Shambhala Publications just sent me Kenji Tokitsu’s latest book to review. Tokitsu, you may remember, also wrote a wonderful book on the life of Musashi (reviewed in this section) and therefore I was most interested to see what he had to say about Karate.
I was most pleased that he focused on karate as an art instead of simply another way to kill an opponent or win a tournament match.
“Budo, the way of the martial arts, is at heart a path of spiritual cultivation and self-realization whose aim is to develop a strategic mind that makes combat unnecesary. Kenji Tokitsu explains the philosophy of karate as budo and looks deeply at the key concepts that are essential for developing the budo mind in karate practice. These concepts are:
- distance and timing
- rhythm, anticipation and intuition,
- and the cultivation of explosive but focused energy.
These concepts are difficult to teach, but mastering them is the ultimate goal of any true martial artist. Tokitsu expertly guides the reader through these elusive ideas with clarity and a practical view.”
Sound familiar???
The book is available at bookstores and Amazon.
George,
