By: Jason Kraus
There are some books that every dedicated student of karate should have on their bookshelf.
They are books that the karateka can study to deepen their understanding of the art and even speed their development. A few of the following selections are considered ‘classics,’ while others are out-of-print or so obscure as to be almost completely unknown.
These foundational works reward multiple rereadings at different points in one’s development and so will always be useful but in new ways.
What follows is an albeit personal list of the artform’s pinnacle literature, due to either comprehensiveness, specificity to a single topic, or unique & groundbreaking perspective.
A note on books superiority to video: You can take a book anywhere. From the dojo to the park to your private training space, bring the book and a pen to make notes as necessary and you have both training guidance and a record of your development.
You can’t do that with video.
The number of Karate Books I read so you dont have to.
A good book provides inspiration to examine something with fresh enthusiasm but leaves it to you to integrate and internalize that understanding. It does not tell you what or how to think, it merely lights the way.
This act of converting words on a page to internal understanding is called synthesis and it is absolutely fundamental to true learning.
These books light the way. Our journey begins in the Kihon section of the library. Enjoy and good training.
Kihon
Dynamic Karate by Sensei Nakayama Masatoshi is a masterpiece, timeless and inspiring.
It is fundamental to the foundation of the art and revolutionary in the way the teaching is presented. Published originally in 1966, it has guided the development of generations of Shotokan karateka and is utterly irreplaceable as an instructional text.
Even now, Dynamic Karate remains the gold standard for its comprehensiveness in explaining kihon through its extensive use of photos that demonstrate exactly how techniques are executed, from start to finish.
While many books that rely on photos unfortunately over-emphasize muscular effort in the execution of technique (much to the detriment of students everywhere), this is not one of them.
The photos serve as a kind of time-lapse of a technique’s execution that is remarkably useful.
The book progresses step-by-step from explaining grounded but dynamic stances, to the use of body’s natural weapons, then onto practical execution and variations in counterattack and fight resolution.
In its near-singular focus on kihon, Dynamic Karate is the first book of the art to emphasize the scientific and kinesiological principles that make karate so effective. Later books would pick up the mantle of that explanation, but it starts here.
Though standing barely five feet, Master Nakayama was a titan upon whose shoulders we all stand, and this is a master’s masterwork.
Karate Science by J.D. Swanson examines and explains karate techniques through the lens of biomechanical economy, efficient movement, and physics.
It describes the fundamental aspects of karate (stances, weapons, kihon) alongside the occasional drawing for deeper explanation.
The writing the straightforward and clear. The description of techniques and their underlying principles is concise.
Karate Science uses an economy of language to succinctly describe physical movement and the means to generate maximum power. It’s a rare thing. But further than that, Karate Science does something very few karate books do and it does it very well.
It shows the math.
The book uses mathematical formula to explain how to generate more impact force and why speed will always be far superior to mass in creating impact power. The math is indisputable.
Fast, efficient movement results in the most effective, most destructive karate. Karate Science is one of the few books to continue the scientific examination of the art that began in Dynamic Karate, and the best of the few that do.
Black Belt Karate: The Intensive Course by Sensei Kanazawa Hirokazu is on first read simply a solid introduction to karate practice that covers kihon, kata, and kumite like so many other, lesser books do.
It even introduces the use of nunchaku. What helps The Intensive Course rise above is its systematic introduction of techniques punctuated by specific stretching/strengthening exercises that are useful for both the novice (the target audience) and the more experienced alike.
While it is foolhardy and frankly impossible to try and learn any art from a book, especially a physical combative fighting art like karate, The Intensive Course
provides a decent roadmap.
It introduces basic techniques and follows up with more advanced ones in a natural and useful progression.
But the real value in this book is the deep nuance of guidance that only a lifetime of instruction and experience can bring, and that is Sensei Kanazawa’s insight.
Consider hugely useful instruction such as how to turn 180 degrees when practicing kihon. This is termed ‘mawate,’ and it is a change in direction with a simultaneous gedan barai. It’s one of the first things new students learn and it is subsequently introduced early in this book.
Unfortunately, many practitioners mawate lazily or half-heartedly like a throw-away technique, while in fact, when learned well and deeply that action builds the groundwork for explosive movement in any direction, the kind of technique used in higher level kata, kumite, and real-world conflict.
Sensei Kanazawa rightfully emphasizes the importance of mawate. The Intensive Course is embedded with insights like that.
Next on The Karateka’s Library: Kata.
Related: Mokuso – Your Karate Starts Here
Jason Kraus is a lifelong martial artist. Jason spent decades in various martial arts including traveling to and living in both Japan and Korea. He has most recently returned to his first love, Shotokan Karate.