Black Belts Only is a game changer for modern Karate. Not only because it restores Karate to the world of Budo, where acquiring the ability to kill with one blow is the rite of passage. Not only because it explains this martial art in terms of Ki energy and Eastern concepts of Yin and Yang. But also because it revolutionizes Karate by reinterpreting Kata, which, according to Newhouse, are encrypted repositories of "means of escape" from aggressors' holds, aimed at keeping near-fight situations from escalating into full-blown fights. Through the pages of Black Belts Only, previously impenetrable techniques are interpreted, opening movements of Kata are explained, hidden conventions are unmasked. No more gobbledygook that over the years has reduced Karate to the level of common fighting or empty pageantry. In Black Belts Only, Karate comes to life. Its ancient spirit re-awakens.

Black Belts Only is a game changer for modern Karate. Not only because it restores Karate to the world of Budo, where acquiring the ability to kill with one blow is the rite of passage. Not only because it explains this martial art in terms of Ki energy and Eastern concepts of Yin and Yang. But also because it revolutionizes Karate by reinterpreting Kata, which, according to Newhouse, are encrypted repositories of "means of escape" from aggressors' holds, aimed at keeping near-fight situations from escalating into full-blown fights. Through the pages of Black Belts Only, previously impenetrable techniques are interpreted, opening movements of Kata are explained, hidden conventions are unmasked. No more gobbledygook that over the years has reduced Karate to the level of common fighting or empty pageantry. In Black Belts Only, Karate comes to life. Its ancient spirit re-awakens.