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Long ago on an island in the China Seas there was the master who created a new system of Ti. He was sought after to teach the American occupiers not so long after the World War ended. The master redesigned the educational version of karate implemented in the early 1900’s and it was believed that it was designed to better reflect actual hand-to-hand fighting and self-defense. The true question is this, “Was the master actually experienced in fighting and self-defense, not just the practice and teaching of those subjects?”
There are legends and stories about this master but unlike those of another master that was documented as to his fighting prowess both in the dojo but more to the fighting on the streets of the island. It must be understood that the documentation can be questioned to its validity but most under his tutelage accepts those stores and legends.
As to the master, not so much. He was very capable, he performed many feats of strength and agility and yet there is not one story about his prowess in the streets fighting and/or defending, not a one. Yes, there are many stories and legends told today from those very same American occupiers who took his training but even those cannot in all truth say they witnessed this masters hands-on application of his karate toward fighting and/or defense agains a determined adversary.
It is true that he took lessons from the very same master who had that experience and we can assume that in the training and teaching a lot of that experience supplemented the teachings themselves, that is evident in many of the articles and books but also not able to be validated as fact and truth - passing it down by word of mouth is just not factual or a form of validation even if those who say it is want it to be factual and valid as much as they do want it to be so.
This is the crux of the issues we find in modern karate and martial arts regardless of it being a way of life, a sport for competitive goals or as a self-defense system. There are very, very few who teach who can say they actually have hands-on reality based experience and even if so they cannot always be the consummate teacher of those systems or ways to fight and defend. It makes finding, learning and utilizing self-defense through karate and martial arts - difficult at best and impossible at worst.
In that mind-state I have to say that in my personal unvalidated and unprovable opinion the master, although a solid karate-ka when alive, did not have the actual experiences applying his prowess as a karate-ka and a fighter out in real life conflicts and violence. Saying that, it is also very possible that he did have that experience but due to his harmonious humble like personality it may have never come to light. All we can do is speculate and make assumptions much like we do naturally in modern karate, martial arts and self-defense disciplines.
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