Customer Rating: 
Summary: A concise, excellent manual.
Comment: There's a lot of good advice for refining stances, power generation, and teaching tips. The book is worth it alone for the sections about breathing. A cheap little paperback everyone should buy a copy of when they reach black belt. It will really help your ability to teach and give you an insightful revamped look at some of your basics.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Coming Back in to Print
Comment: This book is coming back in to print from Damashi press, with revisions included. Don't waste your money on the outrageous prices being posted for used copies. Wait a few months or sooner, and you'll get a brand new copy at a fraction of what the used sellers are posting it for.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: [...]? You've got to be kidding!
Comment: Sure, this is a fine book for advanced karate students and instructors, but with 2 copies available on Amazon.com at [...], well, for that price it should come in a solid gold binding with the author personally available for individual consultation. As it is, it looks like it was printed in someone's garage. Besides, if that folk hero to the weak of mind, Rob Redmond likes it, I hate it. I can't think of a worse person to endorse anything!
Customer Rating:
Summary: This Is Not An Introductory / Novice Text
Comment: As the title clearly state this book is intended for advanced students and instructors. The text in this book is technical and intended for people whom already posses a moderate to high level of knowledge in karate-do. I had to read most sections of the text 2-3 times before I was able to fully understand what was being conveyed. I believe this would be typical for the average reader, due to the nature of the material. Rob Redmond summarized the book far better than I can when he wrote on his web site: "Schmeisser's work is not for beginners. Novices to Shotokan will find the concepts in the book difficult to understand and will be overwhelmed with information that they are not capable of multitasking while moving around a dojo. But for the advanced student, this book is a godsend. It is the essential text for the advanced student."R.Redman -Shotokan Planet, Oct. 2000-
Customer Rating:
Summary: The #1 Shotokan technical manual presently in print.
Comment: This is a must-buy for any serious Shotokan practitioner, particularly those who are instructors and/or think they already know all there is to know about the techniques of their style of karate.Although there is a only a limited amount of images showing what is described in words -and no photographs- this apparent flaw may actually be a blessing in disguise, as it requires the reader to concentrate fully on trying to understand the words for their precise meanings, which is worth the challenge it presents.
Most people will not be able to get through this book quickly, due to the depth of detail into which the author delves. This should be considered a reference manual, that you refer to for review and inspiration. No need to read through the entire book in one sitting, although you will probably be tempted to do so...
This book would be a good value at twice the price.
