Why dont many girls do Judo?

Discussion in 'Judo' started by pink warrior, Aug 6, 2005.

  1. pink warrior

    pink warrior New Member

    Just a question, why dont many girls do judo? personally i think judo is great and that more girls should take it up. do u lot think that judo is primarily a guys sport?
     
  2. Slindsay

    Slindsay All violence is necessary

    Maybe it's because they are uncomfortable with the whole concept of wrestling with big sweaty men? Grappling has a bad reputation in that way as whole I think.
     
  3. Freeform

    Freeform Fully operational War-Pig Supporter

    Not many girls do MA at all :eek:

    Especially contact ones :(
     
  4. Zapatista

    Zapatista New Member

    When I went to observe a class at a local judo dojo the class was split with as many girls as guys. Of course the oldest girl there was probably 13 and the guys ranged from 13- 25 but the gender split was equal
     
  5. pink warrior

    pink warrior New Member

    being a girl i think its really important for girls to know how to defend themselves. most of the guys at my dojo are very big built and seeing as im only 5ft 5 and naturally ave a slender frame, most of the higher graded men do end up painfully throwing me, but im kind of used to it now lol. :)
     
  6. pink warrior

    pink warrior New Member

    i totally agree with that, its a shame really. i love the all the contact though. so far ive managed to break my nose twice, cheek, collabone, arm and deslocate my jaw. i think most sane girls would have given up training by now. i usually find if i have to spar with a relativley new girl, then i end up scaring them off lol. (dont know why)
     
  7. Juego Todo

    Juego Todo Stay thirsty, my friends.

    I agree with what everyone has said thus far. The comfort-level issue is definitely a factor; unfortunately, with some justification.

    I recall a story within the past 2 or 3 years in which a judo sensei a few townships away had been charged & sentenced to time in jail for unspeakable assaults against a few female students in his dojo, all under the guise of practicing osae-komi-waza. The dojo closed, the students felt disillusioned, the females vowed to not practice judo again, he's still in jail, etc.

    On the flipside, not all men are perverts, although you can't help a girl from feeling a bit paranoid. Female-on-female randori, etc., is good up to a point. It's a way of getting the female judoka used to rolling with different people. But, if practice always remains with another female, then there's some false sense of security being created as most attackers would probably be male in gender.

    Practicing with males would ideally be the best way to train so that the level of roughness would be expected and not necessarily foreign to the female judoka should she ever find herself in a self-defence situation. On that note, male judoka should use their discretion along with the consent of their female judoka, when it comes to determining what level of intensity the training should be at any given time. Going too soft or gentle may be fine at the start, but that in itself will not prepare the female judoka for the real world in the end.

    Perhaps female judoka can wear dipped-foam chest guards that are available through some martial arts suppliers? That way, there'll be some kind of a physical barrier where awkwardness can be reduced. He won't feel hesitant to grapple with her for fear of grazing her chest and she won't feel violated or groped. Then they can get down to some serious training without all of the distractions encountered when males & females train together at close range.
     
  8. TheCount

    TheCount Happiness is a mindset

    I just think the whole idea of rolling about the ground possibly with men or other gals is a bit unnerving and yeh the fact it might turn on some of the guys makes it a bit worse lol.
     
  9. Scaramouch

    Scaramouch Lost Soul

    Once you are in a clinch on the ground with someone either trying to pin or submit you - you don't tend to think about much else other than escape and counter regardless of what sex that person is. If I don't know my opponent I tend to go more with their grade to dictate the level of intensity. In my experience, the senior female judo players tend to get annoyed if you ease up too much. Obviously big, size mis-matches don't work very well but that goes for male vs male as much as male vs female.
     
  10. karate princess

    karate princess Savvy??

    yeah, i do lol. but the guys go really easy because their scared of hurting me. im quite small built so i dont suppose that helps either! :D
     
  11. pink warrior

    pink warrior New Member

    i find that happens 2
     
  12. Kwajman

    Kwajman Penguin in paradise....

    I think if the woman is spending too much time worrying about being groped she's in the wrong sport.
     
  13. TheCount

    TheCount Happiness is a mindset

    I think its also an issue of they cant swallow their pride, they are too good to roll around the ground
     
  14. Evil Betty

    Evil Betty Birdy, birdy birdy

    I don't mind. I love pulling grappling moves on people who only do striking arts, or no MA at all. It freaks them out. :D I really want to join a Judo club.
     
  15. LiaoRouxin

    LiaoRouxin Valued Member

    What are you talking about not many of us do Judo? o_O

    I don't know about America, but in Singapore and especially Kyoto (probably the rest of Japan, I just haven't been there) lots and lots of women do Judo. I've got a couple of friends whom I know from outside Judo who also take it and many women from Japan I notice have some experience in Judo or Karate, like my best friend took Kendo and Judo when she was in gradeschool in Kyoto.
     
  16. pink warrior

    pink warrior New Member

    I'm only talking about the women in england, but it doesn't surprise me that lots of women do judo in singapore and other countries.
     
  17. JudoChibiMom

    JudoChibiMom New Member

    Where have all the girls gone?

    I know I am a Johnny-come-lately to this subject but I have to agree. I am the ONLY girl in my dojo. The smallest guy weighed 174 last night and weighs in as much as 178. I think at first the guys were a little scared they would break me but as time goes on they see that I'm not gonna play nice so they fight back. The hardest part is the height difference. I think girls may THINK that it's wierd to wrestle with a guy, but there are NO sexual thoughts when you have a 180 pound guy in your guard trying to choke you!! I would LOVE to have some girls to randouri with but I guess whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger huh?
     
  18. badgoat

    badgoat New Member

    I took Judo as a teenager and LOVED it. It was taught on a military base and I never felt out of place. Maybe there isn't enough promotion of Judo as a sport for women. We need a Mia Hamm.

    I have just re-started an MA program and there are more women in my school than men. I also think part of it is the instructor himself. He's not an ego-maniac with something to prove and he's an excellent teacher. A big turn-off for me in the past has been dealing with some of the male egos in the dojo/dojang. God, who has time for it. I don't see it with women as much, though I'm sure it's there, too.

    If we had Judo where I am now, I'd take it up again.
     
  19. linnetsmith

    linnetsmith Extremly Valued member..

    I supply first aid at the BJA compations and grading. There is just as many men as there is women, it is the same with the kids. But genarly the guys get the more seriouse injurys not sure why.
     
  20. Kyouretsu

    Kyouretsu New Member

    I think a lot of it is what people are exposed to...
    I had never considered Judo when I was growing up. It wasn't offered in my town... and the city that is close had it... but I had never heard anything about it. Now that my town has a dojo... I wonder how I could have gotten to be the age I am ... without having discovered Judo and Ju Jitsu at an earlier age!!

    I finally started training at age 31! I know that my first few classes (both judo and ju jitsu in a mixed environment) were a little "weird". I didn't really know the people that I was training with... and to be in the guard or take someone into your guard is odd to those who have never done it! lol... To someone who hasn't done any martial arts at all... this is kind of a private space! ;)

    My daughter started Judo at 6 years old. She loves it! She has a very competitive spirit (wonder who that came from! lol)... and she really thrives on the challenge of judo!
    I think it is a great sport for girls to train in! It helps build confidence... and it helps them to learn respect for themselves!!

    The competitive Judo team that I trained with last year was a small group of judoka who wished to further their competition skills. The team was only about 15-18 members... only three of those men/boys!!!
     

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