Shotokan Karate: Free Fighting Techniques

Rating:
Summary: Practical aide for training
Review: Enoeda sensei is one of the most famous experts on free fighting in the Shotokan world. This book is an excellent reference for an intermediate-to-advanced student. The early chapters teach basic techniques, and provide descriptions and photographs explaining each. As the book progresses, combinations for attack and defense (counterattack) are introduced, as well as a discussion of one of the more difficult points of free-fighting, continuation. The emphasis in this book is clearly on Shotokan as a sport and an art, and not so much on self-defense, but successfully applying one to the other is really just a matter of practice. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone studying Shotokan -- beginners will benefit tremendously from the early chapters, and more advanced students will derive great benefits from the free-fighting lessons. Particularly, this would be a good resource for anyone training alone -- the chapter layout can be translated almost directly into training sessions.

Rating:
Summary: Practical aide for training
Review: Enoeda sensei is one of the most famous experts on free fighting in the Shotokan world. This book is an excellent reference for an intermediate-to-advanced student. The early chapters teach basic techniques, and provide descriptions and photographs explaining each. As the book progresses, combinations for attack and defense (counterattack) are introduced, as well as a discussion of one of the more difficult points of free-fighting, continuation. The emphasis in this book is clearly on Shotokan as a sport and an art, and not so much on self-defense, but successfully applying one to the other is really just a matter of practice. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone studying Shotokan -- beginners will benefit tremendously from the early chapters, and more advanced students will derive great benefits from the free-fighting lessons. Particularly, this would be a good resource for anyone training alone -- the chapter layout can be translated almost directly into training sessions.

Rating:
Summary: Easy technique
Review: Shotokan is well known for using rigid(not having a flowingtechnique) fighting in order to overcome an agressor. However, thisbook gives some pretty good insight into Japanese self defence.