Hello Zoe, I was sent a link to this video by a student who was being (playfully) cheeky. I was surprised when my book on hojo-undo was featured as it was written back in 2008 and published the following year. Thank you for your kind words and endorsements I'm very happy to know you have found value in the work. As you are members of the OGKK I guess we are (karate) cousins. I hope this finds you well. Kind regards from across the Indian Ocean.
Sensei! The Sensei Michael Clarke! I literally ran out the house, across the garden and into our dojo to tell Ché "GUESS WHO COMMENTED ON OUR CHANNEL!?" All 120 videos have been totally worth it to hear from an author and karate-ka's work we hold in such esteem. We've mentioned your timeless book in several of our videos (and absolutely all our hojo undo videos), and we are awaiting our copy of _Shin Gi Tai_ to cross the ocean all the way to us. It is such a delight and honour to hear from you on our little channel - thank you so much for taking the time to watch and comment, and please tell your student that we are ever so chuffed that they passed our video on to you. This has completely made my month 🙌
@@GojuRyuKarateCentre Ha....your comment made me smile. Glad I was able to bring a little fun into your day. Thank you for supporting my writing. I hope you'll find some value in 'Shin Gi Tai', it's a very different book from 'Hojo-Undo'. I've had a look at a few of your video's, they're very good. You guys remind me a little of friends of mine in the U.S., Paul and Michelle Enfield. They also have a UA-cam channel that I think you would enjoy if you haven't already discovered it. Anyway, thanks again for your kind words, I wish you both all the best in your future endeavours...
I'm back! Loved the art of Hojo Undo which my wife gave me as a Christmas gift and has been nothing short of spectacular. My home practice has gained so much more meaning now that I'm using my own chi-ishi with more purpose and I found a use for my aqua-tank as a very interesting "tan." As always, thank you guys for the recommendations. I'm probably going to buy the desk reference book soon. If you enjoyed reading Lawrence Kane, I'm pretty sure you guys have also read the way of kata and the way to black belt which he wrote with Kris Wilder as well. Kris Wilder wrote the way of Sanchin - which is one of my top favorites as well so far.
Yay, Carlos! We have missed you on the channel! Art of Hojo Undo is absolutely essential reading for all Goju Ryu practitioners - what an endlessly rewarding trove of knowledge. The desk reference is amazing, and well worth the buy - great insight into who's who in the karate zoo, as it where. We do have Wilder and Kane's other books as well - The Way of Kata is also one of my favourite resources to dip into, and so easy to read. So happy to hear from you :)
If there's only one hojo undo book you need, it's Sensei Michael Clarke's one! And he commented on our channel once, which made me squeal like a fangirl :D
Great video. I actually have some of the books you talked about. I've just bought the Desk Reference but not read it yet. You asked for suggestions of books I like: Four Shades of Black by Gavin Mulholland. I'm on my second read through and it's like a different book as my understanding has increased since I read it previously. Allso, How to build a Black Belt Business by Michael Turbitt - I heard him on a podcast recently and ended up listening to it several times, so i bought the book. If you are like me- good at teaching karate (I like to think so) but not so good at the business side then it's got lots of valuable info. I also have the Hojo Undo book, and I have Chojun, and I have Patrick McCarthy's Bubishi. And, The Way of Kata - which i'm at about 25% , it's excellent. All great books. Happy New Year to you all, and thanks for such great content on the videos so far.
Thank you for the suggests! We have Four Shades of Black as well - a treasure to casually leaf through when looking for inspiration. I think we have Black Belt Business, somewhere. I'll definitely go find the podcast! Your library is most respectable, and that puts you ahead of 80% of practitioners, truly. Thank you so much for the kind words!
