- Books related to karate. Depending on the age of the recipient there are different books that would be appropriate, some of which I have mentioned in previous posts. Some key words to search for would be Shorin-Ryu, Hojo-Undo, Okinawan Karate, and Bubishi.
- Training tools. The various targets, and strength building tools can become a valuable addition to a martial artists' home dojo. Some suggestions here would be various punching bags, 5-7lb kettle bells, and hand held targets.
- Quality martial arts films. Not all of these films are mindless action movies that we can't learn from. There are great martial arts films out there that not only entertain but teach the philosophies and virtues of our style of karate such as persistence, non-violence, working hard towards goals, and helping others. Some that I would suggest are The Karate Kid (1984), The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, The Forbidden Kingdom, Fearless, and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Parents please look up these movies on www.imdb.com before sharing with younger viewers. Imdb has a great feature where you can look up a movie and it tells you exactly what may be considered inappropriate right down to the level of violence shown and how many times inappropriate language may be used.