Rating: 
Summary: One of the best of its kind
Review: This is an excellent first look at the shorin-ryu styles whose lineages originate with Kian Chotoku, one of the Okinawan karate greats. There is generally good coverage of the kata, although there could be more description immediately with the photographs. Certainly, this is one of the best books of it's kind available and there should be more like it. I was a little surprised that the book had so little history (only a few pages). For a direct student of Kian Chotoku, history should be the strongest part of the book
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent book for Matsubayashi -ryu students
Review: This is the definitive book for Matsubayashi-ryu karate. It was written by the master himself. The book is not designed to teach the methods or the kata, but instead to act as a reference book. I use this book all the time to help me remember the steps of the kata that I learn in class. It also has a very brief but excellent section on the history of Okinawan Karate-do.
Rating:
Summary: The Bible of Matsubayashi Ryu
Review: This is the most important book you can own if you study Matsubayashi Ryu. It is very well written. Shows all 18 kata, kihons and yakusoku kumite. This book is not only good as a refresher but as a text book. I require that all my students purchase this book. I am a Shihan, 5th Degreee Black belt in Matsubayashi Ryu.
Rating:
Summary: The Bible of karate
Review: This is the most important book you can own if you study Matsubayashi Ryu. It is very well written. Shows all 18 kata, kihons and yakusoku kumite. This book is not only good as a refresser but as a text book. I require that all my students purchase this book. I am a Shihan, 5th Degreee Black belt in Matsubayashi Ryu.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding book
Review: This is the only book I've ever seen documenting the Matsubayashi-ryu style of Shorin-ryu. The most important part of the book is the forms, which I have also never seen elsewhere.In addition to the coverage of the forms, which includes all 18 kata, Nagamine gives an interesting historical account of the style, including many anecdotal stories about many of the other masters who have contributed so much to it, such as Kyan, Motobu, and others. I am interested in the evolution of the various karate forms, and in that context it is fun to compare the forms here that have been passed on, in modified form, to Shotokan and related styles where there is Shorin-ryu as well as Shorei-ryu influence. Of course, the Pinan 1-5 and the Naihanchi 1-3 series are known as the Heien 1-5 and the Tekki 1-3 forms in Shotokan. However, the Matsubayashi versions of Wanshu, Passai, and Kusanku, although greatly modified, are still recognizable in their Shotokan versions as Empi, Bassai Dai, and Kwanku. The book would make for fascinating study if only for the kata information. The book is a must for all practitioners of this style and for all those interested learning about the historical importance of the Okinawan styles.
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