I was lucky enough to study at the oldest Karate School in the USA with a Master who is a direct student under Master Funakoshi (father of moder-day karate). I would study the style that keeps faithful to the Master's intentions from days of old. The wisdom of the past is very usefull today, the philosophy of Budo, and the goal of internal peace must be present in true karate. Many studies only give lip service to the ancient art and only train their student to fight in tournaments and be ready when walking down a back alley. The true art of karate is the internal struggle to push yourself beyond your limits and find even more to conquere. The martial art is a means to another end of self-betterment. Those who reduce martial arts to street-fighting or cage fighting have abandoned the Way of karate. Master Funakoshi disliked very much karate tournaments and full-contact bouts and he said, as many of his students have repeated, that tournament fighting does not reflect the true spirit of karate. Keep these things in mind as you persue your art.
