In many schools around the world, the various kata of Karate are taught and practiced. Unfortunately, not many know or care to teach the bunkai that give the forms their true meaning. Finally, these secrets are revealed.

What would you like to obtain from your research and practice of an Okinawan martial art? For an academic, it would be to obtain historical and cultural facts and details. For a practitioner, it would be to gain expertise in the combative skills. If you’re interested in both, this first of a three-volume anthology is assembled for your convenience to facilitate your endeavors. These volumes assemble a wealth of material originally published during the two decades when the Journal of Asian Martial Arts was in print. Hundreds of pages and photographs present the richness of Okinawan martial traditions, from the original combatives to those influenced by Chinese and mainland Japanese martial art styles. The variety of topics shown in the table of contents indicate the depth and breath in the chapters, along with the authors who are well-known for their meticulous research and practical skills in specific arts. These three volumes dive deep into the history and culture of Okinawan martial arts. You’ll find coverage of the actual artifacts—the material culture related to weaponry and training methods. Instructions from the masters details both open-hand techniques as well as with weapons. The chapters offer insights into the lives of many masters over the past few centuries, giving the raison d'être for these unique fighting arts—their reason for being. Many streams of arts have contributed to the martial traditions found on the small island: Naha-te, Shuri-te, Fukien White Crane, Shorin, Goju, Motobu, Shotokan, Isshin, Kyokushin, Pwang Gai Noon, Shito, Uechi, and the list continues. . . Along with the various styles come the associated training methods, such as conditioning exercises with weights and reatively designed apparatus, such as the punching post (makiwara), or stone lever and stone padlock-shaped weights. Some become battle-hardened by active and passive breaking of objects (tameshiwari), including wooden boards, baseball bats, rocks, and ice. The extensive use of weaponry is found in many Okinawan styles, often associated with their farming and fishing occupations. Such a blend of history and culture make the Okinawan fighting traditions a fascinating field of study. Besides being such vital sources of information, these three volumes will prove enjoyable reading and permanent at-hand reference sources in your library.

Visual Perception and Control of Underwater Robots covers theories and applications from aquatic visual perception and underwater robotics. Within the framework of visual perception for underwater operations, image restoration, binocular measurement, and object detection are addressed. More specifically, the book includes adversarial critic learning for visual restoration, NSGA-II-based calibration for binocular measurement, prior knowledge refinement for object detection, analysis of temporal detection performance, as well as the effect of the aquatic data domain on object detection. With the aid of visual perception technologies, two up-to-date underwater robot systems are demonstrated. The first system focuses on underwater robotic operation for the task of object collection in the sea. The second is an untethered biomimetic robotic fish with a camera stabilizer, its control methods based on visual tracking. The authors provide a self-contained and comprehensive guide to understand underwater visual perception and control. Bridging the gap between theory and practice in underwater vision, the book features implementable algorithms, numerical examples, and tests, where codes are publicly available. Additionally, the mainstream technologies covered in the book include deep learning, adversarial learning, evolutionary computation, robust control, and underwater bionics. Researchers, senior undergraduate and graduate students, and engineers dealing with underwater visual perception and control will benefit from this work.

We all know the meaning of the word kata. Even to nonpractitioners it is a familiar karate practice. Plus, the word has long been incorporated into the English language. For this reason I choose to write the plural as “katas,” and not follow the Japanese tradition where “kata” can be both singular or plural. By doing this I’ve ruffled feathers already, since many hold such a sacred bond with the time and place where karate took shape. Trouble with one word? Now how about the whole Okinawan martial tradition as passed on through katas? A kata is much like a family jewel that has passed down through generations. It holds a significance that is difficult to decipher, and many dispute the meaning of every micromovement it contains. Who created it? What are the applications? Is kata practice outdated? Is there more than we can see and understand? You bet. It is precisely because of the confusion and misunderstandings regarding the place of kata in the karate tradition that we are thrilled to present a two-volume e-book on this subject. If katas are learning tools that pass down knowledge of a valued art, then the authors included in this anthology can certainly facilitate the learning process for all interested in karate. Each author has excellent experience in the field, having studied directly under masters, often on the largest island in the Ryukyu island chain. In addition to their long years of physical participation in the school of hard knocks, their depth of scholarly research into the encompassing culture allows their writings to illuminate many aspects of kata practice that normally go unnoticed. In our quest to better understand the full significance of kata practice, we must take a serious look at why old masters formulated the routines. How can kata practice better our health and promise to hone our self-defense skills? Each chapter in this anthology deals with the principles that guide kata practice. Hopefully the reading will reveal some of the secrets to improving techniques. As with other martial traditions, some insights cannot be shared through written word. Like good teachers, may the chapters here inspire you to look deeper into kata practice.

Time moves on, cultures change with the twists of history and secret arts are lost. To understand the essence of karate, kobudo and te is to read and digest this work. To devour the mysteries of the secret principles it records is to dwell in a former time, only then will the reader know the true meanings of what the masters passed on. This book was a classic of the 20th century and, with the passing of time, is now considered to be an historic record for the modern era; both a time capsule and an integrated tool of knowledge transmission. Also featuring contributions from the latest breed of expert researchers, this Expanded Third Edition keeps the original version alive in its entirety, while bringing the Okinawan karate world up to date, as it expands into an ever-increasing international world. Be warned though, it also answers questions that have not been asked until now and topics that could not have been discussed, while expanding on newly debatable issues. This is what the masters were really saying

The oldest and most respected martial arts title in the industry, this popular monthly magazine addresses the needs of martial artists of all levels by providing them with information about every style of self-defense in the world - including techniques and strategies. In addition, Black Belt produces and markets over 75 martial arts-oriented books and videos including many about the works of Bruce Lee, the best-known marital arts figure in the world.

This a compendium of the world's greatest council of Grandmasters. These Grandmasters both past and present represent an amazing history of the martial arts. It contains their bios told as they want it heard and seen along with pictures past and present of these Grandmasters. The WHFSC World Head of Family Sokeship Council brings together Grandmasters and Sokes from every style of martial arts to a yearly meeting, with an awards dinner, Hall of Fame and seminars sessions given by the Grandmasters themselves. Included in the book are some of the upcoming masters in the martial arts.