Three little words my karate Sensei A.J. Advincula says is Make it work! This means that sometimes the student must adjust a technique, principle, or concept in order to execute a technique based on individual needs. For example, someone shorter than their attacker (like me) may be better off countering an attack with groin strike rather than a strike to the throat. Why would I reach up when my target of opportunity, the groin, is closer? Adjusting, adapting, and overcoming—AKA making it work—applies in the martial arts, in life (as we’ve all been experiencing in the Covid-19 era), and in writing. One time, when Sensei Advincula stayed at our house for a long weekend of karate training, he taught us knife-fighting techniques with the Flesheater, the combat knife he designed. This awesome knife, custom made by knife maker Jim Hammond, is featured in each book in the Survival Race series