Often the general public, and indeed even some martial arts practitioners, tend to think of martial arts purely in terms of unarmed combat. When terms like “martial arts” or “martial artist” are dropped in conversation, people often picture a pumped up wall of muscle in a karate gi executing picture-perfect kicks, punches, throws, grappling maneuvers, or other tools for defeating the enemy with their bare hands. Obviously, this couldn’t be further from the truth, and indeed, is somewhat counter-intuitive. After all, the mere mention of Bruce Lee’s name brings to mind his skills with the nunchuku just easily as his one-inch punch. But throughout history, martial artists have perfected their skills with swords, staffs, knives, whips, throwing stars, and a multitude of other melee weapons just as much as their unarmed fighting skills. In ancient times, armed fighting techniques were often the first resort in combat ahead of fist and foot strikes.
Of course, in modern times, no one walks around with a katana on their hip, so perhaps that is where the perception of martial arts equating to unarmed combat stems from. However, knowing how to fight with more modern weapons, and even more importantly, defending against an armed attacker while unarmed, is just as crucial today as it was a thousand years ago. And once again, this is where Master Ken and his unconquerable martial arts of Ameri-Do-Te, history’s most lethal fighting art, excels over all others. As part of every Ameri-Do-Te students training, Master Ken has them come to class with typical household items, and with his combat genius, is able to show his followers how anything can be transformed into a deadly weapon. Other martial arts schools and teachers should take note – Master Ken is showing you up yet again!
