Dominy, Eric

London: Hodder And Stoughton, 191 pages (1967)
ISBN: 0-679-72115-0

Not Recommended

This book is a simple primer on karate philosophy and technic. It is admittedly addressed to the unitiated, stating ans intent to "...interest (the reader) sufficiently to make him join a club...". A brief reference is made to the origins of karate-do among a restricted island population deprived of weapons. Karate involves ther use of body parts to impart blocks and blows. An attendant philosophy flourished as well. There is no elaboration of various styles of karate.

The thesis is inconsistent. On the one hand, Dominy identifies as the aim of karate "...rhythm and perfection, and beauty of movement...far more vital than the effectiveness of defense and counterattack." Having advanced the idea of karate as an enhancement of personal strentgh and character development, the author states that karate is intended for protection but not attack. And then he begins a large series of "movements" described in detail in terms of "attack, react." Even so, throughout the book he repeats that protection, not aggression is the intent.

The moves are described from both the right and the left approach, each side with slight changes of wording which I found confusing, and the drawings are very static and don't add much to the presentation.

Annotated by: Tracy Guy (April 1998)

Martial Arts: Karate |

Topics: self-defense |