Product Description: Hirokazu Kanazawa is the renowned karate master in the world today, and a close disciple of Gichin Funakoshi, the father of modern karate and founder of the Shotokan School. Having earned his impressive reputation in Hawaii, the mainland United States, and Europe as an official trainer for the Japan Karate Association, Kanazawa founded Shotokan Karate-do International Federation in 1979...read more

Gichin Funakoshi is a legendary figure and the founder of Shotokan karate, the most popular style of Japanese karate, with millions of practitioners worldwide. In The Essence of Karate, Funakoshi creates, in his own words, a narrative of modern karate. He explains the philosophical and spiritual underpinnings and includes memories of his own training, as well as recollections of other karate masters and the history of the martial art. He also discusses the importance of winning without fighting, and the reason why many great martial artists improve with age.The preface has been contributed by Hirokazu Kanazawa, President of the Shotokan Karate-do International Federation (and Funakoshi's disciple). He fondly writes of his memories of Gichin Funakoshi during his youth and what he learned from the master. In the afterword, the founder's great-nephew, Gisho Funakoshi, shares previously unknown personal anecdotes about his "Uncle Funakoshi."

Product Description: This story is based on my experiences as a youth, with the main focus on my wonderful, but tragic first love. Lasting only a short sixteen months, it subsequently shaped my entire life and the resultant departure from Germany to Australia...read more