My ex was a karate nut and taught it for many years and perticipated in as mnay tournaments as she could get to an all that but...
...one weekend her sansia brought in a guy from North Carolina by the name of Ron Cherry and what he taught was not exactly karate but very effective self defense which was based on some very nasty stuff before runnin' off...
He had taught federal agents the same stuff so it's very effective... I'm not too sure if he still teaches as it's been about 15 years since I completed the training... I remember the moves but not the name of his training...
Maybe some of the folks here who may still be beatin' themselves up with karate have heard of him or his techniques but, hey, they can work if one just spends a little time, unlike karate, mastering them...