Karate as the Art of Killing: A Study of Its Deadly Origins, Ideology of Peace, and the Techniques of Shito-Ryu

This comprehensive overview of karate connects the dots between its philosophical and spiritual foundations with its original purpose: to kill an attacker swiftly—and brutally.

Prior to 1900, karate-dō was exclusively an art of unarmed self-defense. Its practice was designed for life-or-death situations—effectively, an art of killing. Here, authors Leonard Pellman and the late Masayuki Shimabukuro restore karate to its original intent. They move karate away from its popular modern-day sporting applications back to its deadly origins—and to the restraining philosophy of peace, self-sacrifice, compassion, and service to others that necessarily accompanied it.

Readers will learn:

• The purpose and meaning of karate-dō
• The origins and major precepts of bushidō
• Training methods, preparation, and etiquette
• Fundamentals, spiritual power, training patterns, and analysis and application of kata
• How to understand the body as a weapon

With chapters on kokoro (heart, mind, and spirit), ki (spirit and energy), and the 7 major precepts of bushidō, The Art of Killing demonstrates how karate is more than a method of bringing an enemy down—it’s a philosophical and spiritual system grounded in essential lessons to guard against abuses of power. Together, the authors showcase how purity of intention matters, and how compassion and respect are the essence of karate training.