Just a question on self-defense for women.

Isn't self-defense, just plain old self-defense period?

Why does it need to be seperated into Womens' and Mens' self-defense?

If you ask me the idea of Mens' or Womens' Self-Defense is stupid and sexist.

 

I can think of two reasons off the top of my head that they are a good idea.

-A man is unlikely to suffer a rape from the front (not equipped with the same tackle). I would say he is less likely to suffer a violent sexual assault full stop.

-A man is stronger than a woman (like it or not 9/10 times its the truth) so a women's self defence method should differ at least in part, from one designed for men.

 

people like to be pigeonholed.

 

I think it was created to be a safe place for women to ask self-defense questions without taking any flak or feeling silly.

 

The first point I can see but the second sounds biased to me.

I mean hey even to this day women are getting the short end of the end.

Personally I think as we move on in science the idea that men are naturally stronger then women will be proven wrong The only reason why the average woman isn't as strong as the average man is because of the body images we emphasize for men and women.

:woo: KILL THE PATRIARCHY!

 

Futh - I think it is great that we have a self-defence sub forum for women. As Domino said, it is a place women may feel a little more comfortable posting on.

Also I believe that a substantial portion of crimes committed against women are different in approach from those committed against men. Some examples may be that a woman is less likely to be engaged in a front on fist fight. Or that women may be more in danger of being attacked from behind (eg. in assault and rape cases). From a self-defence perspective, these would call for different strategies/training needs.

I am all for women's rights and 'equality' to a point. I would definitely say that men generally have more muscle mass, are bigger than women, engage in more physical activity (socialisation differences between young girls and boys) etc.

If you believe in the so called 'patriarchy' then you are your greatest obstacle.

 

How am I my own greatest obstacle?

Is it because I think the bias of men is still involved in the Academic and Scientific realms?

As for socialisation, again it's because our current culture. Not because of anything biological.

 

Woman and men generally get attacked differently so they have to be covered in different ways. I don't think its sexist. Woman are more prone to sexual attacks and mugging than men. Men are more likely going to end up using self defense against a gang type situation or a drunkard in a pub. Self defense for woman can be quite a sensitive thing. Woman lack the strength and the brute type nature that men have. I think the womans self defense section covers more on rape attacks and mugging more than the mens section does. Does anyone here understand the point I'm trying to make?

 

Garbage. Men are on average much bigger, stronger and faster than men. Which is why men and women cannot compete in the same divisions in physical sports. Women also have more body fat. It's not even a serious question. Every person involved in modern biological science knows that male humans are physically stronger than female humans. Deal with it.

Concerning self defense, men don't get sexually assaulted nearly as frequently as women do. That alone merits considering "women's self defense" separate from men's.

 

First of all from a biological standpoint, men have testosterone while women have estrogen. You can ask any female pro-body builder (there's only 70 well-known, hardcore competitors) if they are receiving some form of testosterone supplements.
Second, from a statistical standpoint, the type of violence done to women including assaults are different from men. Therefore, from an instructors' point of view, the training should be geared towards dealing with such attacks, as well as, situations where women are normally attacked.
Third, for those men who have sparred with women, they have a tendency to hold back while women have no qualms in hitting men. I've taught long enough to have seen the difference in performance, and i don't have a problem pitting women against men to push them.
Lastly, from a military standpoint, and this is not against women in the military but against men who feel and act that they have to protect their women comrades or under the assumption that women can't hold their weight in battle. It usually lead to a teams' downfall in times of crisis.
This are some issues that have to be considered and not because it is being sexist. This is just my perspective and you can do whatever you want with it.

 

Futh - you also need to realise that NO ONE is saying women can't train the same MA's as men do or the same types of workouts (whether it be weightlifting or running or whatever).

We are speaking of self-defence and the more common/unique situations that women face and how we can incorporate this into our MA training etc.

By the way, what style of MA do you train in?

 

What MA do I practice

I'm just a backyard Nunhucker, I like to hit people with Nunchaku. I pretty much taught myself from books. I also have a talent for making custom Nunchaku.

 

Any particular books? Are there no schools in your area where you could learn with an experienced instructor?

Out of curiousity may I ask if you're male or female?

 

Oh no....

 

Its for money making. Tell a woman that she is going to be raped unless you do this course, which afterwards she will never ever be raped.

I'm all for female only classes though. I can understand women not wanting to train with big sweaty mounds of testosterone, and I think that should be respected.

 

Absolute Rubbish, do you even know what Testosterone is?
Men have evolved to fight and hunt, we have a biological edge. However, we are lucky in the fact that our species isn't highly specialised and there our females can all perform these skills too if properly trained. However to believe that women and men are phyisically equal is just denying the biological facts.

The Bear.

 

In martial arts, I strongly disagree segregated classes. Women have to train with men else they are building a house of cards. Only when facing a man can they ever hope to train to resist one.

The Bear.

 

To me it's about context.
A man and a woman may both learn a palm strike (for example).
No bias there.
However the man may have to use it on a drunk bloke stood in front of him threatening to glass him in the face.
A woman may have to use it on a drunken acquaintance becoming to forceful in his advances.
Superficially there are similarities.
But there are also differences and those differences can be important.

The big failing of women's self defence classes to me is that they tend to favour the "stranger attacking from the bushes" as an assailant rather than the FAR more common "person you've known for a few months or even years" type of assailant.

 

For "martial arts" I agree that classes should be mixed as far as is possible, however the thread is about self defence whereby men and women are likely to face different threats and need to know how to act in those specific circumstances. This doesn't mean that men should not be involved in training women, as you say they need to know what it's like to face one, but the training style and techniques can be different.

There is a huge amount that applies to both sexes (remember self defence starts with an awareness of yourself and your surroundings, not with how to get out of this hold or that attack!), however there are a number of specific techniques that better suit one sex or other.

There is a commercial aspect to it too though. Partly it can be a money making way to sell a class, but it can also be because women and men often want to learn different things.

Men and women ARE different, and whilst nobody should think that this means that they "can't" do the same things, everybody should realise that it does mean that the two sexes have their own strengths and weaknesses which should be addressed in any form of training.

...... just my opinion of course!!!

 

Well I'm male, The book I first learned from was titled simply " Nunchaku"

The guy who wrote it was named Will Stone if I remember correctly. I haven't picked up the book in months so I don't know the anuthor's name of the top of my head. As to Instructors, no, I live in small town of less then 1000 people. The only Martial Arts Instructor in town is some guy who teaches Jiu Jutsu and Japanese stick arts. In other words staff arts like the Bo and Jo.