5th kyu, 1st purple belt Heian Yondan 4th kyu, 2nd purple belt Heian Godan 3rd kyu, 1st brown belt Tekki Shodan 2nd kyu, 2nd brown belt Bassai Dai 1st kyu, 3rd brown belt belt All of the above. No, I am not joking. Dan grade katas Bassai Sho Kanku Dai Kanku Sho Empi (Enpi) Jiin Jion Jitte Tekki Nidan Hangetsu Chinte Nijushiho Sochin Meikyo Unsu Wankan |
| © Tony Andersson |