Kyokushin karate books – Various authors

In the case of Kyokushin Karate, the most authoritative reference materials come directly from Sosai Masutatsu Oyama, the founder of the style. Several other notable masters have also published excellent works on Kyokushin. A selection of these publications is listed below.

View the list of books by Oyama Masutatsu

	Mas Oyama’s Karate as practiced in Japan By Bobby Lowe, 1964, 216 pages – English. Read Mas Oyama’s Karate as practiced in Japan online
	Kyokushinkai Karate 1 By Jon Bluming, Kenji Kurosaki and Ab Pruis, 1967, 196 pages – Dutch. French version – Kyokushinkai Karate 1 – Sedirep – 1969 Read The History of Jon Bluming online
	Kyokushinkai Karate 2 By Jon Bluming, Kenji Kurosaki and Ab Pruis, 1968, 196 pages- Dutch.
	Modern Karate By Steve Arneil and Bryan Dowler, 1974, 182 pages – English. Dutch version – Het Grote Karate-Boek – Orion – 1977
	Karate Deel 1 By Loek Hollander, 1974, 56 pages – Dutch. Read Karate Deel 1 1974 online Revised in 1978 – 72 pages. Read Karate Deel 1 1978 online
	Karate By Antonio Pinero 1974, 190 pages – Spanish. “Trying to summarize all the profound meaning of karate would be an arduous and utopian task; I have therefore preferred to focus my attention on the exposition of the basic techniques, describing the suitable procedures for mastering them, although space limitations have not allowed me to include other superior techniques.” This book is largely inspired by the book This is Karate by Masutatsu Oyama.
	A Guide to Unarmed Combat By Steve Arneil and Bryan Dowler, 1975, 182 pages – English. Originally published as “Modern Karate”.
	Better Karate By Steve Arneil and Bryan Dowler, 1976, 96 pages – English. This book is mainly intended for children and beginners. German version – Karate leichter lernen – München – 1978
	Karate Deel 2 By Loek Hollander, 1978, 56 pages – Dutch. Renzoku waza / Kumite / Taikyoku kata / Pinan 1 kata. Read Karate Deel 2 online
	Kyokushinkai Karate Kata Book By Brian Fitkin, 1978, 81 pages – English / Svenska. 81 pages with almost all the Kyokushin kata in pictures. Taikyoku 1-3 / Pinan 1-5 / Sanchin no kata / Tsuki no kata / Tensho / Yantsu / Saifa / Gekisai dai / Gekisai sho / Seienchin / Kanku dai / Sushiho / Garyu
	Kyokushin Karate By David C. Cook, 1980, 248 pages – English / Svenska. 248 pages with over 3000 pictures illustrating every technique from 10th kyu – 3rd dan.
	Mas. Oyama’s Kyokushin Karate By David C. Cook, 1982, 288 pages – English / Svenska. 288 pages with over 3500 photographs illustrating every kata and technique from 10th kyu – 3rd dan, plus their application in self defence. It is the 2nd edition of the Kyokushin Karate book from 1980 (pages up to 247 are the same – pages from 248 to 288 were added).
	The Fundamentals of Kyokushin Karate By Brian Fitkin, 1982, 179 pages – English / Svenska. The complete range of Kyokushin techniques set out in stages from beginner to 3rd dan.
	Kyokushin Karate Kata By Steve Arneil, 1985, 200 pages – English. Very interesting and well illustrated book that presents all the Kyokushin kata. It is a reference on the subject.
	Power Karate – Volume I By David C. Cook, 1985, Volume I 144 pages – English / Svenska. It is the 3rd edition of the Kyokushin Karate book from 1980 (The book was divided into 2 volumes. The order in which the techniques are presented was changed).
	Power Karate – Volume II By David C. Cook, 1985, Volume II 176 pages – English / Svenska. It is the 3rd edition of the Kyokushin Karate book from 1980 (The book was divided into 2 volumes. The order in which the techniques are presented was changed).
	Kyokushin Karate By Loek Hollander, 84 pages – Dutch.
	The Budo Karate of Mas Oyama – Philosophical Foundations of Japan’s Strongest Fighting Art By Cameron Quinn, 1987, 236 pages – English. Second edition, 2020, 272 pages – English. This insightful book explores the history of Mas Oyama and Kyokushin karate. The second and third parts focus on the grading system and the background of the kata. The book is available at Budo Karate
	Kyokushin Karate – Training and Fighting By Michel Wedel, 1990, 156 pages – English. This is a book about training and fighting in Kyokushin karate. It explains about tactics in knock out fighting, preparation of champions like Andi Hug, Akiyoshi Matsui and Michael Thompson, training, nutrition, motivation, injuries, knockouts, coaching and the organisation of tournaments.
	Karate – Teach Yourslef Books By Steve Arneil and Liam Keaveney, 1991, 184 pages – English. This book is mainly intended for beginners.
	Mas Oyama’s Karate Kyokushin By Loek Hollander, Peter Voogt and Ton van Rijn, 1993, 100 pages – Dutch.
	The Absolute Karate – Applications of Kyokushin By Howard Collins, 1995, 175 pages – English. Very interesting and well illustrated book “This book is not about how to become a black belt or what techniques you need to know for the next grade, it’s about Kyokushin Karate the style I practice and the way I see it”
	Basic Techniques: Introduction to Kyokushin Karate By Yuzo Goda, 1996, 218 pages – Japanese. Japanese title: 最強を目指す人のための極真空手入門: 基本技術 All the basic techniques of Kyokushin Karate in one book.
	Perfect Karate By Shigeru Oyama, Yasuhiko Oyama and Miyuki Miura, 1996, 184 pages, Japanese Japanese title: パーフェクト空手 This book is about the basics of Kyokushin karate and about kumite. It is highly illustrated with over 900 pictures and drawings.
