True Karate Do

True Karate Do advances the evolution of practical combatives and deep practice.



"One of the best books I've read in years, inviting and compelling. Jeff Brooks moves effortlessly from martial arts to Buddhism to consciousness studies, self-transformation, and related fields in this wide-ranging and Illuminating study that has much to offer both novice explorers and veteran practitioners. A splendid achievement."

-- Philip Zaleski, Editor, The Best Spiritual Writing series

Drawing on experience and scholarship, history and science, legendary masters of martial arts and meditation, from superhuman practitioners Musashi Miyamoto and John Boyd, titans Genghis Khan and Alexander the Great, training in remote mountain temples and urban dojos flooded with neon and diesel, with a single-minded pursuit of knowledge and skill, Brooks crosses worlds, challenges assumptions, improvises, innovates, tests and discovers unexpected, liberating paths - once well-used, now overgrown and forgotten.

True Karate Do, is an extraordinary achievement - a literary adventure and a practical treasure.

The title True Karate Do, was given by Zen Master Sakiyama Sogen Roshi, of Shuri, Okinawa, to an essay written by the author, Jeffrey Brooks, in which Brooks described his vision of the ideals, both exalted and down-to-earth, that can be achieved through a deep practice of karate.

Sakiyama Roshi was a potent presence in Okinawan karate, with devoted students worldwide. He was a personal student of Miyagi Chojun, founder of Goju Ryu. Sakiyama became a great karate practitioner. After a lifetime of training he became the abbot of Kozen-ji temple in Shuri, Okinawa; he was the Zen teacher of Nagamine Shoshin, founder of Matsubayashi Ryu.

In his enthusiasm for Brooks' fresh and expansive vision of karate Sakiyama Roshi translated Jeff Brooks' essay into Japanese, and shared it widely, with the karate community on Okinawa, and with his students and followers worldwide.

In this book, True Karate Do, Brooks describes his effort to realize this ideal, and presents a cogent and moving account of the results of his work. Readers will experience the depth of the discoveries on every page, and it is hoped, will be inspired to use them, and make their own.

There are three strands of discovery woven together in True Karate Do:

First - the technical function and combative applications of the karate kata, which had not been transmitted, leaving some Shorin Ryu practitioners in the dark, depriving their dojo practice of depth, and limiting the practical effectiveness of their karate.

Second - the investigation of the soteriological claim, axiomatic throughout Japanese Zen-influenced budo, of the potential for ultimate liberation through martial arts practice. This unquestioned idea confused people and left them dependent on hope and mythology. True Karate Do looks back, retraces the steps, finds the place where the path was lost, and points the way to the exalted potential of transformative practice available through the union of mind training and martial training.

The Third - how to live a virtuous life based on karate practice. Distorted cultural values have invaded some of martial arts culture and seem inseparable from it. True Karate Do presents a fresh approach to martial arts culture that frees people to live a strong, determined and wholesome life.

True Karate Do contains new insights into technique, body mechanics, mind training, and tactics - showing dimensions of karate which have often been overlooked. These insights are not theoretical but practical, valuable and urgently needed.