Five Years One Kata: Putting Kata Back at the Heart of Karate

Good introduction to the subject of bunkai, oyo and application of kata in genereal. Interesting thoughts concerning checklists of valuable Self-defenvce applications for selfdefence purposes.Worth beeing read and worked on. Maybe moreinteresting to advanced karatekas.

Bought this as a present to my boyfriend, I have no idea what it's saying - but he studies martial arts and loves it! Apparently it's improved his own technique, plus it keeps him occupied for ages. :)

This is by far the most pragmatic, relevant and inspirational book I have read on understanding the fundementals of kata and how it translates to a complete self defence system. Can't recommend this highly enough!

I took a chance on buying this book without waiting for more reviews to come out on it. My interest was peeked by the study of one kata for five years. Why? Because this sounds like the original way in which Okinawan's studied their kata. So I bought it and was not disappointed at all.I would like to start buy saying that I believe Mr. Burgar did an excellent job in his overall presentation of his material in this book. It is easy to follow and is laid out in a logical sequential manner. By stating that one Kaishugata is in itself a fighting system takes a bold step in this modern day world of "sport and game" karate. Finally a Shotokan stylist is getting back to the roots!Those of us, who have studied Okinawan Karate while always respecting Funakoshi, have needed an explanation as to why he changed so much of the kata when he introduced them to Japan. Here Mr. Burgar gives us the answer with Funakoshi's own words "that karate has changed so much from the way I learned it as a youth on Okinawa". Mr. Burgar then explains that karate was intended as a civilian self defence system.On studying one kata the reader comes to realize that the techniques (bunkai) within the kata were designed to handle various habitual acts of violence that a person will run into in the everyday life. By careful analysis one can study this way given the careful criteria that is easily followed by this experienced karate-ka.I applaud Mr. Burgar for writing for an advanced audience of practitioners. It is indeed refreshing to read something that may not be new to me but helps me to expound further into my own studies. I should mention that one can and should learn from any good book on karate. There can always be something taken away that is useful as well as learning what to leave behind.Self defence is a very personal thing. That's why it has to work for the practitioner first and then be researched again by the people that they teach it to. It must become your own. Yes you must own it. Mr. Burgar sheds light to the karate world in general and this reader believes to the Shotokan stylist in particular, why students of the early karate known as "te" or "tote" learned only one or two kata from their teachers. The Okinawan expression "Three Year Sanchin" does mean something after all.I think a little more time could have been spent on speaking about the stances of karate and why they are practiced at all. Shedding light on that area would be helpful to students on different positioning of the body's centre for balance purposes. After all, stances are what the karate-ka uses to learn balance while moving even if they may not be used in actual fighting. This was the only oversight that I could see.Over all I give this book 5 stars simply because it is that good and unique. It's nice to see a new author shine in the karate world with something good and of substance. I will use some of the material in your book for myself and for my students. I believe that that is the highest praise I can give you besides writing this review and reading this book.

I approached this book as strong believer in the value of bunkai for many years. Although I do not study karate, I am a 2nd dan in taekwondo and accept that our forms are derived from karate kata. Therefore I would recommend this book to taekwondo stylists as well as karateka.This book is definitely pitched at the converted and not to those who don't believe in bunkai and are looking to be convinced.The author has obviously done a lot of research and it shows in his writing and conclusions. The analysis is well argued and crucially he encourages true analysis of the bunkai. Ultimately quality and not quantity is important in bunkai. Why have 8 applications when one is clearly more appropriate than the others?As with most books on bunkai, the author has viewed his bunkai based on his martial art training and personal influences from other styles. These influences do affect what you are looking for when it comes to bunkai. If you have cross trained in jujitsu, then you will look for throws, etc. If you have cross trained in wing chun, you will look for rapid close quarter strikes and traps. There is less grappling than seen in some other books on the subject. However this is not a criticism. Everyone is different and the techniques shown are all relevant and effective.I thought this was an excellent read for those interested in bunkai. Rather than just being a collection of possible bunkai, it encourages the martial artist to look for their own bunkai and be realistic about the merit of their bunkai.