Title: Suparinpei “The Last Kata of Goju-Ryu Karate”
Author: Giles Hopkins
Publisher: Blue Snake Books
Publish Date: 2021
Pages: 216
Cover Price: $21.95
ISBN: 978-1-62317-558-0
I have never studied karate, let alone Goju-ryu karate. I don’t have any plans to do so either. However, I love to hear about people dissecting and analyzing kata. I will (probably) never do the kata, but understanding the process of sussing out the information in a kata is useful to me and my martial arts, as well as being fascinating in its own right.
Content
You can’t judge a book by its cover, but sometimes the title is dead on. This is an in depth look at the final kata learned in Goju-ryu Karate, Suparinpei (or Pechurin). This is not an instruction manual. It is describing the analysis and resulting conclusions of that analysis on this kata. There is a general understanding that you know the kata. As I said, I didn’t, but I quickly became a Youtube Certified expert… in watching the kata. What I mean is, by watching the kata, and its available on Youtube, I could very easily follow along with the discussion and analysis.
Pros
Questions: The first thing I like about this book, is the questions it asks. It has become a cliché to say “Question Everything.” What that really means is “Question your assumptions.” In order to do that, you have to recognize your assumptions. Mr. Hopkins does a very good job of first establishing and then questioning the assumptions of the kata. Simple questions like “Why is this taught last?” “Is it because it is more difficult than other kata?” “Is it more advanced than other kata?” These are great places to start, and require deep thoughts before even starting the analysis of the kata’s movements.
The author also does a very good job of explaining his conclusions, and why he arrived at these conclusions. It comes off as a very informed opinion, with evidence to back it up. Whether you agree with them or not, it’s hard to fault the way he derived his conclusions.
Cons
The only criticism I have of this book is that it is extremely specific in its focus. Not only is the subject matter specific to karate, and a specific branch of karate, but it is looking at just one kata, that is the last one taught, and may not even be available yet to the karateka. Many martial artists, who are not karateka, would not be immediately interested in this book.
Conclusion
Even though I am not a karate practitioner, and the kata that I do practice, are not in any way, shape, or form, similar to Suparinpei, I did enjoy this book. I always get a bit of Indiana Jones vibe when people are talking about the their work uncovering “the Lost Secret of X Kata.” Even if you don’t practice a kata in this format, reading about Mr. Giles Hopkins logic and analysis process might be worth it to you. Don’t let the name fool you, it can still be useful to you. But that is still is a valuable critique.
When I rate books, I rate them on readability, usefulness to martial artists (in general), and presentation of information (pictures and what not). For the reasons I mentioned above, I’m going to give this book 4 ninja stars our of 5. If you do an art that practices with solo, unarmed kata, it can be very useful. If you practice a karate that has this specific kata in it, then, it becomes even more valuable.
I think we’ve all scene over the last year (and a half?) how valuable kata as a solo practice can be. So you might want to at least know why you’re moving that way.
- Review of The Ankō Itosu Biography - September 13, 2021
- Suparinpei-The Last Kata of Goju-Ryu Karate - July 12, 2021
- Swords Are Cool…That’s All I’ve Got - March 4, 2021
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