The Art of Hojo Undo: Power Training for Traditional Karate

Book Preface

The photographs used throughout this book come from different times and from various sources and locations. They are in this book only to help inspire the reader who may be new to th is aspect of karate. They do not always show the exercises being dis­cussed. Construction advice is given for each tool and great care should be taken when making them. Bui.Id them as well as possible and keep safety at the forefront of any de­sign and later use. Poorly made tools do little to improve your karate and places you in constant danger of injury. All weights and dimensions given in the construction advice are approximate, based on the tools used by me. As a result, each tool should be made to measure according to the person using it. !f in doubt about either the construction or use of any of these tools, seek advice from a qualified teacher. The tools of hojo undo fall into two distinct groupings and have been presented this way: the first are “lifting” tools and the second are tools involving “impact.”

Throughout the book I have written people’s names in the Western way, for ease of reading and to avoid any misunderstandings that may arise for those unfamiliar with the Okinawan and Japanese custom of placing the family name first. I have also placed an English descriptio.n next to Japanese words to ease the flow of information_ I have de­liberately used Japanese terminology throughout, as it was the language that introduced karate to the Western world and the language most non-Okinawans are familiar with today when discussi.ng karate. Any mistakes in the information found in this book are mine and mine alone. Therefore I would ask only that they be viewed in the context of my humble effort to place before the martial arts public, information I believe is sorely needed.