Colleen wrote an excellent post on another thread that listed alot of issues faced by women who train in the martial arts. Most of those items are beyond me, but a couple of things I have dealt with.
We have several women in our school, two of whom have been there for a while (yon-kyu and ni-kyu). We have some big guys and some teenagers of varying sizes, too. When practicing with partners the size/strength disparity can be an issue. Variations of techniques or alternative techniques are always worked out when disparities arise. It has to work for each person. Body type is a major factor in good technique. It is also our convention that little people get to go harder against big people than big people do against little people. I find that concentrating on good form with the power turned down a bit when working with a smaller person is very valuable. I encourage the smaller to turn it up until it works for them. We work under the belief that if you have to "muscle it" then you are not performing the technique correctly.
I think instructors need to make sure they are training people to be good ukes. The concept of uke is a very important part of good martial arts training. Without good ukes training cannot occur. Good ukes help each other with their weaknesses. I think a woman in a dojo full of men should be able to feel fortunate at the awsome training opportunity. This depends on how well the men perform as ukes.
Another issue is the difference between potential self-defense situations that men and women may face. It seems to me that grappling and infighting techniques with a heavy emphasis on vital point manipulation holds special value for women.
------------------
ted
"I learn by going where I have to go." - Theodore Roethke
Effective Training For All
Moderator: Available
-
Ted Dinwiddie
- Posts: 537
- Joined: Thu Sep 16, 1999 6:01 am
- Location: Charlottesville,VA,USA
-
Dana Sheets
- Posts: 2715
- Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2002 6:01 am
Effective Training For All
A great point. And as you echoed from Colleen's post -
Men are most likely to deal with a face to face hitting attack
Women are most likely to be grabbed and held and then hit.
But that means that for women to get good self-defense training they'll need to be comfortable with the guys they train with grabbing them and holding them very close. This is something that is second nature to judo, Jujitsu, shootfighters, etc - but not yet second nature to most karate-ka.
Men are most likely to deal with a face to face hitting attack
Women are most likely to be grabbed and held and then hit.
But that means that for women to get good self-defense training they'll need to be comfortable with the guys they train with grabbing them and holding them very close. This is something that is second nature to judo, Jujitsu, shootfighters, etc - but not yet second nature to most karate-ka.
