Customer Reviews

Okinawan Karate, The Secret Art of Tuite

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I highly recommend this book to all who study any Traditional Okinawan style or faithful non-style specific Okinawan style. The author is extremely knowledgeable on the Martial Arts in general and specifically on the Okinawan Ryu Kyu Kenpo. He treats the subject matter in a historically correct way and introduces the "bunkai" (applications) from traditional kata of Okinawa in an easy to understand (even though many years of practice are needed)system of written descriptions and line drawings. A reader would be hard pressed not to follow his theories and techniques.
Obviously the book should be for serious traditional Karate practitioners, but it is also of use for the average layman interested in the historical significance or to whet the appetite to begin their training.
Researchers have been hard at work to uncover the history of traditional karate and have found it to be anything but primitive. Unfortunately it has become watered down in the sense that it was introduced to Japan in a way that would "suit" their culture. This was an intelligent decision as a way of promoting the art of Tote even down to changing the name to Karate. In Japan it is still more sport oriented than the much more difficult aspects of the true Okinawan fighting arts. It is now time to get this message out and many in the karate world are doing just that. The author of this book is one of those practioners.
If you study a Japanese style of Karate think about reading this book and trying a traditional Okinawan style for a while. You'll be extremely impressed (if not really worn out) with the two to three hour training session!
Traditional Karate is not found on every street corner like the ATA (which is "fast food Taekwondo). You have to search for it. It is evident from this reviewer that the author of "Okinawan Karate The Secret Art of Tuite" is highly trained and skilled in the traditional style of Okinawan Isshinryu.
Bravo Mr. Martinez!
Buy this book. You will not be disappointed.

This is an excellent book for Okinawan Karate-do practitioners. One of the most comprehensive books on Okinawan Tuite available today. A must read if you are interested in Okinawan self-defense techniques. No pressure points, just pure simple, efficient, and effective self-defense, (although it gives you good tips on the use of pressure point to enhance seizing techniques). This book provides a good foundation into the Principles of Okinawan Tuite to those practitioners who are already acquainted with joint locking and its concepts, for the novice it is somewhat more difficult to comprehend specially in some advance techniques. If you believe that there is more in Okinawan Karate than just strikes, kicks and blocks, then you should own this book.
This is the fifth book in Mr. Javier Martinez series on Secrets of Okinawan Karate, and the first book directed to the Okinawan martial community in general. This book covers significantly more material than any other "technical book", and makes better use of illustrations, although some of the drawings lack of detail, especially when dealing with finger locks. As such, they are of varying degrees of usefulness. The book covers many traditional katas from two main Okinawan systems, Shuri-te and Naha-te. Tuite Applications are based both on physical and anatomic principles and have infinite possibilities in combat applications. It really leads you to understand how the traditional Okinawan kata really works.
The author introduces some interesting concepts on technique classification. I particularly enjoyed the chapter about "Kata Structure" very interesting. You should try to apply this theory to your style and experiment. If you practice traditional katas, no matter if you are new to joint locking and seizing, or experienced, this book must be part of your martial library. This book well worth your time and money.

Yes, there are some gramatical errors in this book. Of course, it is an instructional manual and not a literary offering. The author's verbage did not inhibit my ability to understand what he was explaining. Martinez is a native of Puerto Rico whose karate background is Isshin-ryu.

Isshin-ryu includes 8 empty-hand kata: Seisan, Seiunchin, Naihanchi, Wanso, Chinto, Kusanku, Sanchin, and the kata designed by the style's founder, Tatsuo Shimabuku, Sunsu. The first six kata mentioned in the last sentence are covered in this book (Sanchin and Sunsu are not), with complete demonstrations of each application offered in clearly understandable line drawings.

Martinez's approach is instructional. He offers some information on Okinawan karate history, and offers a hypothesis on how tuite ("grappling") lies at the heart of what many of us thought, until recently, were striking arts. Kata is the main teaching tool, and Martinez unravels what for all intents and purposes may have been encoded kata. His theory is convincing, his methodology logical.

Martinez has also written four other books (booklets really--about 50-60 pages each, nicely printed and covered) on kata bunkai (form applications), covering kata Naihanchi, Chinto, Kusanku, and Seiunchin. The difference between this volume and the others is that the four kata booklets demonstrate with photographs instead of drawings, and include the demonstration of the kata by the author, and then the section on bunkai (application). This volume on tuite does not show the one-man kata sequences. While the booklets are more thorough in their treatment of technical details (not so markedly so that you'd "have" to buy them if you already know the kata), the visual detail of the line drawings in this book are easier to discern, especially with relation to hand placement.

In this book, Martinez also deals in great detail with different methods of punching, twisting, and body movement before he begins to deal with the 6 kata of the book (pages 1-78). The rest deals with a breakdown of the applications for the six kata: Seisan, Seiunchin, Naihanchi, Wanso, Chinto, Kusanku (pages 79-200).

This is a terrific book, and does a lot to dispell the myth that Okinawan arts are primative and limited to striking alone. Then again I suppose primative vs. technologically advanced has more to do with how much study a person is willing to put into studying their chosen discipline.

Although I have only be a student of Okinawan karate for a few years, I started learning martial arts in 1972. It is rare to see Karate of this caliber. This book is not only a must for all students of Okinawan Karate, but any martial art student. It is an excellent reference source of the Kata. For other martial artists it is an awe inspiring example of the "real deal".
This book is packed with techniques that are simple and effective. However, those who are already familiar with some form of grappling martial art, will find a fine addition to their collection that documents some of the history, philosophy and techniques of this powerful martial art. Although it helps martial artists at all skill levels understand how the techniques work and how to make them work better, this is not a book for those looking to self teach themselves a martial art.
I thought I knew a lot about Okinawan Karate, but the author gave me even more insight into this art. I would recommend it to any martial artist interested in why and how the martial arts work, and to any martial artist who wants to get better.
This book is an good resource for anyone seriously interested in self-defense. It has some tipographical errors but nevertheless, I still give top-marks. Undoubtedly, this is a book you will take off your bookshelf often for reference, practice and experiment.
Regardless of the style you practice, it will enrich your training, improve your technique, and deepen your understanding of the unique qualities embodied in your own martial art.

