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Translator’s Foreword

It is both an honor and a surprise that I should be associated with Grandmaster Nagamine’s book. First, it is a honor that someone as important as Nagamine Shoshin considered me worthy to undertake the translation of such important research. Second, it is ironic because the very first book on the history of karate-do I ever bought, more than twenty years ago, was Professor Shinzato Katsuhiko’s wonderful English translation of O-Sensei’s first publication, The Essence of Okinawan Karate-Do. Having made a big impression on me, I never thought that I would one day befriend such a man, much less be petitioned to translate his research, and then write a foreword for its publication. It just proves that anything is possible.

I first met the great master during my pilgrimage to Okinawa in the summer of 1985. Living in Japan, I have personally enjoyed many training opportunities with O-Sensei in the years which have since past. To learn from a master, who had himself been taught by such legendary figures as Motobu Choki, Kyan Chotoku, and Arakaki Ankichi, has been a privilege which words can hardly describe.

During my lengthy analysis and English translation of Okinawa’s enigmatic book, Bubishi, I was fortunate to obtain the assistance of Grandmaster Nagamine. It was during that time that I really got to know more about Nagamine Shoshin the man, and the principles for which he stands. It is no secret that his guidance has had a profound impact on the way I embrace karate-do, in the way I assess its evolution, its value to society, and my personal philosophy with regard to its future direction.

Every generation produces experts who, in an effort to keep their tradition a living experience for the society it serves, reinterpret the common principles on which it rests. Nagamine Shoshin is one such man, and this book is a testament to his incomparable research, profound knowledge, and commendable dedication. If I have gained any further insight into karate-do, its history, philosophy, and application, then it has been because of men like bushi Nagamine Shoshin. He is the most senior authority of karate-do in the world today. I highly recommend this book to both teacher and student alike.

—Patrick McCarthy

Director, International Ryukyu Karate Research Society