Right,come on fellow women....

Discussion in 'Women's Self Defence' started by Su lin, Jan 4, 2008.

  1. Su lin

    Su lin Gone away

    I just realised how little this sub forum is used, mainly by us ladies on map. I know there aren't many of us here, but I think we should engage in some meaningful self defence debate. You boys can join in by all means, but this shouldn't turn into one of those boy vs girls threads.

    A couple of questions really that seem pretty basic, but I'm just interested.

    -How many of you women on here actually train your ma for self defence? What do you think you get from your ma that you think would/might work if you got attacked?

    -Do you think the notion of "just run as fast as you can to get out of the way" is a valid one? I mean,obviously there are some situations where this wouldn't be possible.

    I usually try and avoid all situations where I would become vulnerable. I mean, it would be wonderful to be able to walk around on your own at all times ,anywhere, but we need to face up to the fact that this just isn't possible.

    - Have you ever done a self defence course and learned anything of use? I have done a few and they were all crappy. The only thing I remembered was attack the groin or stamp on their toe in your high heels ( which of course I wear ALL the time!) :rolleyes:


    I hope we get some interesting debate going. :)
     
  2. piratebrido

    piratebrido internet tough guy

    Do women run self defense courses? The only ones I can remember running were run by big burly men, which I found amusing.

    Why do women get the good advise - stay out of situations, aware of surroundings, yell, go for the nuts and stamp on feet - while guys are told to be Chuck Norris and roundhouse kick that chump till he can't stand up?
     
  3. Su lin

    Su lin Gone away

    Yeah I only ever encountered men doing it,oddly,though I am sure there must be women out there who do them.Perhaps not!

    Must be a macho thing, perhaps it's less socially acceptable for a man to run from a situation and avoid getting hurt.Or maybe it's a testosterone thing?
     
  4. slipthejab

    slipthejab Hark, a vagrant! Supporter

    Some additional questions I've always been curious about in regards to womens self defense and martial arts... I'll just tack them on here... I understand that these sorts of questions can be of a highly sensitive nature... so answer as much or as little as you feel like.

    1) Had you have actually been physically attacked or assaulted prior to training?

    2) Have you been attacked or assaulted physically since taking up an MA?

    3) Were you close friends or a relative of someone who was attacked?

    4) In general would you say you were a confident person before with a postive outlook before training in MA?

    5) Did training MA improve your self image and confidence?

    6) Did you ever encounter negative attitudes from males regarding your training in martial arts... eg. boyfriends/fathers/coworkers?

    7) Would say while you were growing up that your mother was a physically strong woman capable of handling herself in the event of an attack?

    8) Who was more receptive to the idea of you studying martial arts - your mother or your father? And why do you think they were?

    :)
     
  5. slipthejab

    slipthejab Hark, a vagrant! Supporter

    Testosterone and up until recently the self defense course industry was primarily run by men.
     
  6. Victoria

    Victoria Pretzel In Training

    Hahahahaaaa!

    Was talking about these 'courses' last night actually while discussing a female friend who could parrot the course perfectly with romantic ideals of poking a guy in the eye and watching him drop on the floor and surrender. It's ridiculous. My conclusion was you'd have more chance screaming and stuggling frantically than you would trying to recite one of those "womens courses". IMO they do more harm than good.

    I have a bad habit of forgetting that I am infact a girl and not a bloke. Running, I doubt would be an option for me unless I disabled the person first, I can't run for poo.

    But I really don't see myself or my trainig as any different from a guy (except the obvious differences).
     
  7. piratebrido

    piratebrido internet tough guy

    Perhaps some of you gals have found a niche market - Self Defence course run by women for women. After all, chicks only kickboxing classes do well. Some swimming pools do women only sessions.

    The "Chicks, no dicks!" market is quite popular, if you forgive the vulgar pun.
     
  8. Su lin

    Su lin Gone away


    All in all I am pretty lucky. I wasn't driven to doing MA after an attack or anything and haven't had to fight against derogatory comments.
     
  9. Su lin

    Su lin Gone away


    I would never go to a women's only class! I find that training with men has given me a far more balanced view,and also the realisation of what I would have to do if attacked by a man, which just isn't possible training with only women.Nor would I go to a women's only gym.
     
  10. slipthejab

    slipthejab Hark, a vagrant! Supporter

    I think the problem with chics only KB classes is that they're not going to give a woman much in terms of defending herself. Most are tantamount to boxercise or Tae Bo.
    You'd be surprised how popular the 'Chic's with dicks!' market is for many men. :p
     
    Last edited: Jan 4, 2008
  11. Taffyleigh

    Taffyleigh Valued Member

    We do run women only self defence classes, which as you say is run by a man, Alun williams. I know you laugh at womens courses being run by men but i think its not such a bad thing because if there are only women on the course and you get used to fighting against women only, it can affect your confidence if you are then attacked out on the street by a 6 foot ,20 stone man and you have only practised with someone your own size. I think that running away is not such a bad option, but try to damage your attacker slightly before you leg it, a kick across the kneecap or something similar so it would slow him down if he tried to chase you. I think all self defence classes should teach basic common sense things such as crossing the road if you see a group of youths coming towards you, even if they might not be trouble, why take the chance? Avoid dark alleys, keep a key handy to use for slashing out at somebody if they grab you, if thrown into a car use the seatbelt buckle to smash the window and scream like crazy to get help. I am teaching my daughters basic self defence even though the youngest is only 4 years old.
     
