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Rating: 
Summary: This Is Not An Introductory / Novice Text
Review: As the title clearly state this book is intended for advanced students and instructors. The text in this book is technical and intended for people whom already posses a moderate to high level of knowledge in karate-do. I had to read most sections of the text 2-3 times before I was able to fully understand what was being conveyed. I believe this would be typical for the average reader, due to the nature of the material. Rob Redmond summarized the book far better than I can when he wrote on his web site: "Schmeisser's work is not for beginners. Novices to Shotokan will find the concepts in the book difficult to understand and will be overwhelmed with information that they are not capable of multitasking while moving around a dojo. But for the advanced student, this book is a godsend. It is the essential text for the advanced student."R.Redman -Shotokan Planet, Oct. 2000-
Rating:
Summary: A true reference book for the serious karateist.
Review: At the time of this writing, I have had Dr. Schmeisser's book for about 8 months, and it becomes more valuable all the time. Both for my own understanding, and for use in planning and teaching karate to others, Advanced Karate-Do is in a class by itself. Every important karate principle is touched upon and explained. Students of martial arts other than Shotokan will still find much of value here. Any serious Shotokan practitioner who has not read this book is missing an extremely valuable resource.
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Summary: A rare karate book--it's worth your money
Review: Generally speaking, I have found karate books to be of pretty limited use, but this is a rare and much appreciated exception. As the author makes clear, this is not a book for the beginner, but anyone who practices shotokan karate even semi-seriously should have this in their library as soon as they make black belt (and maybe even a bit before that). What makes this book different is its in-depth treatment of the technical aspects of karate. No pages and pages of staged or stilted photographs substituting for explanation, no retreats to mysticism (the trite stuff someone I know generally refers to as "glasshoppah chronicles"). What we have here is someone who has obviously put some serious thought into the technical aspects of karate and how they are linked together, and then put forward a detailed exposition of his findings. While I think five star reviews are given all too frequently in these reviews, this book actually deserves it.
Rating: 
Summary: Much too difficult for most to plow through
Review: Hats off to Dr. Schmeisser for having a complete understanding of his chosen art. However, it should be pointed out that his PhD is NOT in karate and writing a book in a style which is more appropriate for a professional journal can be very difficult for most people to read. The concepts, although fully comprehended by Elmar, are not really that difficult to grasp and could have been explained in much simplier terms. The diagrams are also muddled (as most 'technical' diagrams are) and should have been reworked prior to publication. If you decide to get this book, be prepared to work at reading it and do not even think of getting it if you are below a black belt level, you'll just get confused.
Rating: 
Summary: Very interesting indeed
Review: I purchased this book without knowing anything about Elmar Schmeisser, guided by the excellent reviews this book got all over the Internet, and to be honest, it deserves it. It is NOT for beginners but more for advanced studnets (brown belt and up) and instructors. It covers in depth the in-breathing forms of kata and some interesting philosophical aspectes of fighting, mental and other martial arts (not specially karate) related stuff. It's great to read too, well written. Why not 5 stars ? The text is very dense and the illustrations are sometimes difficult to understand. And even if it's not a book for beginners I think it could have been nice and helpful to have a greater work on the figures and illustrations.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect
Review: This is a continuous stream of karate thought that will leave you breathless. Excellent. I highly recommend it.
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Summary: The #1 Shotokan technical manual presently in print.
Review: This is a must-buy for any serious Shotokan practitioner, particularly those who are instructors and/or think they already know all there is to know about the techniques of their style of karate.Although there is a only a limited amount of images showing what is described in words -and no photographs- this apparent flaw may actually be a blessing in disguise, as it requires the reader to concentrate fully on trying to understand the words for their precise meanings, which is worth the challenge it presents. Most people will not be able to get through this book quickly, due to the depth of detail into which the author delves. This should be considered a reference manual, that you refer to for review and inspiration. No need to read through the entire book in one sitting, although you will probably be tempted to do so... This book would be a good value at twice the price.
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