female segregation

[tenguartist]

hi to all.

 

this topic is for all. im still just a teen and really curious because i hope to be a martial art teacher one day. please i ask you to take no offence if i say something wrong.

 

i've noticed a very popular trend among 'girls only' martial arts classes. i belong to a mixed dojo and personally i like it like that because it gives me a good perspective of what it is like to fight against both sexes. so i've began to question these female only classes. what is the purpose of this action? their main objective seems to be self defence. so why would they ignore the fact that most attackers are male? could they be setting themselves up for failure? true, being among your own gender would create a more comfortable atmosphere but shouldn't a school simulate a more realistic combat situation? how would these girls react when placed in a real and more stressful fighting situation?

 

any comments/advice would be greatly apprectiated.

 

bye bye for now:)

[Warp Spider]

I believe it is, as you say, because some girls don't feel comfortable training with men. I think you are right that they should train against both men and women, though generally even in mixed classes they try to pair off people of similar sizes.. so even there you miss the practice against someone larger/smaller than yourself.

[Bart the Lover]

I'm in two minds as to the wisdom of female-only martial arts.

 

On the one hand, they are better than nothing. Also, some women may

 

have religious reasons for seeking a women and girls facility; it's

 

important that their needs are catered for. And it might act as a stepping

 

stone for women who are initially a little intimidated by the thought of

 

training with men. You also have to remember that some women may

 

have been violently assualted and do not want to put themselves in a

 

situation where they feel they do not have full control. Also, the weak

 

spots on a man's body are the same as on a woman's--with the exception

 

of the groin. Knee, shin, eyes, throat etc.

 

On the other hand, training selectively means you will inevitably miss

 

a variety of experience. The more people you train with (which means

 

more to spar with) the greater the range of styles and approaches you

 

will encounter. Some people are tall, some short; some favour hands

 

over legs, some the other way around; some like to get in close and

 

grapple, some like to sweep (depending on your art, too). Even in

 

something as apparently ordinary as a jab-cross-hook combination can

 

vary from individual to individual. So I believe it pays to train with anyone

 

who is willing to train with you! But then this is an issue for small clubs,

 

too. A large female-only club will have greater variety than a small mixed

 

club.

shouldn't a school simulate a more realistic combat situation?

 

I suppose the answer to this depends on whether you believe the mere

 

fact a woman trains with men makes it more realistic. I don't think it does.

 

The one exception to this I think is grappling. Men's greater upper body

 

strength makes it important for women grapple with men, at least some

 

of the time. What can be made to work on another woman may not work

 

with the same ease on a man. Again, this depends on your art.

 

I think men benefit from working with women, too. Certain locks are

 

easier to apply on the average man. The average woman seems to have

 

(in my experience) greater flexibility, and it can be harder to make them

 

work. It's important to be able to respond to this.

 

To sum up: I appreciate the need for these clubs, but on the whole I think

 

mixed clubs have more to offer.

 

Regards,

 

Bart the Lover

[Red J]

I have noticed many health clubs cater to women only. They are showing success. Could MA studios be picking up on that to expose a market niche?

[Valithor]

People generally don't learn self-defence for self-defence. Not having men in a womens-only club may remove the realism somewhat.. but this may be of little consequence for the majority of people training there.

[Valithor]

I have noticed many health clubs cater to women only. They are showing success. Could MA studios be picking up on that to expose a market niche?

 

Yes, I suspect that may be quite true!

[battousai16]

well, we have a woman only club around here, and they invite men to be practice dummys. sounds a little harsh, but i was invited once (my mom is friends with the owner) and it's really a lot of fun. and, for the record, they didn't have much trouble transitioning from female to male. they through me across the mat just like they did all there partners

[tenguartist]

thanx alot, i see what your all saying.

 

but still i have a few questions. quite a while ago i noticed that the girls who train in my dojo are becoming more aggresive(somewhat determined) than they were when the first started. im not going to dismiss the fact that this could be happening in every school, but could this be due to the fact that they are training with males who are generally more aggresive? i personally have become more aggresive too. so thats why i want to know, if i were to become a teacher(sensei, sifu...whatever it is) and some female students ask for a female only class, what should i do? should i just ignore the fact that i could be setting them up for inevitable trouble?

 

thanx for any comments dudes

 

laters:)

[Kamidake]

Maybe they're just getting more comfortable with the idea of contact sports? Most girls have little experience with contact sports growing up; girls don't normally roughhouse around as boys do. (Messes up our hair. )

[ShotokanKen]

girls can do anything the guys can go