Shotokan Mysteries: The Hidden Answers to the Secrets of Shotokan Karate, Paperback

Shotokan Mysteries communicates Kousaku Yokota's work and research into the great, deep golden chest of our continued rediscovery of Shotokan karate in a positive and reflective approach. This book reaches out, openly guiding the reader into recognizing karate as a whole thing itself, paving the way to allow for questions and the subsequent answers to run side by side in a noncritical way, and transcending any misinterpretation or misunderstanding in practice and cultural relationships to the topics and chapters contained within its pages. As the title suggests, the aim of the book is to clear up and correct many collective myths about Shotokan karate. Of course, the author's work and research aren't just directed at the Shotokan community. They can be easily accessed and applied to all areas of training within the martial arts genre. He does this by simply describing that a lack of knowledge can be easily changed by challenging and changing your own personal understanding, taking down the boundaries of stuck thought and what is termed far too often as "right and wrong," and dispelling the myths which surround our shared art. The information, in whatever form the author puts it forward, transfers to the collective minds of those who share our common passion and is routinely communicated in such a straightforward way that it allows absolutely anyone from any culture or walk of life to understand better and at a higher level the martial art which they have chosen to do. This the author does with humility, displaying a continuous spirit and correctness reflected in his lifelong practice of karatedo.

Shihan Kousaku Yokota, eighth dan, is a professional karateka with extensive experience in various martial arts. With over fifty years of training in Shotokan karate, he specializes in Asai Ryu Bujutsu karate. His wide range of experience includes training in kobudo (nanasetsukon and nunchaku), in the art of ki, and in the breathing method by Nishino Ryu Kikojutsu. He was a member of the JKA for forty years and then joined the JKS for seven years. In 2013, he founded his organization, ASAI (Asai Shotokan Association International [www.asaikarate.com]) to honor Master Tetsuhiko Asai. Shihan Yokota travels extensively around the world to share the knowledge and techniques of Asai Ryu karate. He is also a main contributor at Karate Coaching (www.karatecoaching.com), where he extends his karate teaching through Internet media.