TENSION filled the air. The Dutch karate team championship was under way. At the referee’s “hajime!” (Japanese for “start!”), my opponent and I squared off for action.

He was burly​—bigger and heavier than I was. But I sensed his lack of experience. I feinted a movement. He attacked furiously, punching and kicking. I lured him into another attack, and when he exposed his lower ribs, I delivered an explosive punch.

Spectators winced as he smashed to the mat and painfully gasped for air. His body shook violently, then suddenly froze. An eerie silence fell. A doctor rushed to the scene and sent him to the hospital. I really got scared. ‘Could it be . . . could it be that he is dead?’

During the two-minute karate tournament matches, one scores with kicks and punches directed at vital parts of the body. Although blows to the body are legal, rules forbid actually touching the opponent’s face with one’s fists. However, mistakes are sometimes made, which is illustrated by what happened when my wife, Hannie, tried her hand at karate. I explained how to aim a punch to the face but to freeze at the tip of the nose. Hannie zeroed in a punch​—and a good one at that—​but forgot to stop at the critical moment, slamming right into my face, splitting my lips and causing the only injury in my karate career. The next day my swollen face elicited a barrage of embarrassing inquiries!