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Review written by Mike Clarke, 7th Dan, Kyoshi, Okinawan Goju-ryu Karate-do

The book its self is a small one, and deals only with the first thirty years of Kawazoe sensei’s life and introduction to karate. Nevertheless, it is packed with stories and anecdotes that are sure to capture the interest of the reader. Of particular interest to me are the stories of his early days training at the famed Takushoku University. I was impressed by Kawasoe sensei’s frankness during the telling of these tales and by his unusual, for a Japanese of his generation, admission that not everything being asked of him in the name of karate was particularly good or healthy. A refreshing departure from the usual stream of “historical facts” passed on by many Japanese karate teachers today. His accounts from this bygone era are told with humour and sensitivity, and I was transported back to a time in Japanese karate that, apparently, no longer exists. No one who has been seriously involved in karate in Britain since the early 1970’s can have missed hearing about this particular sensei, although his quiet nature and dislike of the spotlight longed for by others, will have kept his tremendous talents from the eyes of many. Employed like any other worker in any other industry, Kawasoe sensei arrived in Britain from Japan via the tropical paradise of Madagascar. It must indeed have been a strange world he stepped into when he met his new employer at London’s Heathrow airport in September 1974. How he carved out a living for himself and, eventually, became self-employed is told in some detail, although, the younger reader may be left wondering who some of the names mentioned are in relation to the history of Shotokan karate in the U.K. Still, this is a first class book of it’s kind and should be on the shelf of everyone who fancies them selves a traditional karate-ka. A word must be said too about the writing skills of the author, Dr. Clive Layton. A prolific wordsmith whose obvious abilities have once more produced a book of historical importance and yet delivered its contents in such a way as to avoid the sometimes overly academic approach disliked by critics of some of his other work. I have yet to read a book of his that has not impressed me with both it’s style and content. I hope he will continue to secure commissions such as this in the future, for I fail to see how else Shotokan’s history in the British Isles can be recorded for posterity with such accuracy and lack of bias. With this small volume, Mona Books has once more reaffirmed it’s standing as the premier publisher of books on traditional karate in Britain. Long may it continue to seek out authors, people, and subject matter that will help keep karate’s future history alive.

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