The Karate-ka: A search for the old to understand the new

I had heard good things about this book and it started really strongly with a solid writing style and interesting topic matter of a young man's journey to follow his passion and dream. The first 90 pages I read in one sitting and was looking forward to more of the same; but sadly this is a book of two halves. The book soon descends to the realms of woo woo and bullshido and unfortunately completely loses itself. It also sadness me too that somebody who is trying to lose their ego would go to somebody else's country and then start telling them they are wrong about their own history and understanding of their culture because their views and opinions don't fit the answers he wants to hear.The author comes across as a nice person and writes well, but either is completely deluded or simply a con man, I haven't met him personally so I can't judge; but anybody that is awarded a grade that should take a life time to achieve in what appears to be a matter of months and doesn't give it straight back has very little credibility in my world.The world of the martial arts is rife with people that take advantage of others through building cults or just making outlandish claims, and this falls squarely under that banner. I forced myself to read the book to the end so I would not be writing this without having seen the full text; but I wish the author had stopped after his first visit to Japan and just made it a novella.Very disappointing.

This book is very well written and depicts in detail the journey of a martial artist in search of Karate's origins, while traveling to Japan and Okinawa, and his adventures while meeting several grandmasters. More than the travel itself, this book is also about a inner journey and leads us to the reflection of what martial arts are all about.

A well written account of the 'learning journey' associated with a life in martial arts. As other reviewers have noted, this is not merely an story of bravado, triumph-over-adversity, or even technique, but a more reflective record of the learning associated with the experiences that come with pursuing a greater level of knowledge. Thoughtful, humour ours and balanced, once I started I couldn't put it down. I look forward to the next publication from Mr. Reeves.

Bought for gift for a karate DanSecond book I've bought himHe really liked it first one was karateStupid....

Well written and interesting book about personal journey. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Arrived on time thanks, enjoyed

Excellent book, I bought it for my Sensei and he rated it very highly.

Great book - well written, a must read!

I was really impressed with this book. Well, for a while anyway.There is nothing wrong with the quality of the writing; it is excellent throughout which sets it apart from so many books on martial arts. The author is articulate and certainly has a gift for blending expository and narrative non-fiction to create what is, at many points, a compelling piece of writing. The reason for my three stars is that the nature of the content shifts quite dramatically as it progresses and it left me with a feeling of an unresolved first part and an unwelcome second part.It starts really well with a young, humble(d) karate-ka becoming disillusioned with some inadequacies in his training and/or abilities who then pursues deeper training elsewhere. So far so good. It goes on to cover his training with other teachers and styles. Still good. Then suddenly we are being told of dream premonitions which come true, psychic vibrations which alert the author to nearby points of martial interest, no-touch knock-downs, clearing karmic channels via folk dances, and various other elements of martial quackery. Is it possible that the author is honestly narrating real events at this point? I suppose it is not impossible. But then again, me winning a credible world boxing title with no training or talent is technically not impossible either, but if I try to do it I'd recommend wagering on the other guy. There is so much nonsense in martial arts that I was disappointed when this book started to plumb those depths because it had been going so well until that point.Covering mystical elements of martial arts should not automatically be deemed to make a book undesirable, but if that subject constitutes a significant part of the content, or at least a significant element of the conclusions of the content, then I would rather know in advance via the synopsis so that I can pass on it and leave it to the people who are genuinely inclined that way.Two points that particularly irked me (bearing in mind that I am easily irked...):1. There is a conversation with a seemingly wise elder in Okinawa who mysteriously suggests that the author continue his investigations into karate's historical origins by investigating Kikaijima. '"Kikaijima. Look into the island of Kikaijima, 'that' is an interesting place." He smiled.' This statement is presented with an air of great significance and yet it is then just left hanging! There is no further information on whether the author DID look into Kikaijima or not, or if any connections of importance were discovered. Come on, man, you can't do that! Google isn't helping me discover it myself, you were our man on the ground...2. The author occasionally presents unsupportable ideas that don't hold up to basic scrutiny, and unfortunately this reduces the credibility of the research behind the other information in the book. For example, his suggestion that the term 'pacifism' comes from the movements of the people of the South Pacific following currents and 'going with the flow.' But pacifism doesn't mean 'going with the flow'. More often than not it is a stance that challenges and causes friction. The suggestion is quite laughable and a cursory examination of the common root word of 'pacific' and 'pacifism' quickly reveals much simpler origins. Another example would be the suggestion that Okinawa can be seen as a lesson on how a nation "... can exist at peace without spending ridiculous amounts of money on bettering ways of killing greater numbers of people." I'm not really sure where to start with that. Okinawa has lived under the protective umbrella of the greatest military power in history over the period the author refers to, so a lack of conflict in that time may just be attributable to that. Not to mention that military spending for Okinawa is not based in Okinawan values but is decided by ministers far away in the Japanese capital.Overall, I wouldn't dissuade anyone from buying this book. At its price point it is worth a quick read, and if you are forewarned about all elements of the content and those elements are all things that interest you then you might get a great deal from it. The author is talented and you certainly won't find it a hard slog to get through. But it's not entirely my cup of tea.

GREAT READ FOR ANY MARTIAL ARTIST

Début assez intéressant puis l'auteur commence unpeu à se perdre dans le mystique, ce qui fait que j'ai un peu décroché ..

Just purchased and its not in kindle format, simply scanned in and as such tiny font.for 5 bucks I might keep it, still deciding. :(