'Bunkai: Secrets of Karate Kata Volume 1: The Tekki Series [Paperback]

Elmar T. Schmeisser (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Tekki Series Vol. 1 | Publication Date: July 2000

Utilizing over 330 photographs, Bunkai, for the first time in publishing history, allows a continuous visualization of an opponent during an enitre kata, without missing OR overlapping motions in the kata sequence. This volume covers all three traditional karate Tekki kata: Tekki Shodan, Tekki Nidan, and Tekki Sandan. In this book, Dr. Schmeisser brings the Tekki kata of the Shotokan style to life as they have never been seen before! The author, a 7th degree black belt and Kyoshi of the International Society of Okinawan/Japanese Karate-do, is a renowned pioneer in the analysis and application of karate kata. His first book, Advanced Karate-do: Concepts, Techniques, and Training Methods, a bestseller in the martial arts community, has just been completely revised and re-issued.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Carefully organized, coherent, and firmly rooted in a sense of reality. Dr. Schmeisser has done what many instructors have not yet been able to demonstrate, a cohesive and articulate interpretation of the techniques of the Tekki kata. --Taniguchi Takao, 5th Dan, JKA, Terai-machi, Ishikawa-ken, Japan

About the Author

Elmar T. Schmeisser, Ph.D., a renowned pioneer in the analysis and application of karate kata, is a Master Instructor certified by the American Teachers Association of the Martial Arts who began karate training in 1968 under such luminaries as Hidetaka Nishiyama. In addition to studying Shotokan karate-do, Dr. Schmeisser has years of experience in the Shukokai, Renshinkai, and Shorinji-ryu styles of karate as well as training in judo and two styles of aikido. He is a 7th degree black belt and Kyoshi of the International Society of Okinawan/Japanese Karate-do and holds the rank of Shodan in Aikido. After studying at the University of California at San Diego and the University of Massachusetts, Schmeisser earned his doctorate degree in Medical Physiology: Visual Electrophysiology and Psychophysics from the University of Florida. He currently resides and teaches karate in North Carolina. Schmeisser's most recent book is the newly revised, expanded, and illustrated edition of his bestseller Advanced Karate-Do: Concepts, Techniques, and Training Methods. He is also the author of Bunkai: Secrets of Karate Kata - The Tekki Series.

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Tamashii Press (July 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0911921362
• ISBN-13: 978-0911921366
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #419,430 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Karate is not what you thought it was..., July 12, 2000

By 

Tony Annesi, BUSHIDO-KAI (Ashland, Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 'Bunkai: Secrets of Karate Kata Volume 1: The Tekki Series (Paperback)

In the 1970's karate-ka like myself longed for any little tidbit of information regarding kata application that was not blatantly overt. In fact, I took it upon myself to propose to a major martial arts publisher a volume called Hidden Throws and Locks of Karate-do. It was rejected because "many other books had been written on the subject." I guess the editors were not martial artists and did not understand that overt applications were not the more subtle or hidden meanings that many of my fellow martial artists and I were after. Now I am overjoyed to see a similar, even more concentrated, volume (with 9 more in the works) brought to life by Dr. Elmar Schmeisser in his Bunkai: Secrets of Karate Kata. In this compact book, Dr. Schmeisser opens the doors to tegumi (Okinawan grappling) as it is manifested in the popular Shotokan versions of the Iron Horseman forms. With no wasted space on preliminaries or filler, Dr. Schmeisser dives into the subject offering unique, imaginative but nonetheless applicable interpretations of karate forms which most practitioners have heretofore justified with fanciful and non-functional explanations. There is no excuse for that now. Dr. Schmeisser a one of a few senior karate-ka who are investigating not just the kata itself but the self-defense that comes from it--the reason the kata were created in the first place. I look forward to the succeeding volumes.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Groundbreaking, December 21, 2000

By 

Colin F. Huskinson (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 'Bunkai: Secrets of Karate Kata Volume 1: The Tekki Series (Paperback)

Dr. Scheimesser's analysis is based on two simple principles: 1. There are no wasted or meaningless moves in kata; 2. The originators of kata meant for them to be sequences of moves against a few opponents rather than a grouping disjoint situations where just one or two movements apply in each. The result of this "sequential analysis" is so simple and practical that the reader wonders how come this has not been done before.

This book opens up much greater understanding of the tekki kata for both instructors and students. Blocks become joint locks; strikes become throws. Most importantly, the interpretation of the kata makes perfect sense, whether the kata are looked at macroscopically or broken down into their sequences.

The only shortcoming of the book lies with the fact that the tekki kata all mirror themselves in one way or another. In demonstrating the applications of techniqes which mirror ones previously done, Dr. Schmiesser shows pictures of the same applications (in mirror image) rather than the alternatives mentioned in the text. Showing pictures of these alternatives would have made the book better since it can be studied simply by watching the pictures after an initial run through of the text.

This, however, does not deny the fact that the book is excellent. This book should be in the library of anyone who has ever practised the tekki kata.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking, August 17, 2000

By 

Kevin B. Smith "kavein" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 'Bunkai: Secrets of Karate Kata Volume 1: The Tekki Series (Paperback)

An excellent example of the advantages of "reverse engineering" kata. The book leads you through linked, dynamic applications of the Tekki--something I have never seen done anywhere else. There are no wasted movements here, no "this is just for show and not a realistic feeling" explanations. Every movement is given a direct application, and one that is often ruthlessly violent. Although as an earlier review mentioned, perhaps these should not be seen as the end all and be all of Tekki applications (the author makes no claim they are), but they have certainly helped my kata practice take on a more focused and realistic attitude. If Schmeisser can pull off a book of similar quality with the Heians Shotokan practitioners will be in his debt for a long time.