Any female martial artists in here?

My girlfriend and I are both 5th kyu students of Seiwakai Aikido. Anyway, the other night, I wasn't able to attend the class so I sent her a text message asking how was the session. To make a long story short, she was paired with two guys and they took turns practicing with each other. Now I know that at least one guy there is a newbie, so she outranks him. Hell, I'm not sure cause I wasn't there, but I think she outranked them both. BUt she noticed that the two guys were being very gentle, like they were afraid to hurt her cause she's a girl. Then when the class ended, one of the guys (not sure which one) said that he was being "generous" during the practice - read: being gentle because she was a girl. She was really pissed off.

Anyway, for the female martial artists here, (and this includes boxers, fencers, hell any form of combat that doesn't involve a gun), have you also had similar experiences in your own dojo? If so, what did you do? What guidelines would you suggest to make a dojo more gender-sensitive? Most guys are afraid to spar with women because we've been taught it's taboo. But if women really want to learn how to defend themselves, then us guys shouldn't hold back, right?

 

I know a girl a year older than I that was an assistant to a Master at my brother's Tae Kwan Do/Kum Do studio. She commanded a lot of respect and was given it; I never got to see her fight but I'm sure she went through the same thing.

 

I played basketball for many years.... I had to play on the boys team because there were too many girls. They would ALWAYS take it easy on us, not block us out, or anything... so me and the other girl just fought harder and harder, and played rougher and rougher until the doods got the picture....

 

When I lived in Davao, several instructors refused to teach me Tae Kwon Do because I was a "girl". Nevermind that I played full contract hockey in Canada on a boys team. Nevermind that I am taller, stronger and weight more than most Filopino men. They wouldn't teach me because I had a vagina.

Eventually I found a man who would teach me. What changed his mind? I kicked him in the head and then dropped into the splits... he realized the others were being stupid.

 

I studied Judo for about 2 years and Goju-Ryu Karate for another two. Had to quit due to schedule issues but I still love martial arts.

I never had a problem because of being a girl. I took much interest and dedication in my training, and especially my Karate sensei noticed that, encouraging me to train with black belts and for more time than other guys who attended classes just to fool around and show off.

Women can be just as good martial artists. If you are unhappy about how you are being treated by your colleagues or masters, talk to them. If you still have no respect from them, find a dojo/dojang/etc that will treat you right.

 

I took tae kwon do as a teenager. I think I never had a problem with this unless the person didn't know me very well. And I think that is because we had a very diverse group, and the first thing we'd do was show our strength, and then we'd have people attack us, and I actually tended to go easy on people, because I figured they wouldn't think I was as strong as I was, unless of course I knew them well.

But we did a lot of group bonding type activities so that everyone was comfortable with and knew everyone's abilities/weaknesses, and personalities. So usually this wasn't a problem. Unless it was someone new.

 

I live in Davao! When did you stay here and how long?

Yeah, that usually does the trick. I oughtta tell my girlfriend to make them tap out on the mat. That's the first time I've heard of a case like yours, though; a lot of the instructors I know here encourage women to learn. It's the male students who tend to underestimate women - until they get their asses kicked, of course.

 

I was Kendo-ka for three years. I loved the fact that gender meant little when it came to sparring and most tournements. Strength is certainly an asset to the sport but speed is the key and it's great when you can see a four foot nothing, slyph of an asian girl win a match against a brickshithouse built man.

 

yeah that's the other thing, I'm also really short, and slender and yeah, never really had a problem, more than once or twice with someone new.

 

I've been practicing thaiboxing since I was 15. A lot of the guys I've been training with haven't taken me seriously at first.. I guess it's easier to make jokes and be a bit condescending than admit that a woman can kick your ass coz that would just be so bad for a man's ego. Yes I know that's a big big generalization but that's how it's been in my experience.

 

Amen. That's why I love Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Even though it's choreographed with a lot of special effects, i still had a blast watching Zhang Ziyi take on everyone in a restaurant.

Anyway, Aikido is similar. Not that strength isn't important, but it is the proper application of strength and speed plus the momentum of the attacker that allows even a seemingly fragile 99-pound woman to throw a man twice her size and weight.