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About the Publication
Concepts of Karate explores the teaching of Toru Takamizawa Sensei through the experience of one of his direct students, Steve Rowe. Takamizawa was an important figure in British Wado Ryu, arriving in England in 1966 and later establishing his own organisation, Tera Karate Kai. Rowe subsequently served as Chairman of the Takamizawa Institute of Karate.
Takamizawa combined martial expertise with linguistic and scientific knowledge, giving him an unusual ability to explain not simply what a technique was, but why and how it worked.
In this book, Rowe presents the concepts and coaching methods he learned from his teacher and shows how they transformed his own understanding, training and teaching. Rather than merely preserving Takamizawa’s ideas, he examines and develops them through decades of subsequent experience.
Concepts of Karate is both a record of an influential teacher’s legacy and an exploration of principles whose value extends beyond technique into personal development and growth.
This book is not a mere translation or regurgitation of Toru’s teachings; instead, Steve proves himself to be a worthy sparring partner, elevating the concepts to a new level of depth and structure. His dedication to sharing Toru’s wisdom is evident in each chapter, which begins with a carefully crafted seed of teachings from Toru.
—Robert Musil, medallist in the WKC European and World Championships, Czech National Karate Coach
Product Details
Publisher: The Ran Network
Publication date: 9 november 2023
Language: English
Print length: 128 pages
ISBN-13: 979-8866738540
Item weight: 249 g
Dimensions: 15.24 x 0.74 x 22.86 cm
Part of series: The Budo Classics
Table of Contents
Foreword by Martin Gatter
Preface by Robert Musil
Chapter One – Background
Chapter Two – How Wado Ryu Came to the UK
Chapter Three – How We Met
Chapter Four – How We Formed the Takamizawa Institute of Karate
Chapter Five – The Genius of Toru Takamizawa
Chapter Six – Self Defense and Karate
Chapter Seven – Buddhism
Chapter Eight – The Structure of Kata
Chapter Nine – How I Developed my Kata for Those Roots
Chapter Ten – The Structure of Uke
Chapter Eleven – The Structure of Tachi Kata (Stance Work)
Chapter Twelve – Makiwara Training
Chapter Thirteen – TN 1,2,3
Chapter Fourteen – The Structure Of ‘Keri’ (Leg Techniques)
Chapter Fifteen – Kumite (Grappling Hands or Sparring)
Chapter Sixteen – Why I Gave Up Politics In Karate
Chapter Seventeen – How I Formed My Own System
Chapter Eighteen – The Learning Process
Chapter Nineteen – Grading
Chapter Twenty – In Conclusion
About the Author
Steve Rowe is a 9th Dan martial artist with more than fifty years of study and practice, complemented by a lifelong engagement with meditation, mindfulness, Taoism and Buddhism. His extensive personal and professional experience, including his own encounters with adversity and loss, has profoundly shaped the philosophy he has taught internationally for many years.
An established author, Rowe has published several works with The Ran Network, including
Insights,
Icebergs Instead of Mountains, Soft Front Strong Back, and his novel The Light Bringer.His writing brings together martial arts, philosophy and lived experience, exploring principles that reach beyond the dojo into everyday life.
