“The illustrations are clear and the instructions are simple, and a reasonably agile [practitioner] will not find it difficult to master these practical techniques… It really is a serious book.” — Mainichi Shimbun newspaper

Practical Karate: Defense Against Armed Assailants is the fourth volume in the classic six-volume series by Masatoshi Nakayama and Donn Draeger.

Written for those with an understanding of karate fundamentals, all methods described in this karate book are workable, easy-to-learn karate defense responses to an armed assailant. Comprising chapters on dealing with club and stick attacks, blade and sharp edged weapon attacks and multiple armed assailants, this volume presents a realistic approach to dealing with armed attackers for those with a full understanding of karate fundamentals and acquaintance with the basics of weapon usage.

Mastery of the responses in this martial arts manual will not make the reader invincible in personal encounters, but will provide a ready repertoire of techniques and understanding of principles needed in dealing with a wide variety of attacks by armed assailants.