I thought it would be interesting to mention some of the typical responses I hear from people regarding the topic of karate, and my studying it. Hopefully this will add a little humor to my karate pages, and perhaps some people who say these things might read this and give it a bit more thought before they speak.

"Yeah, that stuff's kinda cool, but it's not much use against my gun!"

This one's quite common, obviously among gun owners. It's a sure sign of someone with some insecurities, as a secure individual wouldn't feel threatened by meeting a karateka (one who practices karate). The foolishness of this response can be demonstrated by asking this individual, "Do you happen to have it with you?" Of course, they'll probably take this as a threat, rather than the interesting demonstration that it was meant to be. In other words, that gun you have at home doesn't do you much good when you're walking back to your car in that dark parking lot, does it? What you learn in karate can't be left at home, and it cannot be taken away from you by anyone.

"Hey, do you know [fill in name of some martial artist somewhere in the world, possibly famous]?"

For some reason, many people seem to think that all of us who study unarmed martial arts personally know all the rest--like we have some secret handshake and have secret meetings or something. Get over it--there are many, many, many people studying martial arts these days, formally and informally.

"That stuff's useless in a real fight."

This one's a bit more difficult to contradict because there's no real way to prove it one way or the other, and because in some cases there is some truth to it. However, in general, it seems to stem from a lack of knowledge on the subject. The person who says this typically knows very little about unarmed martial arts, and is basing this opinion on all of the unrealistic (although fun) karate and kung fu movies he's seen, and that cute little rumor about the 10th dan black belt that got his butt kicked by the half-drunk fat guy at the bar who used "good old fashioned American (or is that "Amurikan"?) fighting". Yeah, they certainly weren't using those sophisticated American bar techniques in ancient China and Okinawa when ch'uan fa and karate were being developed. I'm sure none of those sailors from all over east Asia who met at the Okinawan bars during the early development of karate would ever have thought to use such sophisticated moves.

On a more serious (and less sarcastic) note, some styles of martial arts are more practical than others for street fighting. Of course, studying karate is no guarantee that you'll win in a fight at the bar. Some people naturally have better fighting skills than others; however, studying a martial art will improve an individual's chances in a fight or self-defensive situation. Obviously, though, it's highly unlikely that someone who's been practicing karate for, say, 25 years, is going to get whipped by an average bar goer.

Additionally, karate sometimes takes a figurative beating from people for not being a practical fighting style. This is usually based on the results of karate practitioners fighting in "cage matches" that seem to be so popular today. Many people think that because karateka usually don't do well in this sporting event, it's not very useful in a real fight. One thing to keep in mind is that, although there are technically few or no rules in the matches, it is still a sporting event. It's not the same thing as being attacked in a dark parking lot, nor is it the same as being attacked on the battlefield, where your life is truly on the line. These are the situations for which karate was meant (if it must be used at all). If you're truly studying karate to win in cage matches, you're missing the point, and possibly dishonoring the art.

In addition, today's karate as taught in most dojos, is a "watered down" version of what was taught in the days of the early masters. When it was introduced to mainland Japan, and taught in the school system, it was, for obvious reasons, toned down a bit. This is still largely true today. It's now up to the serious student, through meditation on the bunkai (application) of kata, proper questioning of teachers, and personal research, to infuse the more secret and hidden techniques of karate.