Avé! Zoe Sensei👐. Inspiring to see high calibre leaders/tribal elders keeping the 'Bunbu Ryodo' spirit alive'n'kicking (pun intended). Kenji Tokitsu Sensei has penned some great books, which are available on Amazon. His 'The Inner Art of Karate' and 'The Katas' encapsulate the insights gained over a lifetime of training in pursuit of ShuHaRi. Thankyou, also, for providing an alternative perspective to traditional karate-ka whose only reply to mma fixated, reductionist critiques is to become equally obsessed with bunkai, at the expense of emphasising the many wholistic benefits of more balanced traditional approaches. This is letting one's 'enemy' dictate one's response, in violation of an axiomatic principle of strategy. To reduce karate to 'the brutal poetry of violence' is akin to reducing 3,000 years of architecture to the concrete carpark, or 5,000 years of music to an advertising jingle. Historically, in the koryu training of the samurai mindset, BunBu RyoDo (twin paths of pen and sword) involved immersion in the study of the Confucian Classics, literature and history. Promoting the reading of books restores this too much neglected aspect of cultivating a comprehensive and coherent martial ARTS mindset. How fortunate are your students to have access to such a wonderful resource as your obviously extensive library. More book reviews, please! Kudos, Sensei👍✊
Sensei! As always, your insights honour the journey I am on 🙇 When we separate the warrior from the scholar, we get thugs and brutes, and unfortunately the extreme obsession with only the 'practicality' of karate and not the art and the joy has reduced our beautiful art to the martial version of McDonalds. You are 100% right that this myopic focus is decimating, and hopefully we can turn the tide a little bit by raising a generation of more thoughtful, well-rounded practitioners. Reading is a compulsory part of being a GRKC instructor (Ché selects different books for different deshis depending on their strengths and weak spots) and I credit my life-long love of reading to the kind of instructor I am aiming to be: empathetic, well-rounded and uplifting those who come behind me. I am not a fan of the 'bro' mentality that modern karate suffers from, but hopefully we can make a difference! I still question every single video with my face on it, if its good enough to be online, but then I remember that knuckleheads put whatever they want online, so why shouldn't I? Thank you again for your kind and beautiful words, Sensei - you continue to make us feel 7 foot tall and bulletproof!
@@GojuRyuKarateCentre too kind! Never doubt you folk are making a difference... the online dweebs are mere foils against which GRKC's light shines all the more brightly, and proof of the reason cousins should never marry.
Afterthought: i humbly yet strongly suggest Gandhi-ji's 'Experiments With Truth' and 'Non-Violence' as potentially life changing reads for karate-ka wanting to 'amplify' that 'still, soft' lil'voice inside which whispers insistently that technique is merely a means to the end of pursuing 'the truth of budo that transcends technique'...
Hello Zoe, I was sent a link to this video by a student who was being (playfully) cheeky. I was surprised when my book on hojo-undo was featured as it was written back in 2008 and published the following year. Thank you for your kind words and endorsements I'm very happy to know you have found value in the work. As you are members of the OGKK I guess we are (karate) cousins. I hope this finds you well. Kind regards from across the Indian Ocean.
Sensei! The Sensei Michael Clarke!
I literally ran out the house, across the garden and into our dojo to tell Ché "GUESS WHO COMMENTED ON OUR CHANNEL!?"
All 120 videos have been totally worth it to hear from an author and karate-ka's work we hold in such esteem. We've mentioned your timeless book in several of our videos (and absolutely all our hojo undo videos), and we are awaiting our copy of _Shin Gi Tai_ to cross the ocean all the way to us.
It is such a delight and honour to hear from you on our little channel - thank you so much for taking the time to watch and comment, and please tell your student that we are ever so chuffed that they passed our video on to you.
This has completely made my month 🙌
@@GojuRyuKarateCentre Ha....your comment made me smile. Glad I was able to bring a little fun into your day. Thank you for supporting my writing. I hope you'll find some value in 'Shin Gi Tai', it's a very different book from 'Hojo-Undo'. I've had a look at a few of your video's, they're very good. You guys remind me a little of friends of mine in the U.S., Paul and Michelle Enfield. They also have a UA-cam channel that I think you would enjoy if you haven't already discovered it. Anyway, thanks again for your kind words, I wish you both all the best in your future endeavours...
Dynamic Karate , I remember that book when I was a kid
A classic, truly!
This was really interesting. Thank you!
Thank you so much for the kind words, Michele!
Lowry is a favorite author. Have several of his books. In the Bubushi I like to just stare at the drawings and conceptualize movements. LOL
A fun assignment is to give the 44 Diagrams to black belts and ask them to replicate the bunkai, hehehehehe
I'm back! Loved the art of Hojo Undo which my wife gave me as a Christmas gift and has been nothing short of spectacular. My home practice has gained so much more meaning now that I'm using my own chi-ishi with more purpose and I found a use for my aqua-tank as a very interesting "tan." As always, thank you guys for the recommendations. I'm probably going to buy the desk reference book soon. If you enjoyed reading Lawrence Kane, I'm pretty sure you guys have also read the way of kata and the way to black belt which he wrote with Kris Wilder as well. Kris Wilder wrote the way of Sanchin - which is one of my top favorites as well so far.
Yay, Carlos! We have missed you on the channel!
Art of Hojo Undo is absolutely essential reading for all Goju Ryu practitioners - what an endlessly rewarding trove of knowledge.
