"Striking" a Woman

[USCMAAI]

i think if you see them in a different light it is kind of the same as disrespecting them completely because they are a woman. in my school i will hit whomever with the amount of force i know that they can handle, (i come from a very hard okinawan style) and have never had a hesitancy to do so.

they should be treated as equals and i think when we hesitate it displays that we think they are weaker and cannoy handle it.

i dont mean any disrespect just passing on the wisdom that was given to me

I agree 100%. I have two daughters who train in a combat system (full contact sparring, and we go about 90% on self-defense techniques) I also have two sisters who have been training in various marital arts for over 30 years. All of them would be insulted if treated "gently" by anyone (including me). I also have seen women use theReal men don't hit women excuse to initiate attacks on men. Now generally I agree that you should not beat on anyone weaker than you, but I would not hesitate to defend myself from an attack no matter what the sex of the attacker is. As I said above both my daughters and sisters train very hard, and if you were to hesitate against one of them....My sensei use to say it like this

He who hesitates will meditate in the horizontal position

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[bushido_man96]

I agree, USCMAAI. It is very foolish to underestimate anyone; including women. I have had to deal with some that have gotten very froggy at times, and it ain't no picnic!

[USCMAAI]

I agree, USCMAAI. It is very foolish to underestimate anyone; including women. I have had to deal with some that have gotten very froggy at times, and it ain't no picnic!

One of the most enlightening and humbling experiences I have had in the martial arts came at the hands,feet and hips of a woman. When I was a young black belt, I had competed and won a tourney in Atlanta, GA. Many of the competitors in the sparring were TKD practitioners. I beat most of them without even getting scored on, and of course this went to my head at 16! On the flight back home, I mentioned to my Sensei that I didnt understand why anyone would think that TKD was any good for self defense "heck they can't even spar, how could they win a real fight with that stuff!" My Sensei just smiled and said " You are the man Keith, I certainly would feel sorry for any TKD stylist who tried you on the street!" Now if I was as smart as I thought I was, I would have heard the sarcasim in that statement, but I wasn't. Well, we arrived in St.Louis Mo and Sensei said before we go home, we should stop at one of my friends for some training. I being young, stupid and full of energy was all for some "training". We arrived at Master Kim's Dojang (TKD school of course) and I just looked at Sensei and said "you got to be kidding". He just smiled and said "TKD is everywhere it is a popular sport". Then he laughed to himself. I laughed as well thinking it would be fun to beat up some more of these "weak fighters". We went inside and Master Kim and Master Kemp greeted each other warmly (should have been my second warning sign). Master Kemp informed Master Kim that I had just competed in a tourney and really needed some street sparring. He asked if someone was here that could give me a good fight. Master Kim suggested that his daughter (susan) would be willing to "street spar" with me. I wasnt impressed with her when I saw her, she was maybe 5'1" tall and maybe 115 lbs. I looked at both master and said "Are you sure?" They both smiled and said "yes" at the same time. I went and changed, and came out to the sparring area (wood floor no padding). We sqaured off and Master Kemp said remember to watch her kicking! I said " I know". The match started, she lifted her left leg (as if preparing to kick), shuffeled in and hit me with a left jab/right cross combo, then stepped in and executed a hip toss (ogoshi). While I was on the ground she delivered a right palm heel to the side of my head (lights out!). When I woke up, both Masters were still laughing! Master Kim said to my Sensei "You were right, he is as tough as you said he was, not many people recover from getting knocked out as fast as he did. I think that our Tae Kwon Do training must be improved, obviously we would have a hard time with him on the street. We might only have 10 mins to escape before he wakes up and gives us the beating we so richly deserve". Needless to say I was not amused. To this day I not only know the difference between "sport" TKD and "Combat" TKD, I also have a very healthy respect for any opponent I am faced with. Susan still visits my school on occasion and seems to get real pleasure from telling this story to my students (especially the young ladies)!

[bushido_man96]

Great story, USCMAAI! Its hard not to chuckle along with the telling! But, I think we all have a story like that to go with our training. Its good humbling, right?

[USCMAAI]

Great story, USCMAAI! Its hard not to chuckle along with the telling! But, I think we all have a story like that to go with our training. Its good humbling, right?

Great way to teach a "young tiger" that he wasnt much more than a "kitten". LMOL

[tori]

That is awesome, but it scares me that they let her knock you out. My gosh, that is a head injury. I know back when we were young and training, that was the way things were. Now, working in the ER as long as i have and seeing young people come in with brain hemorrages after a head injury scares the you know what out of me. Thank goodness you lesson learned didnt leave you with a permanent injury.

[USCMAAI]

That is awesome, but it scares me that they let her knock you out. My gosh, that is a head injury. I know back when we were young and training, that was the way things were. Now, working in the ER as long as i have and seeing young people come in with brain hemorrages after a head injury scares the you know what out of me. Thank goodness you lesson learned didnt leave you with a permanent injury.

Trust me Tori, that was probably the only way I would have learned anything. Arrogance is a trait that ran strong in my mental make up, and sometimes the painful lessons are the most improtant ones. I have been knocked out more times than you can shake a stick at. So far know damage.....Well, maybe some damage, but hey my father says I was brain damaged from an early age....lol

[DWx]

I think USCMAAI's story is exactly the reason why men shouldn't try to hit women. We can hit back harder!

[joesteph]

I think USCMAAI's story is exactly the reason why men shouldn't try to hit women. We can hit back harder!

How does that saying go? I remember now: "Deadlier than the male . . ."

or ?

[Jeet Kune Do]

I would only hit a woman if I was in a helpless situation, e.g if a woman backed me up against the wall with a knife, otherwise I dont know how I would hit a woman...mabye throw her to the ground