Girls

[karate_woman]

Here is a quote from an interview with Erin Toughill. She is a MMA that stands 5'10 and is a pretty solid 165lbs. With her size and build she can physically match a lot of men, but she doesn't think men and women should compete against each other in MMA.

 

Her first answer almost contradicts her second one in a way, but she is consistent in that she doesn't think men and women should compete against each other - the second answer is clearer than the first as to her reasoning.

 

Do you really compete with men?

 

 

 

I don't believe in FIGHTING men. Why? There is no point. It is a losing situation either way. I TRAIN w/ men though and they definitely don't go easy on me. They treat me the same as everyone else on the team. Maybe at first they say "Oh this is a girl. What can she do?" But when they roll w/ me or do boxing w/ me they realize VERY QUICKLY that I have the ability to tap them out or knock them out. I am not a woman who hits like a girl - I am a woman who hits like a man. I have great boxing skills and have outboxed a lot of men I have trained w/ Maybe it is because I listen more and dedicate more time to training. I don't know... But I enjoy training w/ the boys. It makes me stronger.

 

 

 

What do you think about mixed combative competitions in other combative sports? Is it possible at all that women can be on an equal footing with men in boxing and wrestling?

 

 

 

As a whole - No way. But there are some women who can be better athletes than men. But men (as a whole) are stronger, faster, and more technical then women. If there is one girl out there who thinks different - she must not be training w/ good fighters. If I go against a man who is my weight and skill level – I will probably lose. It's just nature that's all...

 

For the rest of the interview check out http://www.fscclub.com/interviews/toughill-e.shtml

Edited May 28, 2003 by karate_woman

[Guest]

I prefer to roll with girls. I dunno, that's just my personal preference.

[tommarker]

Treating women in our dojang like girls is an excellent way to find yourself crawling on the floor readjusting your cup and trying to pull your mouthpiece out of your hindquarters.

[IAMA_chick]

i hate questions like these, no offense, because everyone is always questioning girls, no one ever questions guys in martial arts. the 2 highest belts at my school are girls. and my instructor is a girl too. it depends on the girl and the guy. everyone is different. one girl might be better at forms and a guy might be better at self defense, or something. it totally depends on the people. i will go against any guy to try and prove my point!

[A_mind_like_water]

I'm going to have to say that males are physically more adept at fighting simply due to anatomy. Now before everybody jumps all over me, please listen to what I have to say and read all of my post before criticizing. This is a look at facts without trying to accuse either gender of being the lesser gender.

 

In a majority of cases, males are stronger than females and can take a lot more hits than they can. Yes, I understand, there is always the case of so and so who is stronger than a lot of guys or this girl beat that guy, etc. Thats okay, but as a general rule, guys are simply physically superior to females in this aspect. As one who has experience with the military, both personal and in the family, there is a reason why there are reasons for the different physical standards for males and females. I can tell you, on a long rifle and ruck run, it is usally the females that will fall towards the end of the pack. My biology professor also states that due to knee and hip position, it is more difficult for women to pivot and lunge (which is why there are many females who get injured playing tennis).

 

In addition, there is also a tendency in males to be more aggressive in fighting situations. Again, I know there are always those exceptions out there, and that is what they are, exceptions. Whether this is explained by genetics or a constructivist social theory is irrelevant for the purposes of this current discussion, which purpose is not to discuss the roots right now.

 

Fortunately for females, martial arts just isn't about pure strength either. And like many people say, there are always those females that train hard and overcome barriers and are just as strong, fast, and hard-hitting as many guys out there if not more. Since it isn't about pure strength, which is how you get really old martial arts masters that still clean the floor with young, energetic students, there is a chance for a balancing to occur.

 

All this leads me to my conclusion: Men generally have an advantage over women in the physical aspect of fighting. However, just as smaller or older men are able to overcome bigger men through martial arts (whether or not the bigger man is a martial artist or not), women have this same opportunity. Thus males have an advantage over women, but this can be overcome by training.

 

Just as a sidenote, on flexibility, I think much of the belief in female flexibility (although there is some anatomical grounding to it, I am not sure how much simply because I do not know) and the fact that females will always be more flexible is similar to this. There is a societal view (at least in America) that flexibility is somewhat unmanly and dissuades many guys from really trying to get flexible. Just take a look at male gymnasts. They are perhaps some of the strongest people pound-for-pound and are very strong just in general and go through some very intense workouts, but there are always those who snicker at them. (I think its kinda cool, actually).

 

If you can't tell, I tend to take a constructivist critical theory look at many things (for all of you familiar with such political science terminology).

 

Lastly, I have said on other posts, I have no problems with female martial artists because I just know that my future wife will be one.

 

HOLY CRAP! you wernt kiding when you said that you always give a long answer to simple questions were you?

 

I agree with you completly on what you just said

[wilko9999]

thanks for all of the great replys

[ninjanurse]

I am a firm believer that when there is a standard to be met, the best will meet it-regardless of their sex.

 

[theswarm]

i reckon guys might be stronger but girls seem more coordinated and have better reflexes

[MawashiGeri60]

both are good enough to learn karate do .. .its a style for all sex and ages

[delta1]

Better is a pretty subjective term. I look at this more from a standpoint of general strengths and weakneses. Men do tend to be stronger, larger, and more aggressive. Women tend to use more finesse. I used to climb mountains, and this really showed up there. Men usually try to tackle the mountain and pound it into submission. Women usually use better technique to work up the face. But when you find both general traits in a person of either gender, a strong aggressive person with finesse, you are looking at an excellent climber. Same with the martial arts.

 

I guess I'd have to give the advantage to the men in general. But you underestimate the women at your peril.