Books for Wado

[karateman7]

Which books are recommended for someone who's interested in not only learning more about Wado but it's history and principles. I'm sure The Book of Five Rings and Hironori Otsuka's Wado Karate are a good starting place. Any others that come to mind?

[kyudo]

By far the most interesting Wado book for me, is a Shotokan book: Harry Cook's 'A Precise History of Shotokan'.
http://www.dragon-tsunami.org/Dtimes/Pa ... kanJNE.htm

Off course it doesn't contribute anything from a technical perspective. But then books are hardly the right medium for that. However, Harry Cook does paint a lively -and precise- picture of the origins of Shotokan, and Wado along with it. In the process he eradicates many a karate myth. Obviously, Wado history is very much intertwined with Shotokan history. And by lack of a similar publication for Wado, this will have to do...

[majin29]

I'm not sure he's a Wado karateka but Dave Lowry has 4 books on karate that are just superb. Excellent reading and highly recommended. I have Suzuki's biography and Ohtsuka's book and enjoy them a lot.

[oneya]

By far the most interesting Wado book for me, is a Shotokan book: Harry Cook's 'A Precise History of Shotokan'.
http://www.dragon-tsunami.org/Dtimes/Pa ... kanJNE.htm

Off course it doesn't contribute anything from a technical perspective. But then books are hardly the right medium for that. However, Harry Cook does paint a lively -and precise- picture of the origins of Shotokan, and Wado along with it. In the process he eradicates many a karate myth. Obviously, Wado history is very much intertwined with Shotokan history. And by lack of a similar publication for Wado, this will have to do...

Hi Igor, except for Funakoshi's pre shotokan years of the 1920s I think the Shoto trail is not really a valid reference for wado ryu and may make a few old uns like me wince a little at the prospect of more muddy water on the wado path. While Ohtsuka meijin was graded to shodan by Funakoshi in 1924 he had never actually trained in Shotokan karate. History shows when Funakoshi arrived in Japan in the 1920s he came from an Itosu background where the karate was more Shurite. By the time Funakoshi's first dojo was named Shotokan in 1939 Ohtsuka meijin had already registered Wado Ryu at the Butoku Kai five years earlier in 1934 and the two styles have been on diverging paths ever since. What there is of wado history will differ with the teller because a fair amount of wado history is still within living memory - and still being written.

oneya

[kyudo]

except for Funakoshi's pre shotokan years of the 1920s I think the Shoto trail is not really a valid reference for wado ryu and may make a few old uns like me wince a little at the prospect of more muddy water on the wado path.

Have you red the book? (A precise History of Shotokan)
If not, I can recommend it, for exactly this reason (taken from another thread):

That's not the impression I get from accounts of karate in the 20s and 30s

Cook's book offers a lot more than merely a precise history of Shotokan. It paints a lively backdrop of the early days of karate, which makes a lot of things fall into place. For me, at least...

[oneya]

Haven't read it Igor. At $199.99 US I don't know whether I want to contribute to the author's coffers given recent happenings.

oneya.

[kyudo]

Haven't read it Igor. At $199.99 US I don't know whether I want to contribute to the author's coffers given recent happenings.

I get that. I bought it a while ago and forgot about the (extreme) price. Too bad it doesn't exist online...

But to give you one humorous tidbit:
Cook shows how in the late 19th century, Japanese military had a look around in Europe to see how the imperial army could be modernized. The Japanese officers saw the French army practicing in rows, pacing up and down a courtyard. All in the same uniform. Sounds familiar?
The Japanese took the idea home and implemented it in the army and subsequently in the schools and dojos. Because, let's face it, we still have an industrial way of 'producing' karateka. And that's why we are still pacing up and down the dojo all in the same uniform. Off course the irony is that everyone thinks this is the Japanese way.
BTW, also the pinan katas were created to practice karate in an industrial way. Funny that, isn't it? It also makes you wonder about the 'practical' applications of the pinans...

[oneya]

My understanding is Japan was preparing to put itself on a war footing and recognising this it was Gigo Funakoshi who was responsible for the military methods of training in what was to become shotokan.

oneya

[kyudo]

My understanding is Japan was preparing to put itself on a war footing and recognising this it was Gigo Funakoshi who was responsible for the military methods of training in what was to become shotokan.

Gigo (Yoshitake) Funakoshi's era was some 50 years later, before and during WW2. Cook writes a.o.:
"There is no doubt that the techniques of Shotokan were used by some elements of the Japanese military to train their troops. In late 1943 Yoshitake Funakoshi was approached by the military with a request to teach Shotokan to the students at the Nakano School located in Tokyo. This institution was a training school run by the Intelligence branch of the Japanese Army whose students spent a year training in espionage techniques, intelligence gathering, and so forth. Yoshitake was too ill to undertake the task so Shigeru Egami was appointed. He concentrated on two techniques; basic punch (choku zuki) and front kick (meageri), usually delivered while wearing army boots. Although injuries were common, the military were pleased with the result, which improved the reputation of the Shotokan with the authorities."

[Gusei21]

Kyudo,

I won't speak for Oneya but Gigo is the one who made the stances longer and added other silly stuff that ended up screwing up Funakoshi Sensei's Okinawan karate. They were trying to make the karate more scientific and modern (better). Just like the other idiots out there trying to improve Wado claiming that Wado needs to evolve....