Mark Bishop’s Okinawan Karate (subtitled Teachers, styles and secret techniques) is a fairly exhaustive treatment of the history (and myth) of the Okinawan fighting arts. The sections on the early development of ti / te and karate really help one to understand the roots and spirit of the art. Although he dismantles many of the old chestnuts regarding the development of Karate by weaponless peasants, he does stray a bit into hearsay relying on scant evidence to draw conclusions based on secondhand stories. The book is a pleasant read, almost like a tour through Okinawa, spending time with a master of a style, then moving on. At times, it seems a little disjointed, as it varies between solid research, interviews, a few technical descriptions and a nice collection of geneological charts, maps and pronunciation guides. There are a few points where the author seems a bit starstruck, such as when he relays the story (seemingly apocryphal) of foreign students who underestimate the ‘deep internal power’ of the masters only to realize too late when they suffer some delayed ill effects from a strike. In all, I found it one of the best treatments on the subject for its time, and very reasonably priced for the amount of insight it granted.
Maybe a little more like this…
Jdokan posted over at martialtalk pointing to this video of Nick Cerio from the early 1970’s on Youtube.
What do you do to improve your Kempo?
MJS over at Martialtalk posed the question:
What are some things that you feel are important for improving your Kenpo? I’m not necessarily talking about taking up another art, but more along the lines of looking at the material you have, and finding ways to improve it for yourself. I’ll start. There are many things that we can do, but to throw a few out: Digging deeper into your techniques. Its one thing to be able to run thru a technique or kata, but its another thing to really have a solid understanding of what you’re doing. Understanding the basics. Footwork and stance work are a few things that come to mind here. Without those all of your material will crumble under you. Your stances are your foundation IMO, so without that, everything else, such as power, will most likely be lost. So..what does everyone else think makes their Kenpo better? Looking forward to a good discussion. 🙂
My answer was: Continue reading
