This concept, that working Karate does not resemble the Karate that people are taught in schools, is actually true throughout the martial arts. Shaolin done in combat does not look like wu shu taught in the kwoon. Forms Kung fu doesn’t resemble fighting kung fu, and so on.

The reason for this is that there is the art that pleases the eye, and then there is functional. A fellow teaches, or learns a martial art, and he usually learns something that looks good. Once one starts applying real world potentials to the problem of self defense, however, the technique must often change to work.

The very first move of Karate, as taken from the first Heian or Pinan form, is a step to the side with a low block. But Karate was not designed for blocking. Yes, there are blocks in the art, and it can be adapted to blocking and striking modes, but it was not designed for blocking except by the way.

Karate was designed to guard the king of Okinawa. The Imperial bodyguards were trained to use their art in a room filled with warriors from different countries. Soldiers with different weapons and ways of fighting, while the Okinawans had to remain unarmed.

It makes no sense to let an attacker get close enough to use his hands. If he’s got a knife or club, or just a fist that is fast, the best strategy is to kick low and keep him at a distance. The problem is that many Martial Arts schools do not teach the right way to use the legs.

A couple of things to remember before we get into making your kicks powerful. Practice high so you have strength and flexibility, but keep your kicks low in a fight so you don’t get a leg caught. And, the best strategy is to avoid the fight altogether whenever possible.

It took me almost seven years to earn my black belt in traditional Karate, but it only took the fellow who taught me 2 1/2 years to get his black belt. I always wondered why this was so, but it wasn’t until I began to take apart martial arts systems that I understood why. It turns out that there are several reasons why it takes people longer and longer to truly learn anything in the martial arts.

A lot of the martial arts, like karate, are fiction. Hit a guy up the nose with a palm and bone shards will spear into his brain and kill him, except there isn’t any bone in the nose, its all cartilage. And all those old legends, a lot of them are good for hogwash, if you have a willing hog.

But, there is a certain science that has proven true in the martial arts. This is the science of how to use geometrical energy potentials. I discovered this field while reading a series of books called the Lensmen Series.

Times have gotten insanely unsafe. With the exclusion of the more tame toys of mischief and the inclusion of killing tools. Gang activity is now plaguing our society, completely shunning law and any form of control. Those in desperate situations are taking extreme measures to survive, often ending in fatal mistakes, and civilians have become so lax in their participation that self-defense is nearly a dying species. Both those fortunate in quality of life, and those not quite so blessed, we have all become targets of heinous acts. And truthfully, while bonded to law, we have few options of self-preservation.