Apologies for any bad spelling, grammar, etc. Only had 3 hours sleep.

Karate's history is rather sad.

Karate in it's infancy only had two components: kata (the forms) and the application (fighting). It was a lot more effective because it was far simpler. The kata contained the techniques and they were basically just techniques, drills and combos strung together for easier learning. There was a lot more flexibility and realism in the applications as they were born out of a need for Okinawans to defend themselves while under oppressive foreign rule.

When karate hit mainland Japan, it started to change a lot. This was when things like the white gi, belts and ranking system, kihon (the standing basics where you punch/kick the air), kihon kumite (pre-arranged sparring drills) and the like were introduced. A lot of the 'aliveness' was lost as emphasis was placed on correct technique and form instead of effectiveness. The reasons are many, but I think that the root problem is that there were no full-contact fighting tournaments to keep it aggressive and 'alive', like with Muay Thai and boxing, and gradings aren't based on effective applications of technique like with grappling styles.

Unfortunately, this environment thus allows BB mills to thrive, especially with points-based sports karate become more and more popular. But sports karate and it's effects on 'traditional karate' is another topic altogether, and good or bad depending on your views.

If someone wants to study an effective style of karate, I'd suggest Kyukushin due to it's focus on full-contact fighting. There are some fringe styles around the world where they are stripping out the unnecessary shit and trying to make it more 'real' but I don't know much about them so I can't comment on them other than to say that I hope they become more influencial - karate can do with a major wake-up call, it's too stuck in the past.