A great resource for karate. This older book contains numerous pictures of techniques as well as fight sequences. I personally loved the latter chapters that explored how to defend yourself from different attacks. My favorite was defense while sitting in a chair. ( )

from dust jacket

The first complete and authoritative book to give a sober and systematic presentation of karate, the amazing Oriental sport and art of unarmed self-defense.

A fully illustrated manual giving step-by-step explanations, practical pointers, and thorough analyses of all the basic movements and techniques.

-more than 1,000 individual illustrations

-full description of the sport, including hiatory, organiization, traiing methods, and vasic principels involved

-thorough explanations of over 70 movements and techniques, including stances, postures, body shifting methods, punching techniques, striking techniques, kicking techniques, hand and foot blocking techniques, formal exercises, and throwing techniques

-pointers on competitive karate, with official rules of the sport

-a complete presentation of karate as self-defense: aginst holding, knife attack, attack by club, and pistol threat.

-written by Hidetaka Nishiyama, Chief of the Instruction Commmittee of the Japan Karate Association, and Richard C. Brown, an American member of the same organization

'...The first complete and most authoritative book on the Oriental technique of unarmed self-defense...[It is] a fully illustrated manual giving step-by-step explanations of all the fundamentals of karate.'-Robert Klaverkamp, United Press International

'This is a sober and systematic presentation of the amazing Oriental sport and art of unarmed defense: complete and authoritative. It is fully descriptive, contains more than a thousand individual illustrations-a must for the devotee.'-Pacific Stars & Stripes

Contents

Foreword
Part 1: Introduction
1. what is karate?
2. a short history
3. essential principles-physical principles; psychkological principles; combined physical-psychological principles
4. organization of karate techniques-overall orgianization; orgainization of hand tecahniques; organization of foot techniques; organization of stance; organization of posture
5. training methods
6. calisthenics-exercise sequence; limbering-up exercises; muscle-strengthening exercises; wind and reaction-time exercises
Part 2: basic techniques and their practice
7. striking points and vital points-fore-fist (seiken); other striking points; vital points and their respective striking points
8. stance-informal-attention stance (heisoku-dachi); open-leg stance (hachiji-dachi); straddle-leg stance (kiba-dachi); forward stance (zenkutsu-dach); back stance (kokutsu-dachi); diagonal straddle-leg stance (sochin-dachi); cat stance (neko-ashi-dachi); hour-glass stance (sanchin-dachi); wide hour-glass stance (hangetsu-dachi)
9 Posture-front facing; half front-facing; side-facing
10 body shifting-stepping; double-stepping; sliding; slide-stepping; turning; step-turning
11 Hand techniques-attacking techniques & blocking techniques
attacking techniques
punching techniques-fore-fist straight punch (seiken-choku-zuki); adaptations of the fore-fist straight punch; variations of the straight punch; spear-hand straight thrust (nukite); vertical-fist punch (tate-zuki); rising punch (age-zuki); roundhouse punch (mawashi-zuki); close punch (ura-zuki); double-fist punch (morote-zuki); u-punch (yama-zuki); hook punch (kagi-zuki)
striking techniques-back-fist strike (riken-uchi); bottom-fist strike (tettsui-uchi); back-hand (haishu-uchi); knife-hand (shuto-uchi); ridge-hand strike (haito-uchi); palm-heel strike (teisho-uchi); elbow strike (empi-uchi)
blocking tecahniques
blocking techniques-rising block (age-uke); forearm block (ude-uke); knife-hand block (shuto-uke); downward block (gedan-barai); augmentsed forearm block (morote-uke); x-block (juji-uke); wedge block (kakiwake-uke); other miscellaneous blocks
12 foot techniques-attacking techniques & blocking techniques
attacking techniques-front kick (mae-geri); side kick (yoko-geri); back kick (ushiro-geri); roundhouse kick (mawashi-geri); crescent kick (mikazuki-geri); stamping kick (fumikomi); flying front kick (mae-tobi-geri); flying side kick (yoko-tobi-geri); knee kick (hittsui-geri)
blocking techniques-inside snapping block (nami-ashi); crescent-kick block (mikazuki-geri-uke)
13 techniques in combination-balance; muscular control; use of boky dynamics; switch-over from one technique to the next; shifting body weight; examples of common combination techniques
14 formal exercise-advantages of practicing formal exercises; schematic diagram; hints on mastering formal exercises; a representative formal exercise; schematic diagram of heian no. 4; the form (heian no. 4)
15 sparring-basic sparring (kihon-kumite), standard procedure in basic sparring, representative examples; semi-free one-blow sparring (jiyu-ippon-kumite); free-style sparring (jiyu-kumite), tactics, free-style sparing as a sport
16 throwing techniques
Part 3: karate as self-defense
17 defense against holding
18 defense from floor-sitting position
19 defense from chair-sitiing positon
20 defense against knife attack
21 defense against attack by club
22 defense against pistol threat
appendix: karate equipment and its use
glossary
index