Shinken Okinawan Karate & Kobudo Encyclopedia

[TheBadger]

Does anyone know where I can get a copy of Okinawan Karate & Kobudo Encyclopedia by Tiara Shinken? It was available for a while and now I cannot find a copy.

[Sanseru]

It is available through Amazon Japan (the Japanese language version):

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E7%90%89%E7%90%83%E5%8F%A4%E6%AD%A6%E9%81%93%E5%A4%A7%E9%91%91-%E5%B9%B3-%E4%BF%A1%E8%B3%A2/dp/4947667427/ref=sr_1_1/249-1049795-8092313?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1175715829&sr=8-1

Sincerely,

[TheBadger]

I was hoping for an english translation. Century was selling it then suddenly stopped.

[Sanseru]

The only English translation would be Patrick McCarthy's available in his:

Ancient Okinawa Martial Arts

http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Okinawan-Martial-Arts-Uchinadi/dp/0804831475/ref=sr_1_5/002-1538838-5020056?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1175725990&sr=1-5

The translation is excellent, but the layout is poor (thank Tuttle Books for that) and it does not use the original photos.

Regards,

[Gibukai]

Hello,

here is another translation. This one uses the original photos:

http://gojuryu.net/osCommerce/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/1/products_id/83?osCsid=fa085ab865aaded1c3eb6d04b

If you like additional material, you should wait until P. McCarthy's translation comes out - as far as I understand this time with the original photos, too.

Regards,

Henning Wittwer

[Shikiyanaka]

Ok, this answer is late, but I'd lik to note that Ota's translation contains parts not found in the original RKT and there are some eminent mistakes in it.

E.g.:
„Many years ago in Egypt the tekko was called sestas.“

in fact it was not Egypt, but Greece, and not „sestas“ but Caestus.

Typos:
„This weapon […] was introduced to Okinawa about 4090 years ago.“

In fact it reads:
„Today, threehundred and eighty years ago…“

He brings the Kingo no Kata (correct: Kongô no Kata), stemming from Nakasone Genwa’s „Karated-dô Taikan“ and not a part of the original Ryûkyû Kobudô Taikan. Furthermore it conrtains a chapter named „Funakoshi Gichin“, which also is not a part of Ryûkyû Kobudô Taikan. Same is true for the part called „Profile of Taira Shinken“ as well as some of the pics.
In fact all this could only been taken from the 1997 „Shinpen Zoho Ryûkyû Kobudô Taikan“, published by Inoue Kisho with commentary by Miyagi Tokumasa.

This means - as good as his intentions may have been - it is not a represeantations of the original Ryûkyû Kobudô Taikan, with all the pics (because there were pics added by Inoue) etc.