	The Strongest Karate Kyokushin By Masatoshi Yamada , 1996, 284 pages – Japanese. Japanese title: 城西テクニック編最強の極真空手 This book is a guide to the Kyokushin karate techniques that have been cultivated in the 27 years since the first All Japan Tournament in 1969. It presents numerous techniques richly illustrated with photographs.
	Kyokushin Karate Bible By Kenji Midori / Saeki Kentoku / Yoshikura Takuji, 1997, 232 pages – Japanese / English This book is about Kyokushin karate fighting techniques. It is richly illustrated and presents the favourite fighting techniques of several renowned fighters.
	Kyokushin karate Jōnan shibu tsuyosa no himitsu By Tsuyoshi Hiroshige, 1997, 208 pages – Japanese. Japanese title: 極真空手・城南支部強さの秘密 (The secret of Kyokushin Karate Jonan Branch’s strength) This book is about how champions like Kenji Yamaki, Kenji Midori, Hajime Kazumi, Norichika Tsukamoto, Tatsuya Iwasaki and Masayoshi Takaku became stronger through training.
	Kyokushin Karate – Self-Defense Techniques By Bobby Lowe, 1999, 124 pages – English. This book mainly presents self-defense techniques: – Defense against grabbing attacks; – Defense against fist and kick attacks. It also presents the Tensho kata.
	Karate Teaching Guide – Volume 1 By Yasuhiko Oyama – Supervised by Shigeru Oyama and Miyuki Miura – 2000, 87 pages – Japanese This book presents the basics of punches, kicks, stances, and practical kumite. It is richly illustrated with photographs.
	Karate Teaching Guide – Volume 2 By Yasuhiko Oyama – Supervised by Shigeru Oyama and Miyuki Miura – 2000, 87 pages – Japanese This book presents the fundamentals of kicks, blocks, distance management, footwork, and countering punches and kicks. It is richly illustrated with photographs.
	Hatsuo Royama’s Secret Principles of Karate – Kensan By Hatsuo Royama, 2000, 228 pages – Japanese / English. Japanese title: 日々研鑽―極真空手・盧山初雄の空手極意書 Basic trainings of Kyokushin karate. Juji kata – Ido geiko – Ippon kumite – Stances – Weapons – Kihon geiko – Footwork – Ki – Dojo training… Introduction of the theory of point, line, plane and cube.
	Hatsuo Royama’s Secret Principles of Karate – Gokui By Hatsuo Royama, 2001, 256 pages – Japanese / English. Japanese title: 実戦極意―極真空手・盧山初雄の空手極意書 Practical applications of the theory of point, line, plane and cube into techniques of actual fighting.
	Kyokushin Kata By Brian Fitkin, 2003, 225 pages – English. Very interesting and well illustrated book that presents all the kyokushin kata. It is a reference on the subject.
	Kyokushin Karate Kata By Steve Arneil, 2004, 200 pages – English. It is the 2nd imprint of the book from 1985. Very interesting and well illustrated book that presents all the Kyokushin kata. It is a reference on the subject.
	Learning Karate from Kata By Hatsuo Royama and Hiroto Okazaki, 2005, 144 pages – Japanese. Japanese title: 型から学ぶ空手道 Pinan 1-5: Kata and application. Gekisai sho kata. Bo kata.
	Karate Kata Instruction Manual By Hatsuo Royama , 2013, 192 pages – Japanese. Japanese title: 空手道型教範 . 地之巻 Kata and application: Saiha, Seienchin, Kanku, Sushiho.
	The Shodan By Howard Collins, 2013, 136 pages – English / Svenska. This book gives the basic techniques, excluding kata, needed for Kyokushin shodan examination.
	Kyokushin Kata Book By Steve Arneil and Liam Keaveney, 2014, 255 pages – English. It is the 3rd edition of the Kyokushin Karate Kata book from 1985. The photographs illustrating the kata have been renewed, but the descriptions of the kata themselves have not changed. Very interesting and well illustrated book that presents all the Kyokushin kata. It is a reference on the subject.
	Kyokushin Karate: 50 Years of All Techniques By Masatoshi Yamada , 2016, 176 pages – Japanese. Japanese title: 極真空手 50年の全技術(テクニック) In 1964, the Oyama dojo was renamed the International Karate-Do Federation Kyokushin Kaikan, and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2014. The first All Japan Karate Championship was held in 1969. The purpose of this book is to look back on the history of full contact karate advocated by Sosai Oyama Masutatsu, tracing the famous athletes and their techniques from the All Japan Karate Championship over the past 50 years.
	Kyokushin Kata By Brian Fitkin, 2019, 258 pages – English. The book contains a complete collection of Kyokushin kata, including the Sokugi and those performed in ura. Applications are also shown for many of the techniques used in the kata. It is a revised edition of the 2003 original edition. The book is available at Stockholms Kyokushin Karate
	Karate Evolution of Kyokushinkai By Misakyan, 2025, 527 pages – English. The book is about the basics of Kyokushin karate. It gives a description of all Kyokushin kata in words and drawings. The book is available on Amazon.
List to be completed…	Some books may be missing from this list because we don’t have them yet. If you own Kyokushin Karate books you no longer need, feel free to donate them to our non-profit organization — we’ll gladly add them to our collection (contact us).

View the list of books by Oyama Masutatsu

About this page: Detailed list of Kyokushin karate books from renown masters like Steve Arneil, Brian Fitkin or Kenji Midori.
A propos de cette page: Liste détaillée des livres de karaté Kyokushin de maîtres renommés comme Steve Arneil, Brian Fitkin ou Kenji Midori.