Woman head instructors: Where Are They?

[Sandan]

I have to disagree, I train with a club where we do a lot of kumite and where the majority of the members are teenage/twenties.. the women are very strong and very comitted.

The odd new member arrives and is very feminine and will not be engaging in the exercises where strength is required etc. They either tend to become more agressive or they move on..

[Soo Min]

If you are a woman who pushes yourself to do things like that, I congratulate you, but realize that you are likely the only female in your class who has any potential of becoming a teacher, because pretty much every other female in your classes that you see is, or will soon be, simply marking time, absorbing some learning but no longer progressing in any real sense.

personally most of the female martial artists i know-although they are few-are extremely committed-more so than most men. i myself used to be sort of weird about certain types of sparring and such but quickly got over it. and i mean quickly.

i've seen three different female students hit that "wall." one simply did not want to bother getting over it. she won't go far. the second, less talented than the first, pushed herself over slowly and steadily with help from her teacher. it was extremely long and brutal but she got over. the third reached the wall and simply stepped right over. i think the same can be said for guys. some simply don't, some struggle but manage, and some barely even notice it. i don't think it has much to do with being a guy or girl.

the reason we see few female instructors...think of it this way:

hypothetically speaking, out of twenty men maybe one is physically and mentally capable of making it to the level of training required of a teacher. out of fifty, maybe one has the dedication. out of twenty women, maybe one is physically and mentally capable and out of fifty one has the dedication. but men in martial arts are much more prominent and so that fifty is easier to come by. so its just the ratio of men to women kicking in.

[kivikala]

Being that my area is a bit thin on number of schools, and I know of 2 schools run by women which makes the percentage of women head instructors around here rather high.

For my own school women seem no more or less motivated than men. Our classes usually have had pretty close to a 50:50 mix. In fact my current group is more like 70:30 in favor of the women. It's the guys who have to keep up with the class. But as for women who become blackbelts and instructors the motivation and dedication I'd have to say is the same.

[younwhagrl]

Well I am sorta the head instructor, of my school..i'm a girl! (i have another guy helping me, which is a lower rank than me) so I guess that makes me the head instructor...some of students that are guys...say UR A GIRL..well I proved them wrong...I'm one of the toughest "girls" in my MA school. The guys even say..PFFT..she's one of the guys!

[y2_sub]

I have never heard of a woman head instructor quite frankly , there aren't any in my area .

[TSharkey]

The head instructor in my school is a man. He runs the school with his wife. His other business kept him very busy last year and consequently his wife was the "head" teacher and manager for that year.

He has over 20 years experience and his wife has less then 10 years.

I suggest that it is in our nature for men to be the dominate warriors of our society. I imagine that most women who are highly ranked want to be the best woman fighter they know; they don't want to be the best fighter. Where as men would like to be the best of the best. This is just my take on the situation and could be wrong.

This is pretty much the same in our style expect the owner doesnt have another buisness BUT he doesnt teach as much as his wife. His wife teaches alot of the class.

[IcemanSK]

Every martial art school I've trained in there have been very capable women instructors. Only one was senoir instructor, however. Every successful women I've ever seen in the martial arts has worked twice as hard to prove themselves. Both as instructor & businesss person. As teachers of the martial arts, most women I've seen are better than a lot of men, because they pay attention to detail that men often miss. Because they need to focus on the technique & not rely on strength.

[angus88]

It seems like there's several discussions going on in one thread. Are women capable of being good instructors? Why are there so few? Can women fight like men? Are women better at kata than men? What about women owners? And everyone, of course, knows an exception to every rule which then dictate their opinion.

I think it should be obvious that women can and are frequently instructors. We have a few and they're very good. But let's not kid ourselves, the martial arts world is traditionally a very sexist one. Martial arts are about fighting - sugar coat it all you want that it's not - but it is. Even as martial arts become daycares and sporting events, the bottom line is still fighting. Everything else simply makes you a better fighter (inner peace, calmness, technique, etc.) And men serious about learning how to fight just won't take at a school run by women.

But spare me the exceptions - I know everybody "would and has taken by a female that's as tough as any man." Fine - you're not a sexist - it's the rest of the people out there, not you.

But that's okay - men that are serious about fighting are more and more a rarity anyway. This is why people serious about fighting are gravitating away from Karate schools and over to MMA schools. Some call this the "wussification of present day martial arts." There are exceptions to this rule, as always, but that's the trend.

The fact is, martial arts schools are geared much more towards kids now - that's where all the money is - and I'm sure Susie Soccer-Mom would much rather drop her kid off at "martial arts daycare" with a woman in charge than a man anyway.

Times have changed. Deal with it!

[shogeri]

I've seen them go up in rank, and earn it. But to be the head of a system or school seems to be a rare thing...

[Aodhan]

I've seen them go up in rank, and earn it. But to be the head of a system or school seems to be a rare thing...

Mrs Lee is my school co-owner, and the head instructor at our school. She is a sixth degree, 5 time ATA World champion in forms, and a Master candidate. Master Candidate Kathy Young owns two schools in Tucson, Az, and there are quite a few husband/wife school owners and instructors in our area.

Aodhan