The desk reference is amazing, and well worth the buy - great insight into who's who in the karate zoo, as it where. We do have Wilder and Kane's other books as well - The Way of Kata is also one of my favourite resources to dip into, and so easy to read.
So happy to hear from you :)
Thanks teacher, love the books.
You are so welcome, friend!
GREAT library fellow Karate Nerds! Lots of Shotokan books. Gotta get the Hojo Undo book. All the Best!
If there's only one hojo undo book you need, it's Sensei Michael Clarke's one! And he commented on our channel once, which made me squeal like a fangirl :D
Great video. I actually have some of the books you talked about. I've just bought the Desk Reference but not read it yet.
You asked for suggestions of books I like:
Four Shades of Black by Gavin Mulholland. I'm on my second read through and it's like a different book as my understanding has increased since I read it previously.
Allso, How to build a Black Belt Business by Michael Turbitt - I heard him on a podcast recently and ended up listening to it several times, so i bought the book. If you are like me- good at teaching karate (I like to think so) but not so good at the business side then it's got lots of valuable info.
I also have the Hojo Undo book, and I have Chojun, and I have Patrick McCarthy's Bubishi. And, The Way of Kata - which i'm at about 25% , it's excellent.
All great books.
Happy New Year to you all, and thanks for such great content on the videos so far.
Thank you for the suggests! We have Four Shades of Black as well - a treasure to casually leaf through when looking for inspiration. I think we have Black Belt Business, somewhere. I'll definitely go find the podcast!
Your library is most respectable, and that puts you ahead of 80% of practitioners, truly.
Thank you so much for the kind words!
Avé! Zoe Sensei👐. Inspiring to see high calibre leaders/tribal elders keeping the 'Bunbu Ryodo' spirit alive'n'kicking (pun intended). Kenji Tokitsu Sensei has penned some great books, which are available on Amazon. His 'The Inner Art of Karate' and 'The Katas' encapsulate the insights gained over a lifetime of training in pursuit of ShuHaRi. Thankyou, also, for providing an alternative perspective to traditional karate-ka whose only reply to mma fixated, reductionist critiques is to become equally obsessed with bunkai, at the expense of emphasising the many wholistic benefits of more balanced traditional approaches. This is letting one's 'enemy' dictate one's response, in violation of an axiomatic principle of strategy. To reduce karate to 'the brutal poetry of violence' is akin to reducing 3,000 years of architecture to the concrete carpark, or 5,000 years of music to an advertising jingle. Historically, in the koryu training of the samurai mindset, BunBu RyoDo (twin paths of pen and sword) involved immersion in the study of the Confucian Classics, literature and history. Promoting the reading of books restores this too much neglected aspect of cultivating a comprehensive and coherent martial ARTS mindset. How fortunate are your students to have access to such a wonderful resource as your obviously extensive library. More book reviews, please! Kudos, Sensei👍✊
Sensei! As always, your insights honour the journey I am on 🙇
When we separate the warrior from the scholar, we get thugs and brutes, and unfortunately the extreme obsession with only the 'practicality' of karate and not the art and the joy has reduced our beautiful art to the martial version of McDonalds. You are 100% right that this myopic focus is decimating, and hopefully we can turn the tide a little bit by raising a generation of more thoughtful, well-rounded practitioners.
Reading is a compulsory part of being a GRKC instructor (Ché selects different books for different deshis depending on their strengths and weak spots) and I credit my life-long love of reading to the kind of instructor I am aiming to be: empathetic, well-rounded and uplifting those who come behind me.
I am not a fan of the 'bro' mentality that modern karate suffers from, but hopefully we can make a difference! I still question every single video with my face on it, if its good enough to be online, but then I remember that knuckleheads put whatever they want online, so why shouldn't I?
Thank you again for your kind and beautiful words, Sensei - you continue to make us feel 7 foot tall and bulletproof!
@@GojuRyuKarateCentre too kind! Never doubt you folk are making a difference... the online dweebs are mere foils against which GRKC's light shines all the more brightly, and proof of the reason cousins should never marry.
Afterthought: i humbly yet strongly suggest Gandhi-ji's 'Experiments With Truth' and 'Non-Violence' as potentially life changing reads for karate-ka wanting to 'amplify' that 'still, soft' lil'voice inside which whispers insistently that technique is merely a means to the end of pursuing 'the truth of budo that transcends technique'...
Absolutely going to add it to my wish list, Sensei!
thank you
You are so welcome, Sensei! We are honoured to hear from you 🙇🏻♀️
Hi there. Where are you located? Thanks
Hi, Jordan
We are located in Johannesburg, South Africa :)