INTRODUCTION TO KARATE-DŌ: ITS INNER TECHNIQUES AND SECRET ARTS Paperback – February 4, 2020

Fantastic work; worth it for me if only for the appendix with the full transcript of the 1936 meeting where it was decided to call karate "Karate," let alone the insights into the minds of the original karate masters. Includes copious notes and reference for clarity of the translation. Includes suppletory content to ensure nothing is lost from the original versions. Overall, a great book and well done. Author: Thank you for the immense effort and commitment to make this available to English speakers!

Great historical document on a lesser known, but important influence on karate from Okinawa to Japan.

This book was well translated. Shihan Stansbury obviously went to great lengths to get accurate translations of the original text. I have looked for years to find books about the history of Shudokan. This definitely started to answer some of my questions. I hope to see more translated text from Shihan Stansbury.

This is the only english translation of Toyama's writings that I know of. I have been a Shudokan instructor for 30 years and have always been interested in the history and philosophy of karate. Original language copies of Toyama's writings have been hard to come by, but to have an english translation of any of his works is unbelievable. Stansbury Sensei has been very careful and thorough in translating this and has drawn from a number of sources that knew Toyama. I highly recommend this book!

The book has lots of pictures, but the written material is a bit light. It is not as heavily researched and annotated as others (McCarthy), nor as intentionally instructive as Funakoshi. There's two basic buckets I put martial arts books into: those written to increase the allure of the art in general, and those that discuss the techniques, applications, and philosophy of a specific system. This is an example of the former. For students looking for a meaty text to increase practical knowledge of the art, it's probably a "pass." For those with a line to GM, then I'd say it's a great book to have. To be fair, I'm only able to read the English translation that was done by another person (not the GM). I'm sure that time spent with GM Toyama would have been 100 stars. There's little doubt his karate and part in the history of karate-do was substantial. But I am basing the rating solely upon the book, and from that end, there's other books that are more illuminating on karate-do history.

I devoured this book as soon as it landed on my doorstop. It was absolutely a joy to read Kanken Toyama's words and thoughts. Toyama was a pioneer of modern karate, but to my knowledge this book is the first time Toyama's words have been translated to English. Tobey Stansbury does an amazing job,with footnotes, explaining cultural points or tidbits that add to the experience of gaining more understanding of Toyama and his karate. Highly recommend.... Get your copy today!

Great book. A translation of Dai Shihan Kankan Toyama's book. Toyama Shihan was one of the most influential of the Okinawan masters. Very little is available on this master, making this book such a rare treat! I thoroughly enjoyed it!

It gives you insight into what the early masters were thinking.

This book did not seem to have any major or groundbreaking information. It was largely a basic book. It's useful I guess only as a historic work, being written by an early pioneer of karate.

A likeable book

Outstanding reproduction of the original. Well translated and very interested for research and collectors.Great added for any Martial Arts libray.Thank you very much.

Intérêt personnel concernant Kanken Toyama et le Shudo kan

Sensei Tobey Stansbury legt mit dieser Arbeit einen sehr wichtigen Beitrag zur wissenschaftlichen Erforschung des Karate-Do vor. Er hat sich die Mühe gemacht Toyama Kanken "Karate-Do Nyumon" aus der japanischen Sprache in die Englische zu übersetzen. Er hielt sich strikt an die japanische Vorlage, ohne von dieser abzuweichen. Aber nicht nur das, er ergänzte die vorgestellten Katas (Naihanchi Shodan und Gojushiho) aus Referenzwerken Toyama's und bietet somit den direkten Vergleich zur Ausführung des Meisters. Da ich seid einigen Jahren selbst die japanischen Originale der Bücher besitze, bereichert mich dieses Werk, da ich mich nun besser mit diesen Abhandlungen beschäftigen kann. (mein japanisch reicht bei weitem nicht aus, um den Sinn dieser Originale im Ansatz zu erfassen) Mein Warten auf diese englische Version hat sich gelohnt und mein Dank gilt Sensei Stansbury.Ich kann Jedem dieses Buch ans Herz legen, der sich wirklich ernsthaft mit Karate-Do auseinander setzt, ob auf wissenschaftlicher oder praktischer Ebene.Vielen Dank