Karate and the martial arts have evolved over hundreds of years and will continue to evolve. There are hundreds of different martial art styles, but where real self defense is concerned, the attitude needed is exactly the same.
There are of course, effective self defense moves and ineffective self defense moves, But what concerns a lot of people, is the fact that there are martial arts instructors, who have little experience and are conducting self defense courses. These rogue instructors are endangering people, who are looking for quality self defense information.
I do not believe in self defense courses that concentrate only on physical defense and counter techniques. Awareness should be taught first, i.e. what signs to look for, where not to go, how to stay calm, being aware of your surroundings and the people around you, should be a priority.
Strikes should concentrate on eye gouging, biting, groin attacks, with maybe some open palm strikes. People have to understand, it takes a long time to be able to strike with effective self defense moves and the hardest thing for people to understand is your strikes should have the 'intention to do harm', behind them. It simply will not cut it, to just throw a self defense move.
The good self defense courses, will always talk about the latest tools, such as stun guns, pepper sprays, wireless home alarms, surveillance equipment, personal alarms and child safety items to help protect your family, your home and yourself.
Understand, the people that attack innocent people, care not, what happens to their victims, some do not care if the victim dies. These are the monsters that attack people in the street and one day, you may need to take extreme action to survive. I sincerely hope not, but these attacks are getting more and more common around the world. Simply being aware can stop some of these attacks, being conscious of who is walking near by, or watching you should be a priority.
Although the chances of you being attacked are still rare, studying self defense principles some basic karate moves and simply being aware when you are out and about, should be on everybody's list. Stay safe!
