Customer Reviews

Kusanku Kata: A Journey Through Time

Prof. Baron Joseph A. Uphoff Director, son of God, whatever, I don't know who this guy is, but he shouldn't be writing books. He can come up with titles of books, but he shouldn't flex his literary talent beyond that.

I was embarrassed to read this book, the author should definitely be embarrassed to have published it, there is a spelling mistake on the first page and all photographs (the few that are there) are 5th generation photocopies. There is no lineage of any katas beyond the person who taught the author and the "journey through time" refers to the author's learning of kusanku, not the kata's journey.

Believe me Mr. Uphoff, there are better ways to self publish.

Inaccurate title, bad writing and poor layout. Believe me those are the good points. Mr. Uphoff's 'book' is a bound photocopy of descriptions of various kusanku katas that he has learned. Without corresponding photographs, the text he gives is frequently useless - not to mention annoying to read; it is all in capitals. Many versions of the kata are substantially different from the mainstream ones, and there is no attempt to validate the differences through lineage or to dissuade the reader from believing that they are not the products of bad habits and/or mistakes. The kata bassai is erroneously listed as a kusanku derivative.

What little information is contained in the book is padded out with references to Mr. Uphoff's unbelievable, non-verifiable, and irrelevant credentials through his life. This blatant effort to impress fails to draw attention from the substandard quality of this would-be marital arts text.

The only way I would recommend this book is at gunpoint.