From the very early times man had to defend himself from a wild animals and later on from other humans. Most of the nations on Earth have developed it's own unique styles of self-defense allowing them to survive throughout history of never-ending wars and conflicts. The art of war and self-defense techniques passed from fathers to sons for generation. As centuries passed more knowledge was collected and used more effectively against invaders. Depending on the circumstances, such as surrounding cultures, isolation and religion deviated greatly the way people fought from one nation to another. This is especially apparent in the different kinds of weapons people developed and used through out the history of wars. Hand-to-hand combat was a necessary part of military training of any advanced nation. No matter how advanced the weapons got people understood that you can never rely 100% on them but our hands and legs will always be there to help. So the martial arts began.

Today most people begin training because either their parents send them or because they feel like they want to kick everybody's ass and get a mythical black belt in a year. Well, my story is a little different. I joined in because I was heavily influenced by the movies that I saw in Russia and here in States. The comedy style of Jackie Chan, the lightning-fast quickness of legendary Bruce Lee, the unbelievable flying spinning kicks of Jean Claude Van Damme and almost super-human powers of ninjas and Shaolin monks opened my eyes to the very exotic and extremely fascinating art of oriental martial arts. Here in States I began to study Okinawan style of karate called Isshinryu. As I progress in rank, I learned more and more about myself, what I'm capable of and how to reach my personal best and complete the goals I set out to do. Karate training gave me more then just knowledge of kicks and punches, it gave me confidence and the attitude to succeed in anything and everything that I set out to accomplish in my life. To me, this was the most important part of the training then all the board breaking and kicks to the head of your opponent. Gaining greater self-confidence and inner strength made me a better person and these are the skills I consider being the most important.

Here is some interesting links that relate to Isshinryu karate and self-defense in general.

My former teacher's page
Everything on Isshinryu style, it's history, principles and participants.
The true history of Tatsuo Shimabuku's Isshinryu
Discussion of traditional Isshinryu karate
Virtual Martial Arts - try this it's painless, it's virtual, man.
Karate resources on the Web
Overview of Japanese Sword Arts : Kendo, Kenjutsu, Iaido/Iaijutso

Home of the traditional Russian hand-to-hand combat - the System
Federation of Russian Martial Arts
Spetsnaz home - Russian elite forces (something like US Navy Seals)

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