Gichin Funakoshi once famously said, ”First control yourself before attempting to control others." Beginners can recite these sayings, but only Karate masters will really understand them. The Twenty Precepts of Gichin Funakoshi by Vincent A. Cruz focuses on the lifetime of wisdom acquired by the father of modern Karate into twenty simple statements, as well as on the practice and application of martial arts, philosophical musings, fascinating historical episodes, advice for anyone seeking a better way, and training that involves both body and mind. Born in Okinawa, the birthplace of Karate, Funakoshi began training, in the then secret martial arts, as a child. In 1922, he demonstrated the still secret Okinawan art of self-defense on the Japanese mainland, which led to Karate's introduction to the rest of Japan and slowly to the rest of the world. He wrote several classics on the subject, including Karate-do Kyohan and Karate Jutsu, as well as an autobiography entitled Karate-do: My Way of Life, very fitting, since he did dedicate his life to the martial arts.