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

About the Author
GICHIN FUNAKOSHI (1868-1957) was one of karate's great masters. Born in Okinawa, the birthplace of karate, he began training in secret Okinawan martial arts as a child. In 1922, at the request of the Japanese government, he demonstrated the still-secret Okinawan arts of self-defense on the Japanese mainland, which led to karate's introduction to the rest of Japan and subsequently the rest of the world. Funakoshi devoted the remainder of his life to this traditional martial art and wrote several classics on the subject.


Book Information
ISBN 9781568365244
Author Gichin Funakoshi
Format Hardback
Page Count 128
Imprint Kodansha America, Inc
Publisher Kodansha America, Inc
Weight(grams) 242g