Women who have founded their own styles of martial arts?

So, MAP, I was just looking at Redcoat's answer on the 'Train with the founder of a style' thread about how the founder of a style may not be the practitioner of said style. True enough, but something about his use of teh pronoun he set off a train of thought about women who have founded their own style of martial art, as I couldn't think of any besides the legends about Wing Chun and Ng Mui.

I did a quick google search which didn't turn up much for me, though the following article came up and I found it interesting in its own right (leave alone its relationship to my question).

http://chinesemartialstudies.com/20...nder-of-the-fujian-yongchun-boxing-tradition/


Did a brief search here on MAP and that also didn't turn up much (though my MAP-fu may not be that great). So I turn to you, denizens of MAP...

Are there any women out there who are the founders of their own style of martial art, whether Eastern, Western or otherwise?*



*By founder of a style, I mean someone who has either founded an entire branch of martial art (i.e., Karate, Savate) or has founded their own offshoot style (i.e., Wado-Ryu Karate, Capoeira Regional, Larry's Krav Maga and Azerbaijani Diner--okay that one's made up).

 

Do you include mythical founders in that?

 

Well he did include Ng Mui

 

I only mention Ng Mui as a woman who came to mind as a woman believed to have founded a style, but I'd rather focus on women who have actually existed.

 

Missed that in my initial skim read, hence my question!

 

No worries! I'm very interested in knowing if there are any and who they might be. And though I am restricting the topic from fictional women, I still would like to hear about women even if they have founded what might sham martial arts, because now I'm even wondering if that sort of posturing has been exclusively male thus far!

 

The only thing I can think of which comes close is Joan of Arc's use of artillery as a change in tactics in Europe. It's not technically a martial art but you could stretch the change in warfare tactics to being martial style.

 

Blind Princess Josephina of the Pulahane tribe in Gandari, Samar was the favourite teacher of Floro Villabrille - not much is known about her so I cannot categorically state she was a founder of the kali system she taught, but Floro states she was the best he ever met (high praise)

 

Interesting! Thanks, Hannibal!

 

I hate to bring this up but what about Christa Jacobson? While i think most of her tomo ryu claims are nonsense, that does mean that the rest of her art i actually all that bad. From my basic and limited understanding she took her Kenpo and mixed it around her Bujinkan training. Mix in some sparring at their official dojo's and you may have a makings of a decent style.

I watched some of there training videos and alot of it looked good. Though some of the weapon work looked suspiciously like FMA to me.

However none of that excuses the fact she made up some of the ryu ha she claims to teach. Though it must be noted the exact same argument is often lobbed at the Bujinkan so im not so sure how valid it is.

Good lord that comes off like a fanboy commercial. Far from it clearly she is deluded or was lied to and believed it regarding some of what she was taught.

The only thing that matters in this regard is weather or not she or her students can fight or handle real pressure. That is the only thing that matters honestly, well that and not soaking people of their money.

 

What evidence is there that Moi did not exist?

 

Technically - assuming the claims are taken at face value - Jacobson is transferring a system not the founder

Of course the fact its all made up means she IS a founder, but doesnt claim to be....which is a bit of a puzzler

 

Ng Mui appears to be a fictional character from late Qing and early republican literature. Her role changes according to fashion, so in her early appearances she is a government agent hunting down anti Qing rebels and by the republican period she has been re-cast as a Shaolin hero.
She first appears in the novel "Everlasting" from the 1880s.

 

Indeed, excellent piece by the ever excellent Ben Judkins (the author of the article Dormindo posted).
http://chinesemartialstudies.com/2012/08/31/did-ip-man-invent-the-story-of-yim-wing-chun/

 

I've never held to the idea that the objective historical accuracy of the Ng Mui/Yim Wing Chun legend are not really of any importance. I've always found the idea of having a female founder to be more of an ever present training guide for the system; body structure and efficient movement over muscle power, sensitivity over trying to smash through defenses, training as though you are always smaller and less muscular etc.

 

None of this is evidence that Mui did not exist. It is evidence that the creation myth of win chung is made up - But no one would seriously believe the Snake fighting a crane story anyway. It does not preclude the existence of a woman called Mui who first choreographed the style of win chung.

 

Lets reverse it then - where is the proof she DID exist?

 

The fact that she's a fictional character doesn't mean she isn't real? The fact that the Wing Chun creation myth is made up doesn't mean she's not real? The fact that there's no mention of her in any form until a work of fiction published 150 years after her supposed death doesn't mean she's not real? The lack of anything to support her historical existence coupled with a fairly clear evolution of her character in fiction to the story you see in martial arts "history " doesn't mean she isn't real?

 

Pah you can prove anything with facts !