Let The Kata Be Your Teacher

"Let the Kata Be Your Teacher" is an illustrated guide to the ancient karate forms Tang Soo Do and Goju-Ryu.

Kata, which is the Japanese word for "form", is a series of moves that have been strung together in what would best be described as practical choreography, which is meant to be practiced alone, but can also be practiced within a group. Katas were originally created to show and demonstrate different fighting techniques. The first kata, created by Sensei Gichin Funakoshi (known as the father of modern-day karate) was intended to be an easy introduction to the kata and karate itself. Originally, it was with the first set of basic katas that Funakoshi was introduced. Though in modern Shotokan it is usually the only kata taught, though, in more recent years it has disappeared from many martial arts schools.

There are many different variations of katas that stem from different martial arts styles. This book book describes and has detailed illustrations of 14 different katas from Tang Soo Do (Ki Cho, Pyung Ahn, and Passai (Bassai) styles), and the Goju-Ryu style.