Do you think it's appropriate for women to train with men?

[dwarf2]

I have 4 children all grown and grand children 1 daughter and all my children grappled, my daughter loved it and the way i saw was if a man got my daughter on the ground it was probably for one thing, so i wanted my daughter to have the advantage and putting her with male partners got her use to the ideal of how to deal with males , now i don't worry so much . If i had it to do over i would push her even harder because she's daddy's little girl.

[JiuJitsuNation]

I have 4 children all grown and grand children 1 daughter and all my children grappled, my daughter loved it and the way i saw was if a man got my daughter on the ground it was probably for one thing, so i wanted my daughter to have the advantage and putting her with male partners got her use to the ideal of how to deal with males , now i don't worry so much . If i had it to do over i would push her even harder because she's daddy's little girl.

YES SIR!!!!

[trexedenyahoo.com]

If she is conservative and a Christian, you might want to mention that God had people wrestle!

[bushido_man96]

Female Kickboxing great Kathy Long trained exclusively with men. It worked out well for her career.

[sensei8]

Female Kickboxing great Kathy Long trained exclusively with men. It worked out well for her career.

Good point! Kathy trained with Eric Nolan from Bakerfield, CA at one time.

[senseikellam]

I personally feel that as a woman, training with men as given me an edge in being better able to defend myself should I ever be put in a real life or death situation against a man. I often spar with a man that is over 6 ft tall and 225 pounds and I often win the sparring match.

[Sarah Battersby-Lebarron]

In tournament, I have sparred with people my own sex but a decade younger and I have sparred with grown men, it's about rank and weight, not sex.

In club sparring, I have sparred my 8 year old son, my husband (much to the delight of all watching), women my age, little girls, and one woman I will politely call "venerable." In a club of 25, we have 3 women, two grown men and the rest are little boys. If we didn't mix up ages and sexes, no one would spar.

I told one student a while back who made fun of a karate-ka for sparring a girl that "girl or boy, we are all karate-ka, and all due the same respect." Why should we treat each other any different because of what dangly bits we have?

Maybe because I am a MAmom, I just don't see the issue. There aren't girls and boys on the mats, there are combatants, martial artists, students.

That said, and speaking strictly as a mother now, I DO completely understand what her mother might be thinking. I can't imagine it's easy for her to watch her daughter get slammed to the floor by a guy (even if she slams back).

perhaps having mom talk to other girls who have competed may help. If older women or girls who have done this type of competition could talk to mom, help her to understand, she may be willing to make a compromise.

[rmurray]

Are you talking about strictly teenage boys your own age, or grown Men too? I'm no expert in BJJ culture, but as a 31 yo man I would positively refuse to grapple with a girl your age. I just wouldn't want to create an opportunity for a misunderstanding. I suppose most responsible adult males would feel the same way. Am I crazy?

[honoluludesktop]

Hi, I'm a 14 year old girl (almost 15) .......... My mom just keeps saying that it's not appropriate to fight the guys!

I don't think fighting guys is as much a problem for her as is the potential sexual contact.

What is your opinion on this? Does anyone know how I can convince my mom to change her mind?

The other side of this is "How can your mom change your mind". Can you understand her point of view?

[Lupin1]

The age thing is definitely an issue. But to be very, very honest, as a 23-year-old female, if I were grappling with a good looking male anywhere near my age, I would probably be having distracting thoughts. Nothing very inappropriate, but enough that it would be distracting.