Masatoshi Nakayama - Practical Karate Volume 1: Fundamentals of Self-Defense

AUTHORS' FOREWORD

THERE IS, perhaps, no greater disservice to man than the creation of false confidence in his ability to defend himself. Whether this false confidence is manifested in his nations' armed might, or in his own personal ability, the result is the same, though of different proportions, when tested... DISASTER!

The current karate "boom" in the U.S.A. has instilled in many would-be "experts" a serious, false sense of security. This is the natural outgrowth of a human psychological weakness. Everyone wishes to be physically fit and able to defend himself and his loved ones from danger, and quickly turns to any sure-fire guarantee of such abilities.

Unscrupulous and unqualified self-appointed karate "experts" daily exploit this human weakness and prey on an innocent, unsuspecting public. This grossly perpetrated fraud is based on the quick learning of ancient mysterious Oriental combative forms such as karate, and almost always makes its appeal through colorful adjectives such as "super," "destructive," "terror tactics," and guarantees you mastery which will make you "fear no man." All such "get skillful quickly" schemes should be carefully investigated before choosing, for true karate involves constant dedication to training and is never a "short course" method. Choose your instructor carefully.

On the other hand, authentic teachers of karate do exist in the U.S.A., and their teachings have full merit. These teachings are deeply rooted in traditional, classical karate and require a liberal application of patience and regular training to develop expert karate skill. There are various schools which stem from historic Oriental antiquity, all of which are legitimate and have both merits and shortcomings. The choice of which school to follow can be decided only by the interested party.

The average person is confined to a daily life which requires of him a heavy investment in time and energy i n order to earn a living. Leisure time is generally at a minimum and spent at less enervating pursuits than demanded by classical karate practice. But the need for a practical system of self-defense designed for the average person is more evident than ever before. Police files give mute testimony to the increasing number of robberies, assaults, and other vicious crimes.

In this book the necessary karate fundamentals are pictorially laid out in an easy, readable fashion. It is a book which in theory must proceed any actual ability with karate technique. Use it to build skills for efficient karate responses in self-defense situations. This will require some practice on your part: at least several times per week for short periods of time. When you have practiced all the movements described in this book and can perform them automatically, you will have a sound foundation on which to build self-defense skills. However, it is not necessary that you completely study and practice all the movements of this book before turning to the actual defense skills in volumes two, to six. You may "learn as you go," taking each self-defense situation in any order from the other books in this series, using this volume as a reference to the necessary skills which the self-defense response requires. Either way, you must practice.

The authors arc indebted to the Japan Karate Association, Tokyo, Japan, for the use of their facilities and hereby acknowledge with pleasure the assistance of those members and officials who have made this book possible. Additional thanks is due to the excellent photographic skills of Akira Kasahara which has given this book its illustrations; to H. Shoji, an instructor of the Japan Karate Association, and to James S. Bregman, a student of combative arts whose posing for the "assailant" part of this text has been invaluable.