The annual Pawnee Prairie Days celebration, and Pawnee Shotokan were there doing a demonstration for the local populace. Basic drills were perfomed by the lower grades first, and then by the advanced grades to give people viewing a sense of what it takes to progress through the ranks. Many people still think karate is all about kicking and punching, not what actually lies behind the philosophy involved. We had one potential karateka ask if he could join, when asked why he wanted to do karate he replied, "to kick some ass" needless to say he didn't join us.

Some people train for health and fitness, some for the competition and some for the personal goals that you set yourself in being the best you can.
Not everyone is built the same way, and some people find martial arts to be relatively easy, while some have to work at it. I can't remember who said it, but it goes something like; There are many paths up the mountain, but we are all trying to reach the top.

Gichin Funakoshi said it best in these words: "The ultimate aim of karate lies not in victory nor defeat, but in the perfection of the character of its participants"...