Author: Kousaku Yokota

Publisher: Xlibris Corporation

Published: 2013-03

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 9781483612386

Introduction: My first book, Shotokan Myths, was published in 2010 and to my great pleasure it has received a lot of positive feedback from many readers. Some sent me emails and told me that this book gave them a different perspective to their training. One reader in Australia, Ms. Astrid Meid, called it her karate Bible which almost embarrassed me and here is what she wrote; "I have been using your book like a karate bible, I open any page and read from there, it has helped me to open my mind further as I try to understand and look beyond the meaning and continually question karate as such, in life, in spirit, and of course the techniques, I am find myself asking myself questions about technique applications and looking for any possible way to combat that technique, it is very good for me mentally. A great book, one of those that you can open any page, read just that page and then put the book down." Another reader from the UK, Ms. Moley Walsh, also gave me a very nice compliment; "I found this book to be the most educational karate book I have ever read. I found it extremely interesting and have learned so much more than I expected. I read this book in awe just by knowing that the information you have written must have taken you hundreds and hundreds of man hours to research to which you kindly decided to share with the rest of us karate-ka. It was a very enjoyable read and has given me plenty more to think about. All of your answers have turned into many more questions, but questions I never even thought about until now, and so this gives me even more to research. I thank you personally for the book and think that you have done an incredible job in putting all of this together. I do not have a bad thing to say about it. I was trying to see which chapter I enjoyed the most, but I don't have one, I simply could not put the book down." Those readers realized there were many "facts" and "truths" that were hidden or taken for granted and those subjects needed to be questioned. They said what I shared in the book made sense. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the readers who took time to read my first book as well as those who purchased this one which covers many other subjects that I could not put in my first book. My second book, Shotokan Mysteries, contains the following interesting subjects. Chapter 1. Funakoshi's New Techniques Chapter 2. The Mysteries of Heian Kata Chapter 3. Heian Bunkai Mysteries Chapter 4. Mikazuki Geri, An Extinct Kick? Chapter 5. Disparity Between Kata And Kumite Chapter 6. Why Uchi Uke? Chapter 7. Does Shotokan Lack Circular Techniques? Chapter 8. Straight Techniques in Circular Movements Chapter 9. Unstable Balance Chapter 10. Gravitation, Your Enemy? Chapter 11. Karate Master Chapter 12. Shu Ha Ri Chapter 13. Tenketsu Jutsu (Dim mak) Epilogue: The Last Samurai I cannot believe that three years have passed since the publication of Shotokan Myths. Many have been asking for my second book and I wanted to publish this much sooner but it took three years. Those were very busy years but also exciting and productive ones for me. Let me talk a little about myself and some of the experiences from my early days. During my early years of training I was like those readers who wrote and shared their karate lives with me. I was a diligent and blindly dedicated student who never questioned. When a sensei said jump", my response was "How high?" Of course, the only answer we could give to a sensei in Japan was "Osu". As I got older and had my own students, many questions came to mind. But I had no place to go or anyone knowledgeable to ask so I had to do my own investigation and research. For the first time I started to look into the history of Okinawan karate as well as the teaching of other styles. My interest expanded beyond Karate and my research went into Ki and various Chinese m