Karate-Do: My Way of Life

Rating:
Summary: Recommended For Any Martial Artist
Review: Although I practice several martial arts, shotokan karate is not one of them. I nonetheless wanted to read this book as Funakoshi was a master and I thought his writings might have insights useful to any martial artist. I was not disappointed.

The book is not organized chronologically very well with several decades glossed over. Funakoshi clearly decided not to focus on the minute details of his life but instead highlighted his life's journey through the martial arts. Despite the sparse writing, a reader gains a tremendous respect not only for shotokan karate, but even more so for the man who took it upon himself to spread it so broadly.

When one studies several martial arts rather than a single system, one often views things a bit differently. One issue that I have wondered about is why do some martial arts become international to be practiced worldwide while others, often just as effective in terms of self-defense, remain obscure. If nothing else, Funakoshi's book provides a few clues to the answer - by a belief in your art, unbendable determination and years of hard, hard work.

Rating:
Summary: Best Karate book I have ever read.
Review: As a woman with a high degree belt rank, I find this book very influencing for those who want to learn self-defense. It is especially hard for a woman to take a lot of falls, throws, etc. I have done them all - including breaking 2 legs and one ankle ligament in lots of practice. But, I survived and have not given up yet. This man was a great man and he reminds me of my master of "Goshin-Jutsu". He was an small wirey guy who died of cancer at the age of 85! Funakoshi reminds me of him in so many ways. Always willing to take the time to learn more and give more to the ones who want to learn it. This is a must for beginners to understand the value and importance of karate as a means of an active sport and self-defense - not something to use when you don't need it.

Rating:
Summary: The essential tale for karate students.
Review: For anyone studying the martial arts, and particularly karate, this is an essential read. It's a well written story from the perspective of one of the key founders of modern karate. If you want to understand the roots and origins, but don't want to spend time on a long-winded text, this is for you! Thoroughly enjoyable while being very informative.

Rating:
Summary: Karate Do My Way of Life - For The True Martial Artist
Review: For anyone who believes that they have made a lifelong committment to the Martial Arts, you should read this book. Master Funakoshi intertwines the important spiritual and physical components of a life in "the way" with the story of his own personal life. One of the things that I liked most was that he went through some of the same thought processes that I have during my training. If you are truly a student of the Martial Arts (whether it is Karate or not) this book belongs in your personal library.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, heart-warming book.
Review: Funakoshi makes me proud to be a student of shotokan karate. His anecdotes are universally applicable, even outside the karate world. A must read for all karate-ka, especially beginners who will gain an appreciation for the true meaning of karate early on.

Rating:
Summary: The study of Karate
Review: Funakoshi writes about his life. And what it was like to learn karate in the times when it was hard to find a teacher. The book should be read by all karateka. There are two things I feel that are missing from this book. The focus on the Shuri district (there are three districts that are important to the development of Karate)and the fact that Funakoshi never likes to have dates recorded in any of his books. It is easy reading.

Rating:
Summary: Essential reading - but not a historical
Review: Funakoshi wrote this book near the end of his life, after America had bombed his karate dojo into the dust, after his son died, and after his wife died. His home in Okinawa was destroyed, and his people lived under the military rule of the United States. He expresses pacifism and the usual talent for exaggeration one finds in an old martial artist. Read his earlier works, like Ryukyu Karate Kenpo or Tote Jutsu to read the man before the war when he was cocky, obnoxious, and prepared to teach us all karate to make us good Japanese subjects.

Rating:
Summary: Not a Book of Technique, a Book of the Heart
Review: Gichin Funakoshi has often been credited with the popularization of karate in Japan. He was trained, however, in the "old style" during his childhood on Okinawa. This book affords the reader a glimpse of what type of person that training produced. In contrast to the day-glo budo so widespread today, he was a truly humble man. His writings and his works reflect his dedication to the spread of the art. Rather than recounting endless tales of conquest, the reader is presented with a man (a true GENTLEman) to whom fighting represented a personal failure and a source of embarassment. His like are few and far between, but at least we have his story, in his own words.

Rating:
Summary: Not a Book of Technique, a Book of the Heart
Review: Gichin Funakoshi has often been credited with the popularization of karate in Japan. He was trained, however, in the "old style" during his childhood on Okinawa. This book affords the reader a glimpse of what type of person that training produced. In contrast to the day-glo budo so widespread today, he was a truly humble man. His writings and his works reflect his dedication to the spread of the art. Rather than recounting endless tales of conquest, the reader is presented with a man (a true GENTLEman) to whom fighting represented a personal failure and a source of embarassment. His like are few and far between, but at least we have his story, in his own words.

Rating:
Summary: Best.
Review: Gichin Funakoshi is one of the finest martial artists that ever lived, a true master. Read his book, because he knows what he is talking about, and I don't even take Shotokan.