The Shotokan Karate Bible: Beginner to Black Belt

Easy to follow and very helpful for those trying to learn karate.

Got this for my daughter so I could try to help her more at home when she is confused on some of the technique....its not quite what I was looking for. The kata illustrations are good and help and they break it down step by step, I liked that about the book.

Purchased this one someone else's recommendation. I received it a few days later and read the first few chapters right away. This style is not exactly what my daughter studies, but is very close. This book goes through Shotokan Karate and my daughter studies ToshiKan Karate. I like the way it lays out the history and then each level with the stances, punches, katas, etc that are necessary to know at each level. There are wonderful pictures and descriptions along the way. We read it cover-to-cover in a few days and were nodding the whole time. It gave another point of view to what she was learning in class. Great book!

This book is a fantastic guide!! It shows from start to finish the rank progression and curriculum of Shotokan! I am very impressed with the book and the author. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a classroom material guide, a teaching format for rank, or anyone just plain interested in Shotokan. Buy it!

Definitely a good reference book for karate practitioners.

A good book to learn

I bought it for my godson practicing Shotokan Karate, I practice Kyokushin Karate but I realized when reviewing a book that is very educational, graphics and complete for a child or adolescent. Excellent book.

Has all the kata presented very clearly. This has been very helpful to me. A great gift for anyone studying shotokan

I first saw this book in a well-known high-street bookstore just after I started training in Shotokan Karate in June 2011. I only managed to have a quick look at it in the store, but was instantly impressed with the layout of the book and the information contained within. I then came home and purchased from Amazon.I am now a brown belt at the same club and this has been an invaluable source of information in all aspects required for each belt. The katas, kumite and kihon (basics) are all laid out move-by-move with tips of how to and how not to do these various things. There is also some interesting history at the start of the book describing how Shotokan came to be.I cannot recommend this book highly enough - especially for those doing Shotokan karate from beginner to 1st Dan (1st black belt). It would also serve as an excellent reference for those at Black belt and above who are looking to brush up on some of those things you learn, but perhaps forget over time!I note that there is a second book by this author which takes you through the Advanced Elements of 1st Dan and beyond - I have no doubts that I will be adding this book to my collection once I get a little closer to 1st Dan.Oss!

A brilliant book which makes a suitable companion for "Black Belt Karate: The Intensive Course".It's good to get another perspective especially when - as in this case - the school of karate is Shotokan.For instance, although the katas are described extremely comprehensively in both books, there are one or two instances where comparing the photos of certain moves side by side makes a move or stance more understandable and hence enjoyable!Another great buy and it does what it says on the cover!

This is THE BOOK for anybody wanting to learn Shotokan Karate.It is clearly divided into sections for each grading, giving the grading syllabus at the start of each section. This is then followed by clear, concise pictures and instructions demonstrating the techniques required for each belt. It covers both the techniques (punches, blocks, kicks, etc.) and the individual katas in a good level of detail.The katas in particular are very well documented, with colour photographs of EVERY step of EVERY kata, along with step-by-step instructions, even down to which foot to turn on.At the rear of the book is a quick summary of the syllabus, along with summary diagrams of each kata.I would thoroughly recommend this to anybody keen to learn Karate or improve their technique.

Great book that covers most of the basics/kata/kumite from white to black belt. Useful tips and pictures, I look at it regularly. Some of the pictures would need a bit of a close up, but altogether probably 'the' book anyone involved in Shotokan karate would initially need.

WOULD RECOMEND