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Originally published in 1962 Karate by Pictures was one of the first illustrated Karate instruction texts. The science of Karate is a unique system of fighting with bare hands and feet in both self-defence and counter-attack. Throughout the years it has been studied intently by numbers of high-ranking experts and students in all parts of the world. It is studied by the Army and Police Authorities in many countries with a view to making their members, in the event of attack, completely proficient in the art of personal self-defence without the use of weapons.
Karate through the empty hand can deal a knockout blow in a flash, yet it is a high-class sport, based upon an ethical concept and if a candidate wants to be equipped one hundred percent for fighting without lethal weapons, then he cannot afford to exclude practical knowledge of Karate from his defensive and offensive repertoire.
With over 250 photos, Henry Plée goes over the basic stances, punches, kicks and blocks of traditional karate, shows in details the five Heian katas familiar to many who have studied traditional martial arts, and include a series of self-defense combinations that are highly instructive.
About the author
Henry Plée was a French martial artist who many consider as the 'father of European and French karate'. He was one of the rare 10th dan karate masters living outside of Japan, and one of the few Westerners who held this rank. At the time of his death, Plée was also the oldest and highest karate ranking Westerner alive, with more than 60 years of fighting arts, including 50 in martial arts. Henry Plée started his sports career with gymnastics, weight lifting, French savate, English Boxing, Greco-Roman wrestling, Ju Jutsu, and fencing. He diversified into Judo in 1945 at the 'Judo Club de France', Mikonosuke Kawaishi's second club. He discovered aikido with Minoru Mochizuki, then karate from an article in Life magazine with Fukuda Rikutaro, his Judo Kodokan magazine's translator. Fukuda Rikutaro confided in him that he learnt karate in Tokyo with Gichin Funakoshi. This was the start of his karate career in 1953, with help from Donn Draeger in Japan.He taught the four pillars of Japanese martial arts at his school: Karate, Judo, Aikido, and Kendo. For 21 years (1950-1971) he financed and published the first bilingual (French/ English) karate magazine named Budo Magazine Europe. He also published another magazine named Judo Kodokan, which was a translation of the Japanese magazine of the Tokyo Kodokan.
