Facing The Double-Edged Sword : Art Of Karate For Young People

Rating:
Summary: I really enjoyed reading this book!
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book! I liked the way this book outlined different situations I might encounter in my daily life as a young kid. It showed me through examples, how to react in a positive manner to the various situations, such as bullying. From reading the book I can better understand what reactions are best when a bully is picking on me. This book discusses good manners and bad manners which is good to know. The book gave me lots of information on the origins of different types of karate. It also gave you suggestions on how to pick out the correct karate school for you. The meanings and translations of various words such as karate (empty hands) was very interesting to me, because even though you may hear the words, you may not always understand the exact meaning. I read this book quite quickly because it held my attention. It is quite different from the regular books I would read, which most often are novels and therefore have amin characters. I did like reading this fact-filled book and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in karate or who may be encountering any kind of bullying.

Rating:
Summary: Karate is not all violence....
Review: My book (Facing the Double-Edged Sword) is not what I was expecting. I thought it would have been about high intense karate situations, but it was really about stopping a fight non-violently. This book gives information on different ways of stopping fights, like walking away. This book also talks about Zen, a method of finding inner peace, a way of relaxing your mind and clearning it of thoughts. Facing the Double-Edged Sword is trying to teach people that karate is not all violence. It teaches self-control, and stamina. Facing the Double-Edged Sword means that either way the sword is facing you will get cut.

Chris (Age 14)

Rating:
Summary: Very readable case for the non-violence of martial arts!
Review: We got this book for our 4 year old son who was beginning to study karate. He has thoroughly enjoyed it and continues to refer to it as he is now a 7 year old studying tae kwon do. It's a great book for ANY child who is curious about martial arts and their true purpose in modern society. The author enumerates ways to avoid fights, gives examples of people who make the wrong choice in choosing to fight, and more. As a parent I embrace the philosophy of Webster-Doyle who values peace -- and the self discipline to achieve it -- above all. For this reason it's a good read for adults, too. I highly recommend it for young martial artists.