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Shotokan's Secret: The Hidden Truths Behind Karate's Fighting Origins | 
 enlarge | Author: Bruce Clayton
Publisher: Ohara Publications Inc.,U.S.
Category: Book
List Price: £11.50
Buy New: £5.39
You Save: £6.11 (53%)
New (19) Used (4) from £5.39
Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 32289
Media: Paperback
Pages: 329
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.8
ISBN: 0897501446
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.8153
EAN: 9780897501446
ASIN: 0897501446
Publication Date: April 1, 2005
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New. Shipped from UK Mainland. Delivery is usually 4 - 5 working days from order by Royal Mail, International Delivery is by Airmail.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
EXCELLANT THEORY, VERY FLAWED WRITING May 8, 2008
Nidan (SOUTH WALES, U.K.)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
IN 3 PARTS. 1st part: covers the theory of the development of "hard style" karate. References are quoted, but the writing is unnecessarily emotional. In some places conclusions are drawn without any evidence to support them and possible alternative reasons/circumstances are not explored. 2nd part: covers the bunkai - the application of the katas, very interesting. 3rd part: covers the relevance of hard style karate today and what we should be teaching students, as a coach I have considered this - a useful discussion. But the author's suggestion that females need separate training to males offended me. Senior males students have learned to respect our females' abilities the hard way!
 i must read January 24, 2008
Mr. Ian Linton (G.B)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
a very good book and a must read for any shotokan person who is interested in bunki .if you are open minded you could learn alot , i would make it a must read for anyone taking there 1st dan or above to make then think about were there arts came from one of the best book i have read in a long time.
Fascinating January 14, 2008
Oberon Stark (London, England)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The historical content of this book is not only carefully researched but it paints a fascinating picture of the history of Shotokan karate. Now, you have to be careful with this book as with any karate history book. Clayton provides a mixed bag of historical fact, hearsay and pure speculation. Determining what is fact and what is quite likely fiction takes a bit of thinking. Nonetheless the story the Clayton tells is more believable than any competing theories and it does all make god sense. And anyway, the idea that the first karate masters were Royal bodyguards is just too cool to ignore.
This book also includes a section on karate self-defence applications. These are interesting, inventive and apply to some situations that people don't often consider. For example, Clayton suggests that Tekki Shodan can be used to incapacitate a bad-guy then use him as a human shield. How cool is that? As with many karate applications they often seem to be hard to get to actually work in practice, especially with an uncooperative opponent (and reaslistically, is there anything but an uncooperative opponent?)
Overall worth reading, even if just for the Royal bodyguards and the human shield stuff.
 Confusing December 31, 2007
kakushte (Cornwall,England)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I'm always open to a new take on things,and was very excited by the title.The author puts forward some new ideas about the history of Shotokan but I found that,between reading one credible idea and the next,I was being asked to make leaps of faith so that these ideas could be linked and many of these were leaps which I didn't think I could take.I was introduced to a new term"linear karate" which I'm still finding confusing,the author seems(p40)to describe Shotokan with this term to distinguish from those styles which use circular tecnique,which he labels as soft.It seems a shame to me that he seems to be suggesting that Shotokan is rigid,as if for instance,when you see an X block performed as a rigid block in kata,that we should think that this is the way it would be best used in fighting.Those Shotokan practitioners with whom I have had the pleasure of training have stressed the importance of circular movement;Ithink that in this time of increased interest in the real applications of kata, it would be a great shame for anyone to limit themselves to the author's version of Shotokan.On p181 we are encouraged to escape from a wrist grab by using a crescent kick in order to break our opponent's grip.Try it(in the dojo)it doesn't work.On p183 a very rigid young lady blocks her opponent with one hand whilst standing to attention and holding her other hand at her hip(I thought we'd got past this sort of thing)Having said that,there are some usable tecniques,but they're a bit overshadowed by,for instance,the one which can bring four opponents to the floor providing they all grab you with the correct hand in the correct position,all standing in the right place.We're also discouraged from seeking the 'kakushte',the hidden tecniques of kata.I don't know how many words I'm allowed here so I'm not even going to go there!Suffice to say I don't agree.The 'required bunkai list' stresses the need to be able to 'abduct an enemy',to 'snatch and use enemy weapons'.Also to fight on a stairway which,if you turn to p234,is done(apparently)whilst in a crane stance.I don't know,there'll probably be people nodding and saying"yes I've heard of the'standing on one leg stair fighting tecnique",but for me it's what's next,crane stance on a ladder,crane stance cliff fighting? Two more gripes before I say something positive.Apparently there are some styles who practice"primitive versions"of kusanku kata,"primitive"meaning circular.How can those circular styles be described as primitive when they're practising a version of the kata which is far more true to the original.I mean,primitive suggests inferior doesn't it?I hope that the author isn't suggesting that the changes made during karate's export to Japan somehow produced a superior style?I personally am not bound by loyalty to one style of karate but I don't think I'd be happy if I was Goju Ryu etc.Perhaps "primitive"is just used to describe a style which has not had huge changes imposed upon it due to the need to satisfy the requirements of it's new hosts,as was the case with much of Okinawan karate when it was exported to Japan.In this case primitive is a positive description.My last gripe is that the author at one stage writes "I am addressing the Sensei here".I bought the book,not my Sensei,me.So I wish to be the one who's addressed!Now the good news.I would expect that anyone who finds it interesting to trawl through all the different ideas from all the different authors on what really happened way back when,will really enjoy this book.I'm one of these people and I found it a good read.But remember to ask questions or you'll be swept along by the raging torrent which is the author's certainty that his theory is the only one worth consideration.A thought provoker for thinking karateka everywhere.(actually crane stance on a ladder might work....)
The Best Book on Shotokan & More! January 7, 2007
Terry Tozer (Reading, UK)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
A radical book yes, but it's not controversial OR contradictory at all IMHO. Easy to read & packed full of information about the true origins & history of Shotokan & budo, not just the normal couple of paragraphs that you get in most books on the subject.
I agree wholeheartedly with all the other "POSITIVE" reviews written here below, as for the negative one about "serious injury", the only serious injury to anyone following the many applications (bunkai) described in here would be to the opponent - and you don't have to change the moves in the kata to fit the bunkai (Oyo Bunkai). See Injury-free Karate by Paul Perry.
If you're a serious student of Shotokan Karate (or any of its derivatives or styles) then you ought to read this one FIRST, it'll save you a lot of money. It really is a breath of fresh air compared to the myriad of humdrum copycat books on karate.
If you're looking for a broader & deeper history of karate (& Martial Arts) in general then also look at "Okinawan Karate" by Mark Bishop.
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