Best Karate, Vol.5: Heian, Tekki (Paperback)

~ Masatoshi Nakayama (Author) "Deciding who is the winner and who is the loser is not the ultimate objective..." (more)
Key Phrases: upper level close punch, middle level block, chúdan morote uke (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Kata, the formal exercises of karate training, were the essence of practice in Okinawa and China, and are the core training method even today.
Detailed here in 1500 sequential photos are the five Heian and three Tekki kata, mastery of which is necessary to attain first dan.
Demonstrated by the author and Yoshiharu Osaka.

Here is a list of all volumes in this series:
Vol. 1: Comprehensive
Vol. 2: Fundamentals
Vol. 3: Kumite 1
Vol. 4: Kumite 2
Vol. 5: Heian, Tekki
Vol. 6: Bassai, Kanku
Vol. 7: Jutte, Hangetsu, Empi
Vol. 8: Gankaku, Jion
Vol. 9: Bassai Sho, Kanku Sho, Chinte
Vol.10: Unsu, Sochin, Nijushiho
Vol. 11: Gojushiho Dai, Gojushiho Sho, Meikyo

About the Author

Masatoshi Nakayama carries on the tradition of his teacher, Gichin Funakoshl, the Father of Modern Karate. Long professor and director of physical education at Takushoku University, his alma mater (1937), he was chief instructor of the Japan Karate Association from 1955 until his death in 1987. A ninth degree black belt and a familiar face at tournaments, he was among the first to send instructors overseas and to encourage the development of karate along scientific lines.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Kodansha International (October 15, 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870113798
• ISBN-13: 978-0870113796
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #41,311 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 5 in The Best Karate Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent to learn Katas, July 12, 2001

By	Joerg Colberg (Northampton, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought three books out of the "Best Karate" series and the two books about katas are simply outstanding. I use another book which describes the movements in words but it's just too hard to figure it out for some of the tricky movements. The "Best Karate" series has photo series for all katas plus additional information about what people should take care of for the individual katas (for instance, stance changes for Heian Shodan). That way, it's really "easy" to learn a kata on your own, just from the book.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best series of books on kata., April 24, 2004

By	A. Vivolo (Orting, Washington United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have been practicing Shotokan karate for 10 years now. Even though I attend regular classes and seminars, as well as working out with very qualified karate-ka, I still find myself coming back to Master Nakayma's work in this very fine series of books. Of all the books on kata I have these books are superior.

The instruction is straight forward and to the point. Tips are given to avoid common mistakes. Under the many pictures illustrating the kata is a stance diagram and short concise sentences to describe each move.

Extremely well done by one of the finest karate masters.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required Reading for Shotokan Karate Students, November 1, 2008

By	Joseph C. McDaniel (Phoenix, Arizona) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

You need this book and all the books in this series if you are a Shotokan Karate student.

Shotokan Karate is one of the most practiced styles of karate in the world, and this series of books by Sensei Nakayama will give you a fairly complete introduction to the style.

These books were designed and distributed before we had dvds, and they were designed to provide a reference of correct technique in a world without enough qualified Shotokan Instructors.

This volume provides the sequence and execution of six kata in correct form as taught by Sensei Nakayama before his untimely passing. The kata shown in this volume are the five Heian kata, and Tekki Shodan. They contain the core of Shotokan technique. This book will not teach you to how to perform these katas correctly; for that you need a qualified instructor. However, these volumes are an unmatched reference for Shotokan Karate students. This and all the other books in the series provide the best reference ever produced for the entire syllabus of Shotokan Karate.

If there is a downside to this volume, it's that the book is light on bunkai, or the application of the kata. And the applications that are shown are fairly superficial. On the other hand, the primary goal of this series was to provide a reference that Shotokan students all over the world could address as to sequence and form. And the series is completely successful in that endeavor.