A concise yet comprehensive history of traditional Okinawan and
Japanese karate, with biographies of the great karate masters
This concise-yet-comprehensive history of traditional Okinawan and
Japanese karate includes authoritative biographies of the great karate
masters of the past and the philosophical issues they faced as karate
changed and evolved. Bringing a fresh understanding to the study of the
martial arts, Mark I. Cramer dispels many of the often-repeated
martial-arts myths as he details the lineages of the modern styles of
karate and describes the social, cultural, and political events that
influenced them. While most books focus on a single style of karate or
the biography of just one of the great teachers, this book offers a
well-researched and detailed overview. By bringing all of this knowledge
together in one volume, Cramer--an award-winning inductee into the USA
Karate Federation's Hall of Fame--fills a crucial gap.