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Rating: 
Summary: Hooked in with just a few paragraphs...
Review: I am still in the process of finishing the whole book, however a few paragraphs had me hooked to read more. Her life story behind the dojo if you will is nothing less than amazing! A real eye opener and inspiration to those in martial arts! Good book ladies!
Rating:
Summary: Gripping story
Review: Interwoven with much needed factual information about karate and the martial arts, The Dark Side of Karate shares the gripping story of Tonie's spiritual journey as she searches for meaning and lasting fulfilment in her life. One of the things I appreciated about the book is that it is saturated with Scripture and biblical principles and points to the only One Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life--Jesus Christ.
Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: Not only does this book share facts about the 'dark side of karate,' it is a powerful testimony of a changed life. Whether you have questions concerning the martial arts or are looking for inspiration on how you can make changes in your own life, Tonie's story of transformation from pain and confusion to peace, healing and new life is outstanding - read it for yourself and see what God may do for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Yes, it's an amazing testimony, but...
Review: While I understand, after reading Ms. Gatlin's book, why she felt compelled to leave the martial arts, I wish she had done a better job researching the valid reasons why many Christians continue to be involved. Instead, she throws the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak.
Judging by the book, it would probably come as a great shock to Ms. Gatlin to discover that there are strong Christians who train seriously and even teach others, and who have managed to get to black belt level without becoming involved in oaths, pledges, vows, bondages, hexes, spells, soul ties, idolatry, Eastern meditation, mind control techniques, ESP, yoga, chanting, power objects, levitation, astral projection, cultic incense burning, reincarnation, ritual suicide, worship of the "Divine Female", lesbianism, or any of the other things that we are supposed to renounce in a "deliverance prayer" helpfully provided at the end of the book.
God uses warrior imagery throughout Scripture. Although I was once a nonresistant pacifist, my views on this have changed as I have become responsible to protect the lives of those children God has entrusted in my car. Just as I do not think it a lack of faith when loving parents buckle their children carefully into specially designed car seats, I do not see it as a lack of faith when loving parents learn self-defense skills or encourage their children to learn them.
This book was fascinating, yet alarmist. It does a fairly good job in telling Ms. Gatlin's personal story (although it could have benefitted from better editing). It does readers a grave disservice in its discussion of whether or not Christians should be involved in the martial arts. Rather than renouncing all martial arts, Christians should instead use discernment in finding martial arts that are taught either neutrally (without any religious foundation) or--even better---from a Christian perspective. Furthermore, if martial arts training seems to be having a "destructive impact" on children, this is almost always a sign that the instructor is at fault, not the martial art. Many of us have discovered remarkable benefits from training in Christian-based martial arts, and have grown in the Lord as a result.
Not all of us are "under the dragon".
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