Wandering Along The Way Of Okinawan Karate

A personal, philosophical, and historical exploration of Okinawan Goju-Ryu karate written by an experienced master. In Wandering Along the Way of Okinawan Karate, Giles Hopkins draws on his fifty years of martial arts experience to take the reader on a journey through the meaning of kata (form) and bunkai (application) in Okinawan Goju-Ryu karate. Hopkins offers his personal reflections on the enigma of karate kata while explaining many of its little-understood applications. With skill and insight into kata's connection to nature, the book addresses key topics such as why some movements are done slowly while others are fast, the significance of steps and turns, and the role of tradition in karate. The purpose of kata solo patterns is to solidify specific self-defense techniques. Contrary to the commonly held belief that kata techniques can have multiple interpretations, Hopkins argues that kata embodies specific martial principles that must be followed rigorously for it to be truly effective. He also reveals the spiritual dimensions of martial arts by explaining its deep connection to nature. Providing new understanding of kata structure, themes, and martial art principles, Hopkins sheds light on the practitioner's journey.

A personal, philosophical, and historical exploration of Okinawan Goju-Ryu karate written by an experienced master. In Wandering Along the Way of Okinawan Karate, Giles Hopkins draws on his fifty years of martial arts experience to take the reader on a journey through the meaning of kata (form) and bunkai (application) in Okinawan Goju-Ryu karate. Hopkins offers his personal reflections on the enigma of karate kata while explaining many of its little-understood applications. With skill and insight into kata's connection to nature, the book addresses key topics such as why some movements are done slowly while others are fast, the significance of steps and turns, and the role of tradition in karate. The purpose of kata solo patterns is to solidify specific self-defense techniques. Contrary to the commonly held belief that kata techniques can have multiple interpretations, Hopkins argues that kata embodies specific martial principles that must be followed rigorously for it to be truly effective. He also reveals the spiritual dimensions of martial arts by explaining its deep connection to nature. Providing new understanding of kata structure, themes, and martial art principles, Hopkins sheds light on the practitioner's journey.

Challenging timeworn conventions of karate training and revealing the original intent of classical kata—or forms—through detailed descriptions of self-defense applications known as bunkai, this is a crucial addition to any martial-arts library. Containing more than 265 photos, the book is divided into chapters that illuminate each of the ten classical kata of Goju-ryu. Drawing on more than forty years of experience in the martial arts, Giles Hopkins Sensei takes us on a journey into the Goju-ryu karate system, providing a principles-based method for analysis of kata practice. Arguing against the commonly held notion that kata techniques can have multiple interpretations, he insists that a kata cannot simply mean what the user wants it to mean, but contains specific martial principles that must be followed for it to work effectively. The step-by-step descriptions of the receiving, controlling or bridging, and finishing techniques contain in-depth analysis of commonly misunderstood aspects of kata. Each chapter concludes with an engaging anecdote from the author’s time in Okinawa, the birthplace of Goju-ryu, connecting it with the kata under discussion. Equally useful for the novice and for more advanced karate practitioners looking to deepen their understanding of kata and bunkai.

An instructive text on the etiquette, kata, stances and powerful techniques of the renowned goju-ryu system as practiced in Okinawa. Includes a detailed section on sanchin breathing and step-by-step photos with foot patterns.

An illustrated step-by-step guide to the structure, themes, and techniques of Suparinpei--the last kata of Goju-ryu. Suparinpei, or Pechurin, is the highest and most difficult kata in the Goju-ryu system of Okinawan karate. Its performance has long been reserved for high-level practitioners, its history and applications obscured by misunderstanding and misinterpretation. In this indispensable manual by experienced master Giles Hopkins, readers will learn the skills, techniques, and bunkai of this little-understood kata, step by step. Suparinpei explores the initial receiving, bridging, controlling, and lethal finishing techniques in sequence, and offers illustrations of both the applications and movements of Suparinpei. Hopkins questions conventional interpretations of kata movements, suggesting instead that there is only one originally intended application for each move in kata, and that each is to be understood in sequence and not as isolated components. This strict interpretation of kata movements reveals not only realistic self-defense executions, but also potentially the original intent of kata.

