The Way of Kata

Dr. Kevin Keough, host of the Warrior Traditions podcast, interviews Mr. Lawrence Kane, co-author of The Way of Kata: A Comprehensive Guide for Deciphering Martial Applications by Lawrence Kane and Kris Wilder and published by YMAA Publication Center.

Lawrence Kane is the author of Surviving Armed Assaults and Martial Arts Instruction, as well as co-author (with Kris Wilder) of The Way of Kata, The Way to Black Belt, and The Little Black Book of Violence. He has also published numerous articles about teaching, martial arts, self-defense, and related topics, contributed to other author's books, and acts as a forum moderator at www.iainabernethy.com, a British Combat Association-affiliated website devoted to traditional martial arts and self-protection.

Since 1970, he has participated in a broad range of martial arts, from traditional Asian sports such as judo, arnis, kobudo, and karate to recreating medieval European combat with real armor and rattan (wood) weapons. He has taught medieval weapons forms since 1994 and Goju Ryu karate since 2002. He has also completed seminars in modern gun safety, marksmanship, handgun retention and knife combat techniques, and he has participated in slow-fire pistol and pin shooting competitions.

Since 1985, Lawrence has supervised employees who provide security and oversee fan safety during college and professional football games at a Pac-10 stadium. This part-time job has given him a unique opportunity to appreciate violence in a myriad of forms. Along with his crew, he has witnessed, interceded in, and stopped or prevented hundreds of fights, experiencing all manner of aggressive behaviors as well as the escalation process that invariably precedes them. He has also worked closely with the campus police and state patrol officers who are assigned to the stadium and has had ample opportunities to examine their crowd control tactics and procedures.

To pay the bills he does IT sourcing strategy and benchmarking work for an aerospace company in Seattle where he gets to play with billions of dollars of other people's money and make really important decisions. Visit his website and blog.