I came to this book by my Sensei's recommendation. This is not simply another book about Tuite. It is an impressive work about this "obscure" Okinawan art. There is plenty of new information, well presented. Mr. Martinez's knowledge is impressive, his explanations of techniques are satisfactory and the illustrations are fine. Promotes thought and encourages one to develop beyond the scope of the book. If you are serious about learning something useful from a book in the martial arts, then this is one I would recommend.
The author transforms the kata into something perfectly logical and simple. If you are sometimes confused by the kata movements and its application you will find this book highly beneficial.
The level of technical explanation is unmatched. You will truly understand the purposes of each movement including joint locks, methods of training, and historical development. But prepared to have to experiment for a while with several of the techniques to get the correct angle and feeling.
Most of the book concentrates on the defensive Tuite against barehand attacks. Since that is where your mind must be focused to react quickly, naturally and effectively.
It will give you and idea of what karate looked like before it started to become a sport.
The book has some spelling errors (probably because it was translated from another language) but nevertheless opens up the applications of Okinawan katas to include joint locks and control of the opponent through the art of Tuite. Whatever style of martial art you practice this a "must have" item.

As a description, the book is 2/5th's text at the beginning and the remainder is annotated graphic representation of applied kata. The kata are presented in the same order as learned in Isshinryu.

Let me explain the good parts: As an Isshinryu karate ka, I found the bunkai for the 8 empty hand kata's to be enormously beneficial. The drawings seem to be near traces of actual photographs and for the most part they deliver, even if some of the hand graphics leave a bit to be desired. Multiple angles would have been nice, but perhaps too confusing. Mr. Martinez does a decent job of explaining some of the history behind tuite, an ancient method used to control an opponent using joint manipulation. He also provides enough detail for a student to discern the actual bunkai or hidden applications for each kata. These things alone salvage the book.

On to the bad...
The book struggles with grammar, spelling and sentence structure. I assume this was a translated effort and it needs SERIOUS editing. In fact, if Mr. Martinez is reading, I would be more than happy to assist in a second edition. :-) But I found that after getting past the language limitations, the text simply didn't help me a great deal. The author references several technical issues, including physiology and design methodology. The latter is seemingly taken directly from a computer or engineering book verbatim. This isn't a problem, but the fact that there is no real depth to the analysis or conclusions, means it's up to the reader to interpret the author's meaning. Most people won't have access to the referenced books, so that interpretation is limited to what the author gives.

If Mr. Martinez would have spent more time explaining his conclusions (or given a conclusion in some cases) this would have been a good book. The language is unforgivable and any publisher would have cried at the painful text. If you are interested in gathering a bit of history (peppered throughout with criticism that most modern karate is taught without bunkai) and a fine reference for kata application, this book is for you. Good luck understanding some of the passages though...

Others have commented about the typos and such, so I won't dwell on that. I will say that the word Tuite should not appear in the title of this book, nor anywhere in the book at all. If you want to look at it, go to your local book store and give it a look prior to buying it. The person who wrote it may be skilled at some things in the martial arts world, however they do not even know the definition of Tuite. Therefore, I can in good conscious state that nothing in this book would be anything even remotely close to what is called Tuite. I go by the definition from Oyata, Seiyu, and I'm sorry but grabbing someones hair is NOT Tuite. Please do not be like me and buy this because it had the name Tuite in it. There is not a single technique in the book that can be called Tuite by Oyata's definition. Go to a book store, peek at it, and you will see.

Additionally the publisher should invest in spell-check.

It is a little book, hardly 200 pages, nevertheless it is a great book. It is Essential, simple and clear, perhaps unacceptable for who has exchanged the form for substance: Martinez finds the substance in the form. In Martinez meaning karate katas hiddens joint locks and acupoints techniques. These techniques mostly cames from the ancient Chinese art of Chin Na, called Tuite by the Okinawans. In the first part the author explains Chin Na and how he succeeded in concluding that Tuite originates from it. Then he analyzes karate basics, demonstratings how all Blocks are actually joint locks. Martinez emphatized some principles of combat: breacking the lines of force and blind angle, interesting also the considerations on the meant of vertical fist as a "power grip". The kata is faced like a computer program written in a modern object programming language and it works. In the second part, one by one he explains Isshinryu katas in terms of Tuite. Now the question is: does anybody knows how to contact master Javier Martinez?

Mr. Martinez has put together one of the very best efforts ever done to explain away he cloud of mass confusion which has plagued the modern karate world when it comes to the true meaning of kata.

I was thrilled when I first got this book, I could not believe the clarity in his words in every page, the logic in his reasoning, and the comprehensive way in which he presents this giant body of knowledge so that it all begins to makes perfect sense.

If you think you know your bunkai or applications of your karate forms, think again and get this book. You will be very glad you did...

I originally purchased one of Javier's books, and 20 minutes into it I raced back to amazon to order the rest. His insights into various techniques - and their possible lineage - make for fascinating reading. And even better: They enliven your kata. When reading a book makes me feel like I cannot wait to perform kata, I know it is a valuable teaching and training tool. Be sure to get all of Javier's books: Each one contains a different, essential nugget. The same could be said of your kata.