Training with girls, breasts in the way.

[NY_Karatedork]

I'm surprised this hasn't come up before. I think a problem is that men are afraid to hit a woman because of the upbringing most men have that you should never hit a woman. And yes you are supposed to spar with each other but there are other spots to hit on a woman than hitting the most obvious. And when women are sparring some will wear a chest guard in case they are hit there.

[KarateEd]

I would never expect someone at training to actually hit my balls during a drill.

Ah, dippedappe....not a man to mince words!

[lordtariel]

I agree with Kieran-Lilith. I've been hit there a few times. I didn't care. I just kept training.

You have to remember though, every person is different. Your best bet is to just ask them respectfully. Something like, "Are you ok with me doing this drill or do you want me to hit stomach level?"

I've trained with girls too busy trying to choke me out to care if I'm bound up in their gi and I've trained with with girls afraid to get within five feet of me when we spar because they don't want to get hit there.

[bushido_man96]

Okay, I think you poor boys need help. As a girl in the MA, I think I speak for the large majority of us when I say that we really don't care. I mean, yeah, it's weird for us, too, when we're asked to aim for your groins, but we do it anyway. Personally, when the boys at my school say they don't want to hit a girl, or they feel awkward hitting a girl in a specific way, I hit harder. Much, much harder. You aren't doing us any favors by coddling us. After all, as someone pointed out earlier, a real attacker won't care. It's possible he might be trying to hit/grab them in the first place, and we have to be ready for anything.

I can understand what you are saying, but there is something you have to look at from the male's point-of-view; the possibility of sexual harrassment accusations. It is a very big thing now, and many guys don't want to run the risk of being accused of such a thing. That is why it can be so uncomfortable to do such things, even in an environment like a Martial Arts school.

[Kieran-Lilith]

That is very true. And to answer someone earlier, no, we would not necessarily aim to hit, but occasionally accidents happen. That's why boys wear cups and girls occasionally wear chest protection.

I guess it's true that some girls do freak out about that stuff really easy, but you should be able to spot them from a mile away. I guess to every situation it's own solution, right?

[hana]

Yeh, I'm sure it would be different for every person.

For me, If I was worried about being hit there, I would wear a chest guard.

If she's not wearing a chest guard, one would assume she won't be bothered when you're doing a drill and you hit her in the solar.

Erase the fact that you're sparing with a 'girl'. Equal rights and all that. You've got to be a pretty hardcore chick to get involved in MA!

[dragonwarrior_keltyr]

I don't quite equate getting hit in the breasts with getting hit in the groin. I think the groin is a lot more painful. For me, getting hit in the breasts doesn't hurt. It fact, I'd call it cushioning for any punches that catch my chest If you caught the top part maybe, but at least on me it's not at all painful. If she doesn't say anything about it then she is probably fine. If she looks(ed) uncomfortable then ask her, but otherwise just keep doing as your doing. I'd actually prefer if the males at the dojo didn't tell guys to "hit lower" on me because I'm a girl and they may brush my breasts. I don' t really care. In the dojo I'm just another karateka, "one of the guys" so I don't care at all. There's my mini-rant for the day.

[mantis.style]

Never been hit in the balls? I guess you haven't been training that much. Try doing the first section of the dummy form blocks only, with a partner. The Low Bog Sau (from Kwun Sau) to Tan Sau (from Tan Sau+strike to face) and every other time you'd be brushing each others bits.

Also, in wing chun training, when it comes to drills, there is no difference in aiming for the centre of mass, solar plexus or face; the Wu Sau should take care of it. In any case, if you are able to hit her, then that means her Wu Sau isn't there. In that case, she needs more training.

If you're worried about touching her, then be glad you don't do something like a Southern Mantis, White Crane or Short Bridge Dragon Style; in those, you spend a lot of time stroking each others' arms and tracking up the arms.

[Kieran-Lilith]

Hana, thank you, that is exactly what I mean. We "chicks" have to be hardcore if we're there. And I actually agree with dragonwarrior, too. Getting hit there has yet to hurt me. Maybe we're just weird?

On an off note, we always seem to be "one of the guys". How come guys are never "one of the girls"?

[TraditionalDan]

Hit them in the face