Can women fight?

[joesteph]

This reminds me of when my sister was in high school in the 1970s, and there were "girls' rules" for basketball. It consisted of different limitations.

Times changed and there was no difference between boys and girls' rules. The game didn't falter, it became more exciting.

So long as women are competing against other women, I find no reason to alter--which usually means to introduce limitations--the rules that men go by.

[tonydee]

This reminds me of when my sister was in high school in the 1970s, and there were "girls' rules" for basketball. It consisted of different limitations.

Times changed and there was no difference between boys and girls' rules. The game didn't falter, it became more exciting.

So long as women are competing against other women, I find no reason to alter--which usually means to introduce limitations--the rules that men go by.

Volleyball's an interesting contrast to basketball, in that the extra jumping height's important to be able to spike whereas in basketball the game's not ruined by an absence of slam dunks (is it? ) - shots can be upward so absolute height and jumping ability is less important. In volleyball, they do have different net heights for men and women (7' 11 5/8" vs 7' 4 1/8"). I can't really see that there's much choice.

I'm not sure about martial sports. I don't really approve of them in the first place, so it's hard for me to mix in an extra dynamic and consider it independently. My first thought it that when in doubt let people decide for themselves, but of course many people find themselves pushed towards abusive or destructive behaviours through other pressures, so that's not really a sound approach. Arbitrary interference with peoples' freedoms is a very serious step though. Different martial arts/sports have different kinds, extents and probability profiles for injury too, so maybe the approach most organisations/governments presumably end up taking is as good as it gets: let people do stuff, if there are injuries then require corresponding rule changes and/or protective gear, until the number of actual injuries is minimal (or better, start conservatively and slacken the safety requirements if it's proven sufficiently safe to do so). Many factors come into play then... change any one of the myriad factors - rules and gear, weight classes, genders, mixing of ranks, #/length of rounds, compulsory rest between fights, etc. - and you need a new period for that evolutionary process to pan out based on empirical evidence. But, that's the way we really do everything in life, from setting speed limits, letting people hang glide or rock climb (or smoke for that matter), to approving medical treatments.

[bushido_man96]

I can see where there are disagreements coming in with changing how the women's fights would be. But, looking at it from a scientific standpoint at how the bodies would respond/react takes the subjectiveness out of it.

[yeshadette21]

That is a very provocative question, but here's a pretty evenhanded article that discusses women in MMA.

http://training.sherdog.com/doctors-corner/news/105589-can-women-fight

He makes it clear that he has a lot of respect for women's MMA. He's just bringing up the topic of proper precautions to protect their safety.

Well, women can also fight for their rights. Women needs also to protect their safety. Nowadays, a lot of women are have a training for self defends for them to fight in times of trouble.

[isshinryu5toforever]

Did you read the article?

[Davisonsensei]

One of my instuctors wives that i had the privlige to spar with threw me every which way. There was absolutly nothing i could do. Of course she is the highest ranking female master outside Japan:)

[MasterPain]

If women can join the military, what right can the same government have to say they can't fight in a controlled environment?

[Lupin1]

If women can join the military, what right can the same government have to say they can't fight in a controlled environment?

I don't think it really has anything to do with the government. It's more the MMA associations who make up the rules.

[Liver Punch]

The idea that women shouldn't or can't fight in the sport of MMA is an amazingly ridiculous argument.

Addressing the idea of whether or not they can compete at an elite level is entirely a matter of opinion. Many would argue that Kimbo Slice, Bob Sapp, and after his last fight against Matt Hughes even Royce Gracie cannot compete at an elite level in MMA. Are women fighters at the top of their division likely to beat their male counterparts? Likely not. Would anyone on this forum who weighs 145 lbs. do well in a Mixed Martial Arts match against Cristiane Santos? I think the answer is likely not to that question as well. So, it's reasonable to say that a man cannot compete at an elite level by virtue of being a man, and a woman cannot be excluded by such competition by virtue of being a woman alone.

Men have greater muscle mass, larger bones, less fat, etc. That's a great argument, and I think it has a great deal of merit. However, it turns out that Brock Lesnar has larger muscles, bones, and hands than Dominick Cruz. That's why the athletic commissions came up with those nifty weight classes - to prevent people with body types that are too dissimilar from fighting each other. It's also why they decided that women should have their own separate divisions.

Should women be protected by athletic commissions? The absolutely should be, just like men should be 100% protected. Is it the athletic commission's duty to worry about whether or not a woman can get pregnant while training for the sport? Of course not. Female Olympic athletes in almost every sport have reported the loss of a period, being physically drained, and having to subject themselves to extreme diet. It comes with the territory, and everyone who enters the territory is subject to it.

What are we left with then? Female runners and swimmers are typically slower than males in the same sport. Female power lifters are typically weaker than male power lifters. There are very few sports that are highly demanding physically that women excel beyond men in. These women push themselves as hard as they can. They have incredibly controlled diets, they work out many, many hours through the week, they get injured, and they do all of it through the prime of their life - just like female Mixed Martial Artists.

[isshinryu5toforever]

That's the main argument in the article. A more appropriate title, which has been pointed out in recent posts is should women fight men? That's really the big thing brought out.