This work reflects the system of education from the School of Dai Sensei Meitoku Yagi named the Meibukan. The Meibukan, in an educational sense, originated from the teachings of "the Empty Hand" that Chojun Miyagi adopted in his Goju-ryu Karate system and passed over to his student in turn, Meitoku Yagi. Sensei Yagi developed the system further and gave these teachings a personal interpretation. The reader will find many historical photographs of great Okinawan Goju-ryu karate masters who were the pioneers of this unique martial art. The syllabus in this book serves as a technical manual in which history, origins, practice, and techniques are arranged in an orderly way, allowing the identity of the style to emerge. This syllabus offers deep background that not only will serve beginning karatekas by giving them a rational framework to grasp this martial art, but also more experienced karatekas, who may reinforce or augment their existing understanding of the style's unique subtleties.

What would you like to obtain from your research and practice of an Okinawan martial art? For an academic, it would be to obtain historical and cultural facts and details. For a practitioner, it would be to gain expertise in the combative skills. If you’re interested in both, this first of a three-volume anthology is assembled for your convenience to facilitate your endeavors. These volumes assemble a wealth of material originally published during the two decades when the Journal of Asian Martial Arts was in print. Hundreds of pages and photographs present the richness of Okinawan martial traditions, from the original combatives to those influenced by Chinese and mainland Japanese martial art styles. The variety of topics shown in the table of contents indicate the depth and breath in the chapters, along with the authors who are well-known for their meticulous research and practical skills in specific arts. These three volumes dive deep into the history and culture of Okinawan martial arts. You’ll find coverage of the actual artifacts—the material culture related to weaponry and training methods. Instructions from the masters details both open-hand techniques as well as with weapons. The chapters offer insights into “the lives of many masters over the past few centuries, giving the raison d’être for these unique fighting arts—their reason for being. Many streams of arts have contributed to the martial traditions found on the small island: Naha-te, Shuri-te, Fukien White Crane, Shorin, Goju, Motobu, Shotokan, Isshin, Kyokushin, Pwang Gai Noon, Shito, Uechi, and the list continues … Along with the various styles come the associated training methods, such as conditioning exercises with weights and creatively designed apparatus, such as the punching post (makiwara), or stone lever and stone padlockshaped weights. Some become battle-hardened by active and passive breaking of objects (tameshiwari), including wooden boards, baseball bats, rocks, and ice. The extensive use of weaponry is found in many Okinawan styles, often associated with their farming and fishing occupations. Such a blend of history and culture make the Okinawan fighting traditions a fascinating field of study. Besides being such vital sources of information, these three volumes will prove enjoyable reading and permanent at-hand reference sources in your library.

This landmark work provides a wide-ranging scholarly consideration of the traditional Asian martial arts. Most of the contributors to the volume are practitioners of the martial arts, and all are keenly aware that these traditions now exist in a transnational context. The book's cutting-edge research includes ethnography and approaches from film, literature, performance, and theater studies. Three central aspects emerge from this book: martial arts as embodied fantasy, as a culturally embedded form of self-cultivation, and as a continuous process of identity formation. Contributors explore several popular and highbrow cultural considerations, including the career of Bruce Lee, Chinese wuxia films, and Don DeLillo's novel Running Dog. Ethnographies explored describe how the social body trains in martial arts and how martial arts are constructed in transnational training. Ultimately, this academic study of martial arts offers a focal point for new understandings of cultural and social beliefs and of practice and agency.

Wolves in Street Clothing: How Animal Behavior Teaches Survival in the Asphalt Jungle will give you a new light in which to see human predatory behavior. As we move farther and farther from our roots insulating ourselves in technology and air conditioned homes we get disconnected from the inherent and innate aspects of understanding the precursors to violent behavior. Violence is not always emotionally bound, often and in the animal kingdom is simply a tool to access a needed resource -or to protect an essential resource. Distance, encroachment, and signals are keys to avoiding a predator. Why would a cougar attack a man after a bike ride? Why would a bear attack a man in a hot tub? Why would a thug rob one person and not another? The predatory animal mind holds many of the keys to the answer to these questions. Learn drills for skills that will help you tune your focus and move through life safer and more aware of your surroundings as sections of Wolves in Street Clothing bring old world survival skills into the modern jungle. Kris wilder is the head instructor and owner of West Settle Karate Academy. He started practicing the martial arts at the age of 15. Over the years he has earned black belt rankings in three styles, Goju-Ryu karate (5th dan), Tae Kwon Do (2nd dan), and judo (1st dan), in which he has competed in senior national and international tournaments. Clint Hollingsworth is a student of the wilderness, having studied with such survival and tracking masters as Tom Brown Jr., Jon Young, and Frank and Karen Sherwood. He is a 4th dan black belt in Okinawan Goju-Ryu and author-illustrator of the long-running graphic novels and web series, The Wandering Ones.