The Shotokan Karate Handbook: Beginner to Black Belt [Paperback]

Gursharan Sahota (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 24, 2003

This book is for the beginner to the Balck belt. With illustrations with all instrucitons.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gursharan Sahota

Product Details

• Paperback: 284 pages
• Publisher: Sahota Publishing (October 24, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0952463806
• ISBN-13: 978-0952463801
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,228,569 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't This Seem Familiar..., May 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Shotokan Karate Handbook: Beginner to Black Belt (Paperback)

Well not everyone will know that Sahota used to be a member of TASK but later broke away. He is featured in John van Weenen's (Chief Instructor to TASK) own handbook and after looking at the front cover and looking through it you can see that Sahota has probably used this book for ideas as he is featured in it and may have used it to learn from. The layout is incrediably similar. While I'm not claiming that there have been any copyright infringements, I feel that if you want to know where Sahota probably got the idea for this book then see "The Beginners Guide To Shotokan Karate Beginner To Black Belt" by John van Weenen. Just want to set the record straight for readers-not to start a fight.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A waste of money., December 20, 2010

By 

Armando N. Roman (Hillsboro, OR) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Shotokan Karate Handbook: Beginner to Black Belt (Paperback)

I began learning Shotokan in 1997, and got this book around 1999, thinking it'd help me improve on techniques. All in all, the only reason you should get this book is because it lays out a couple of katas step by step with pictures. That's essentially what makes up Beginner to Black Belt. There's a small section going over the basic moves, and a big section at the end with all the different ranks, what you'll want/need to know at what rank, and tons of pictures of Sahota with his students and trophies. A kind of self-congratulatory section if you will.

While the chapters with each kata are done fairly well, it was hard to see exactly what was being done in certain pictures. Yes, it's pretty obvious with a lot of things, like stance changes and different strikes being thrown, but anyone who's done a kata knows that to do one properly, precise footwork is needed. Pivoting a foot, having your foot in an exact position, etc. You don't see a lot of it at times because the pictures are a bit small, and when Sahota's facing the camera, his body and gi pants can cover what's being done. There could also be better descriptions instead of just the name of the move and the directional arrows to show what direction he's going in. It just feels rushed, and I don't think any beginners would be able to get much out of it. If you've already learned the kata, and forget a few steps, then this would be a decent reference book.

What really bugs me is the page showing different strikes, but it's just a bunch of pictures with the hands in different attacks, with no real description of them. If you are versed in various martial arts, a lot of them will be familiar, especially for those who know Crane, but without any words to tell you what they are or how they're used, there's no point in including these. The descriptions of some Shotokan attacks are pretty bad too, the Reverse Punch in particular. Sahota tells you that it's basically the strongest punch there is, but barely tells you how to do it right. To a beginner, it may as well be your standard Straight Punch. And like I said earlier, the last section with Sahota pretty much showing off his accomplishments made the guy seem too full of himself, and like your standard money martial artist. Look at all of what I've done! See these trophies?! See all my belts?! That means that I know what I'm talking about, and that this book is good by default! I don't think so. I mean, just flipping through the pages and seeing that the guy is constantly kicking way too high should say something. Maybe he's trying to show off how high he can kick too? Finally, I forgot to mention that there's a brief section on attacks and counters. It follows the standard drills of "do this when they do this", but the majority of the counterattacks used as examples are the same. Don't expect any of this to be useful in a real world situation, as it's here for tradition's sake.

I didn't give it one star because like I said, it can be an ok reference book to those a little rusty with some katas. Otherwise, I doubt this book will be very useful to anyone else. It's pretty funny to look at John van Weenen's book, another Beginner to Black Belt book, and see how similar they are, although his is worth checking out. If you can get this one for 4/5 the standard price, then go for it. Otherwise, save your money and keep practicing.

5.0 out of 5 stars Sahota's book is excellent, June 7, 2008

By 

L. High - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Shotokan Karate Handbook: Beginner to Black Belt (Paperback)

I often recommend this book and it's companion, THE ADVANCED SHOTOKAN KARATE HANDBOOK, to my students. It is easy to follow, clearly written, and the position arrows under the pictures of kata moves really helps when you're learning a new kata. I tell my students that they should have several kata books as references because the more resources you have, the better you will learn kata and the better and more detailed your kata will be. Both books are important additions to the Shotokan karateka's library.