Harry Cook on Shotokan history??

[exile]

I am quite desperate to get my hands on a copy of Harry Cook's Shotokan: a Precise History, but according to the people I talked to at Dragon Publishing, the book is sold out and they've no idea when, or if, any more copies will be available. Does anyone know what the story is here? Usually, if you sell out a printing of your book, this is considered a Good Thing and more get printed up and sold. But there seems absolutely no information on whether this book will ever be available again... can someone help me on this?

 

[Victor Smith]

Dragon Publications is a small publisher and appears to have found value in making limited runs of their authors works.

On the other hand most martial publications are little different. I have over 500 books in my collection, many of which are no longer available, and in time most weren't worth acquiring either, but you don't know that at the time of purchase.

Harry Smith is working with them on a 2nd edition so the best thing you can do is keep watching for its availability.

Occassionally copies are coming up for sale at absurd prices. Harry's book is good, but no book is worth what they're asking.

The book will explain a lot of Shotokan's history in greater detail. It won't change your own practice of course.

So how desperate are you to own a history book?

 

[exile]

Dragon Publications is a small publisher and appears to have found value in making limited runs of their authors works.

On the other hand most martial publications are little different. I have over 500 books in my collection, many of which are no longer available, and in time most weren't worth acquiring either, but you don't know that at the time of purchase.

Harry Smith is working with them on a 2nd edition so the best thing you can do is keep watching for its availability.

Seems a strange way to do business... you can usually do better making more copies available at reasonable prices than driving up the cost of a volume or a series so that the only ones who can afford them are either rich collectors or libraries... but business isn't my strong point, so I suppose if they're doing it, it must work, somehow.

Occassionally copies are coming up for sale at absurd prices. Harry's book is good, but no book is worth what they're asking.

Some people, as soon as something is scarce, absolutely have to have it, no matter what the cost. I've seen cases where individual bottles of wine were sold by California boutique producers at upwards of $400 a bottle, but which were rated by Robert Parker as no better than 92 or so on his 100-pt scale—very good, but no better than a lot of under–$20 bottles from progressive winemakers in Spain. But of course, certain names are such trophies that the quality of the wine is the least important consideration...

The book will explain a lot of Shotokan's history in greater detail. It won't change your own practice of course.

So how desperate are you to own a history book?

Well, I'm desperate, but not that desperate. I'm interested in the history of my own art, TKD, which a Korean interpretation of Shotokan, basically, and I've found that understanding where forms and practices originated in karate sheds an important light on the technical content of the KMAs. So since Cook currently seems to be the last word on karate history, particular wrt Shotokan, I'm very anxious to see what he has to say....

Thanks very much for the information, Victor, it's really helpful, and yes, I will keep an eye out for the second edition.

 

[stoneheart]

Exile, Harry Cook posts on the Karate the Japanese Way forums. If you look in their media forum, I think there's a thread about his second edition book.

 

[exile]

Exile, Harry Cook posts on the Karate the Japanese Way forums. If you look in their media forum, I think there's a thread about his second edition book.

That's very useful information, Stoneheart—I much appreciate it!

 

[Victor Smith]

I really like Harry Cook's work, I think it may be the best available work on Shotokan history (but hey what do I know?), but I'm not sure he's the last word in all karate history.

In fact the Okinawan seniors are working on their own Encyclopedia of Karate and whenever it is done, it will be the definitive work on Okinawa's arts. It will be interesting to see what they share for there are so many different Okinawan arts, likely every dojo is one in reality.

Most telling are the books published in the 1930's that are slowly being translated into English and hopefully will be eventually shared. Works like Mutsu's Karate Kempo which seems to have been the template for the later JKA Shotokan curricula. More so as 1/2 of Mutsu's work shows Karate applications, fun things like bobbing, weaving, grappling counters, so much that people are unaware of today but was clearly shown in 1933.

Perhaps Mabuni Kenwa's works on the Goju Kata Sanchin, Seiunchin and Seiipai as well as sharing a portion of the Bubishi with the reading martial public. Of ocurse Mabuni can be found in any number of other works in that decade, really working to share Karate's existence.

Or Funkaoshi's original 'Karate Do Koyan'. Or many other telling works like Nakasone's 'Encyclopedia of Karate' and more. Together they show what those Okinawan's wanted to show and are a clear record of what Karate represents than just a history text, as far as any book can go.

pleasantly,

 

[exile]

I really like Harry Cook's work, I think it may be the best available work on Shotokan history (but hey what do I know?), but I'm not sure he's the last word in all karate history.

In fact the Okinawan seniors are working on their own Encyclopedia of Karate and whenever it is done, it will be the definitive work on Okinawa's arts. It will be interesting to see what they share for there are so many different Okinawan arts, likely every dojo is one in reality.

Most telling are the books published in the 1930's that are slowly being translated into English and hopefully will be eventually shared. Works like Mutsu's Karate Kempo which seems to have been the template for the later JKA Shotokan curricula. More so as 1/2 of Mutsu's work shows Karate applications, fun things like bobbing, weaving, grappling counters, so much that people are unaware of today but was clearly shown in 1933.

Perhaps Mabuni Kenwa's works on the Goju Kata Sanchin, Seiunchin and Seiipai as well as sharing a portion of the Bubishi with the reading martial public. Of ocurse Mabuni can be found in any number of other works in that decade, really working to share Karate's existence.

Or Funkaoshi's original 'Karate Do Koyan'. Or many other telling works like Nakasone's 'Encyclopedia of Karate' and more. Together they show what those Okinawan's wanted to show and are a clear record of what Karate represents than just a history text, as far as any book can go.

pleasantly,

Thanks for the information, Victor, and for the encouraging news that some of these great works on the foundations of Okinawan karate—the fountainhead, really, for all the later elaborations of karate in Japan and Korea—are being translated. As you say, let's hope that they reach accessible form reasonably soon. The MA publishing world seems to be a very strange place...

For example, Cook's work is currently published by Dragon Associates; thanks to stoneheart for the pointer to the KaratetheJapaneseway site, where all the follow stuff has been hashed out. There seems to be a ton of bad blood between that publisher and the Shotokan community, however, so what happened is that a limited print run was done on the first edition of Cook's book, and then the thing has hung fire for the past half decade while HC has prepared a new edition—and the smart money is betting that the same thing will happen again; the publisher is saying, at least publically, that he can sell every copy he prints to non-Shotokan practitioners, and for all I know he's right. Not that they're making it very easy to reserve a copy of the new book (although reserved prepaid copies seem to be their preferred marketing format): I wrote an email to Dragon Assoc. Publishing asking for information on the supposed new edition, and how one goes about reserving a copy, and my query has been met with deafening silence, in spite of the fact that I was as civil as someone hoping to get a copy of a very scarce and high-quality book is likely to be. It's a very strange situation... I'll let the board know what futher develops with my quest for a copy of the 2nd edition of Cook's book, but I have to say, I find the whole situation quite odd...