The History of Karate and the Masters Who Made It: Development, Lineages, and Philosophies of Traditional Okinawan and Japanese Karate-do

I was looking for a book on history of karate and was lucky enough to find this book just a few days after its release. I really liked the structure of the book and the author’s style of writing. It was very easy to read the book even after the working day (and being a non-native English speaker).A short glimpse on Okinawa’s history and the sociopolitical situation of the time karate was born is given at the beginning. Biographies of most prominent karate masters follow the historical introduction. Biographies are arranged into 2 main lineages, which puts development of karate into clearly defined perspective. Several philosophical issues are discussed at the end of the book.I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the history and development of karate. No specific technical knowledge of karate is required to read and enjoy this book.

I bought this because it was written by my Sensei, so I was excited to read it! If you are in karate, have kids in karate, or are just interested in history, I think this book is great. Also, I'm proud to say I (and my kids) get to train under Mark Cramer. He is a wonderful human in general, and so knowledgeable and talented!

This is a comprehensive outline of karate's history, nothing more nothing less. It is simple and concise, and most people who are interested in karate's history will probably know most of the historical facts presented by the author. However, there are things in here that may prove to be enlightening to a more casual karate historians. For me such an "aha" moment occurred when I read about the two main lineages, Matsumura and Higaonna. I was well aware of these of course before, however, the way that this was clearly presented in this book finally made all of the pieces of the puzzle fit together.

I liked the details given of many historical karate figures. I found some of the complications due to the murky past of karate frustrating though.

Absolutely fantastic. This should be part of every karate practitioners library.

Worth reading. Pretty in depth history.

A well written book and a good read for any inspiring martial artists let us never forget our roots 🙏

I bought two of these, one for me and one for my instructor. He added it to his collection

Es un muy buen trabajo recopilatorio sobre este arte marcial, nos permite observar la construcción de los distintos tipos de estilos y sus fundadores. Muy recomendable para quienes practican este arte marcial o están interesados en el.

Fascinating read. Would recommend for anyone studying martial arts.

Sou faixa preta primeiro Dan e professor universitário na área de Administração. O livro complementa meus conhecimentos, ao proporcionar um melhor entendimento da história e evolução do Karatê. Com o livro, pude melhorar minha compreensão sobre a teoria que embasa minha prática de Karatê na academia.

good book

As a dan belt I really enjoy learning of the history of our martial art, very informative and enlightening.