Volume 1

5.0 out of 5 stars Ëbr¤vÅËbr¤vÅ

I've been quietly researching behind the scenes for decades now and can honestly say this text not only seamlessly stiches together the history of Goju Ryu but does so accurately and without bias. It even includes photo's that were unidentified for years. I don't know how the author did it but thank you Sir.

Manuel Silva

5.0 out of 5 stars Yes, five stars.

Book Review : Goju Ryu Karate-Do. Desk Reference. By Johnpaul Williams:

This is large book in every way - 450 pages of detailed information. The heart of the book is an epic chronology, full annotated and well illustrated throughout. It also has reproduction and translations of important documents within the chronology itself, rather than having your flow broken by having to flick backwards and forwards to the appendices.

What I really like is there is no split in the chronology between the Okinawan and the Japanese streams of Goju Ryu development, each is given equal academic focus.

All to often previous history books have just focused on their side of the story following the death of Chojun Miyagi.

It is also pleasing to the global expansion of Goju Ryu given the focus it deservers and covered in detail, rather than a few paragraphs tacked onto the end.

And this chronology also integrates a thorough general timeline for the martial arts as a whole as well covering the intense details of Karate's growth in general. It also includes the outside events, historical and political events etc, that would impact Karate.

Surprisingly, there is no index, but given the size and scale of this first volume, I am guessing an index would have added a massive number of additional pages, with a large increase in the bulk and cost of the volume. And as this is the first volume of five volume set with the intent of covering all aspects of Goju Ryu Karate-Do. This maybe dealt with in later volumes.

The only complaint I can make is in the layout. When we hit the 20th century and events come thick and fast, the individual years are not marked out strongly enough for quick and easy reference. But this a minor quibble because the content is excellent.

This is a very big, very good book and worth investing in.

Andy Moorhouse 7th Dan

Goju Ryu Karate-Do

5.0 out of 5 stars really great book well put together

I liked everything about the book, bought it for my self , showed sit to another back-belt friend of mine he liked it so much i gave it to him, and bought another one for me thanks

Sensei Frost

5.0 out of 5 stars OMG the was far better than expected

A clear example of dedication to the finer details so long left out of the equation. Thank you for what you have preserved and discovered.

Fujisawa Takayoshi

5.0 out of 5 stars FINALLY someone got it right!

Finally, Karate history in the order it actually occurred. Why did it take so long for someone to figure out the obvious.

Mike Tate

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for karateka

This is truly a gem for those who practice karate, especially karateka who do Goju Ryu. The knowledge and history in this book is exceptional

Camilo S. Iribarren