Desperate or fancy fellow, expert in karate? (3)
I believe the answer is:
dan
'expert in karate?' is the definition.
(person awarded a dan in martial arts)
I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.
(Other definitions for dan that I've seen before include "Level of competence in judo" , "Black-belt grade of proficiency" , "Jacob's fourth son" , "-- Dare, comic hero" , "Judo, karate level" .)