Karate: My Art, or Watashi no Karate-jutsu

by Motobu Choki, Patrick McCarthy (Translator), Yuriko McCarthy (Translator)

Here, in this small but provocative publication, lies yet another milestone in the legacy of karate. Watashi no Karate-jutsu ("My Art of Karate"), introduces comprehensive insights into a fighting tradition as known and taught by one of its early Okinawan innovators, Motobu Choki (1870-1944). One of only two books he ever published on the art, it is not widely known in modern karate circles or outside the spectrum of those who research its history. Straightforward in its approach, this modest work outlines those unique methods that made Motobu Choki, pound for pound, possibly the greatest technician and karate fighter of his generation.

One mistake the modern karateka often makes, when trying to grasp the technical ambiguities surrounding the application of early karate practices, is to depend on contemporary assumptions. This small but powerful book provides a window which the reader is better able to perceive the cultural landscape and mind-set of those people who shaped its practice.

Genres: Martial Arts

120 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Jim Mather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished another fantastic book from Hanshi Patrick McCarthy. If you don't own this "little" book, you need to get a copy - as well as everything by Hanshi McCarthy. Until the translation and publication of My Art of Karate by Hanshi McCarthy, most of Choki Motobu's life remained a mystery, comprised only of theory, legend, and rumor. My Art of Karate enables you to tap his tremendous store of fighting knowledge, acquired from hundreds of actual fights - not tournament wins, but real fights in which he claims he was never hit in the face. Choki Motobu was undoubtedly one of the most successful street fighters in martial arts history. But it also filled in many facts about life and the state of the martial arts during one of its greatest generations. Hopefully someone can post the best place to buy this little gem. I've read it twice and gotten more with each reading, and realizing it will take time to unwrap all that is inside it and gain mere nuggets of his brilliance. Thank you Hanshi McCarthy for this wonderful gift!