Bubishi confirm the theory that karate is civilian fighting art, i.e. karate as a method was not meant to be used in the battlefield, because that would make training methodology completely different from as it is today. It was not supposed to serve to the Okinawans to defend against a samurai armed with katana, because it is equally pointless as training of bare hand defense against the attack of fully equipped US marine. The goal of karate training is to teach how to defend yourself against the most usual types of attack.
Most often, the attacker is someone familiar to us, most probably a friend, an acquaintance or a member of a family. Therefore, the attacker is someone not professionally trained for fighting (like a member of the army, riot police or samurais). The most common type of attack a couple hundred years ago on Okinawa is the same as the common attack today. So, karate as self-defense system can be used today as it was on Okinawa several centuries ago. Article "48 techniques" represents these acts of habitual physical violence: punching (#12, #31, #30, #34, #36), pushing (#14, #40), seizing and punching (#13), hand attack combination (#12), kicking (#5, #21, #22), kick and hand attack (#26), as well as escaping techniques when opponent tries: bear hug (#1, #4), arm holding (#2), leg catching (#10), hair pulling (#15), headlock (#33), bear hug from behind (#27), seizing lapels (#38). All instructors should consider these situations when teaching basic kumite.
The conclusion is that karate, as we know it today is different from the original style before 1900. The examples and proofs for this are in Bubishi. Since the history of this martial art is incomplete owing to oral transmission of knowledge and secrets, the value of this document is immeasurable. We can say that the essence of the ancient karate is forever preserved in Bubishi. This unsystematic collection of different articles from history, vital points, traditional medicine and practical applications is best reference for studying the history of karate. Just as we can look kin the cooking pot and see all the ingredients we can treat Bubishi as a kind of receipt, rough sketch or script and say that rightfully deserves name - The Bible of Karate.