“Ultimately, training in karate means not having to fight anyone”. (End quote) – Yoshio Kuba 10th dan Goju Ryu
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DON’T FIGHT….. TAKE CONTROL….. Eliminate in your opponent the desire to keep fighting. To always want to ‘defeat’ someone; to always want to fight first; if these are your only skills, then there is little difference between a street-fighting thug and you as a martial artist.
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Your best defense is to use your brain. To not fight when you can. Be smart, see past your own ego. Don’t risk your life or someone else’s because you think fighting is the only option. It isn’t. Fighting should always be the LAST option, not the first.
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“Karate training is a moral training, as well as a physical one for self-defense. It isn’t only concerned with developing fighting machines.” – Morio Higaonna 10th dan Goju Ryu
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When it comes to your self-protection, first understand when violence would be the proper response, and how to properly use those tools of violence.
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Defend yourself when you’re in danger, not when your pride has been wounded.
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Karate is an aspect of Okinawa’s culture that the people of Okinawa are proud of, and even now, it continues to be passed on and valued as much more than simply a ‘fighting art’. 
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 Quote from an interview with Yoshio Kuba, Okinawa Karate Spirit 沖縄県空手振興課公式チャネル
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