THE WIND WARRIOR: The Training of a Karate Champion

A New Jersey karate instructor and a photographer team up to follow Nick, a 14-year-old brown belt, from the rigors of training to a pair of medals at a statewide tournament. Young readers will get a good sense of what happens in class--exercises, sparring, katas (Nick also practices with weapons in an adult class)--and how tournaments arc conducted and scored. Girls and women are obviously much in the minority here, but they get nearly equal attention. A cautionary safety note is present, though buried in the acknowledgments; the author closes with advice to parents on choosing a martial arts school The look of karate, as well as some of its excitement, are nicely captured in b&w photos and photo sequences.