Men Hitting Women

[MasterPain]

I feel that contact level should be what is safe and consented to. No one should be struck harder than they want to be. And no one should be treated like a child based on gender.

[sensei8]

I feel that contact level should be what is safe and consented to. No one should be struck harder than they want to be. And no one should be treated like a child based on gender.

Solid post!!

[Lupin1]

That said, what's the Dan grade crying off for ?

I'm considering next time (and this guy does whine a lot) telling him this is a karate dojo, not a knitting class, but I'm not sure how that'd go over.

[blacknebula]

That said, what's the Dan grade crying off for ?

I'm considering next time (and this guy does whine a lot) telling him this is a karate dojo, not a knitting class, but I'm not sure how that'd go over.

My Sensei has a variation - "This is a karate class, not ballroom dancing".

[MasterPain]

The problem lies in something that was said to someone further back in my lineage. "No, they're not (vulgar term for weak people), they're customers."

[Lupin1]

The problem lies in something that was said to someone further back in my lineage. "No, they're not (vulgar term for weak people), they're customers."

Ahh, but we're a free program.

[DWx]

I feel that contact level should be what is safe and consented to. No one should be struck harder than they want to be. And no one should be treated like a child based on gender.

Good post.

Gender shouldn't come into it. I know, as other's have said, society fosters this idea of men never striking women, partly because they are deemed not to be as strong or as much of a threat to men as other men. But in the dojo to hell with that. If a female student comes to the dojo and expressly states that she wants to train harder and to be hit, then all other students should respect her enough to do this. If not you are doing her a disservice. If she should get attacked on the street or find herself in a similar situation you think her attacker is going to go easy because she's a woman? Likewise it is worth reminding men that females can and sometimes will hit them just as hard as men. Just take gender out of it, all students, whether male or female, have a right to ask you to ease up and strike lighter if they feel that the contact level is too much or to increase the contact levels if that's what they want from their training.

My rule for the dojang is to ignore gender and to always let the lesser skilled and experienced student dictate the contact level. If they are comfortable going harder then the more skilled person can respond to this and increase the intensity accordingly.

[MasterPain]

I once hit a woman half my size way too hard. She immediately taught me to always apologize with my guard up. One of 2 or 3 times that I've had to straighten my nose back out. She was respectable empty handed, but give her a blade and it was a thing of beauty.

[Wastelander]

The level of contact in the dojo should be appropriate to the individual, but gender and age are two factors that people constantly try to use to gauge what is appropriate instead of asking and testing.

We have a 14 year old girl at my dojo that can take a hit just as well as any boy her age, if not better. We have some people of both genders and different ages that are new to sparring and contact and need to be eased into it. We have some people with injuries or medical/psychological conditions to address. I have trained with girls from other schools who are tough as nails and girls from other schools who will forever give me the evil eye because I actually applied a joint lock to them. I have trained with guys who want to hit as hard as possible all the time and I have trained with guys who complain about a broken blood vessel in their finger from parrying a punch and want to stop.

Unless otherwise specified by the instructor (no contact, light contact only, etc.) the level of intensity and contact should suit the individual. Ask first, and then test by working your way up from no contact to the highest level their are comfortable with. Communication with your partners is key to fostering a safe and effective training environment!

[bushido_man96]

A law enforcement related article ya'll might find interesting that is relevant to this topic:

http://www.policeone.com/patrol-issues/articles/1877110-Female-suspects-They-CAN-hurt-you/

All too true. A few weeks back we were dealing with a drunk gal, and she ended up slapping me on the chest a few times when I was trying to restrain her. It didn't hurt at all, but I had that "what the hell?" thing going through my mind. It doesn't pay to discount anyone. I've seen lots of big dudes get arrested, but more often than not, I've seen the little guys be the fighters.