  12. Satsui_No_Hadou

    Satsui_No_Hadou Ultra Valued Member

    I knew a woman who was in my Kung Fu class, and she was crazy!
     
  13. piratebrido

    piratebrido internet tough guy

    It can be a good bridge though. Some women lack the confidence to get in a class with a load of guys and being physical. Once their physical skills improve, so does their confidence in hanging in with the boys. I have noticed a few women in the Mauy Thai class that came through the chicks only class.

    Then you have the women who only do it for fun and keep fit, and I don't begrudge them a class where they can feel relaxed and enjoy themselves. Same goes for the gym or swimming. It would be great if we could all train together, but life isn't such.

    I have always wondered if a female only BJJ class would attracted more women to the sport. Its easy to see why many women may be put off ground fighting. Problem is there is precious little women doing it so any such class would collapse before it had a chance of being successful.
     
  14. piratebrido

    piratebrido internet tough guy

    I do concede the "need a man because chances are it will be a man attacking them" scenario.

    At the end of the day it would have to be a pretty damn skilled 10 stone man who defends himself from an 18 stone brute. More so for a woman. Perhaps self defense should be more mental than physical.
     
    Last edited: Jan 4, 2008
  15. slipthejab

    slipthejab Hark, a vagrant! Supporter

    Do they really teach that!? :confused:
    It seems like a ridiculously small chance that you could land on someones knee cap at the right angle and with enough power to actually slow them while coming after you.

    Again... I'd have to ask... does anyone... especially women think 'right... I'm gonna just stroll down this dark alley'?

    .. and as for the second... car windows are actually rather difficult to shatter. Do you really advocate having a woman smash out a car window with a seat belt buckle?!?! :confused:

    That seems very, very unlikely - in fact damn near impossible. 200lb male police officers have trouble smashing them in with a large size heavy duty mag lite and a full on wind up swing...

    FWIW... one of my best childhood mates died in a horrific car accident in highschool - it was caught on camera and showed a male CHP officer heroically trying his hardest to break out the driver side window of a car engulfed in flames - the CHP officer suffered severe burns to his arms and body - the window never shattered even after repeated attempts with a police size Mag lite... and my friend literally burned to death on TV)...

    that being said... how do you think a seat belt buckle is going to fair? It seems highly unrealistic to me.

    Here's a link to a tool that does work... notice the big difference in the striking area that hits the window:
    http://saveyourlife.us/LifeHammer.html

    http://saveyourlife.us/ResQMe.html

    And interesting bit talking about the difficulty of breaking tempered car windows.

    Here's a bit on Mythbusters (episode 71) that either busted or confirmed the following myths:
     
    Last edited: Jan 4, 2008
  16. Su lin

    Su lin Gone away

    I do agree with you on the confidence thing,and as long as women get something from it then it's all good. I'm lucky enough to be confident enough to train exclusively with men. I think it would be completely different though,say if a woman had been attacked,I could understand why she might start off training exclusively with women.
     
  17. Taffyleigh

    Taffyleigh Valued Member

    Slip - we have being using a technique where you step out slightly to the side of your attackerand circle your foot inwards across the kenne and the pullling it back towards you, trust me it does work, been caught a few times in training, at very least it can take your balance.

    About the seatbelt, i know car windows are quite tough, but i accidentally smashed a window years ago on my friends fiesta when i took the belt off a bit quick and the belt retracted and the buckle hit the window and there was a big bang, and the glass was on the floor outside the car. I think if you deliberately threw the buckle it would smash easier than trying to kick or elbow the glass, plus less chance of cutting yourself.

    I have lifehammers in both my wifes and my car. Also handy for striking carjackers.
     
  18. Frodocious

    Frodocious She who MUST be obeyed! Moderator Supporter

    I'll answer Slip first...
    1) Had you have actually been physically attacked or assaulted prior to training?
    No

    2) Have you been attacked or assaulted physically since taking up an MA?
    No

    3) Were you close friends or a relative of someone who was attacked?
    My sister was once, but I was already doing MA then

    4) In general would you say you were a confident person before with a postive outlook before training in MA?
    I'm confident in some things but not in others and I've always had a pessimistic outlook on life - I find it stops me being disappointed too often! ;) :D

    5) Did training MA improve your self image and confidence?
    I don't think it has really changed either of those

    6) Did you ever encounter negative attitudes from males regarding your training in martial arts... eg. boyfriends/fathers/coworkers?
    I've had a few comments from people I know, nothing too serious and I had a few problems with men I've trained with. One guy refused to train with me - it was his 1st class and I was more advanced than him, I don't know if that was the reason or if he just didn't want to 'hurt' a woman.

    7) Would say while you were growing up that your mother was a physically strong woman capable of handling herself in the event of an attack?
    Not really, but she would have given any attacker a run for their money!

    8) Who was more receptive to the idea of you studying martial arts - your mother or your father? And why do you think they were?
    Both have always allowed me to do any 'sport' I wanted to,

    Now for Su Lin's questions...

    I suppose that one of the reasons I train is for self defence. I think I've acquired the ability to handle a variety of situations from an unwanted grab to a more serious attack.

    Yes, I do think that if running away is an option, you should take it.

    I've never done a self defence course. I've always wanted to try one to see if they're as bad as I've heard (I never wear high heels or have long nails. so it probably wouldn't be suitable for me anyway!) My uni runs them occasionally and I keep meaning to sign up for one but haven't got round to it yet.

    Other points that have come up so far...

    I have been to a few women only kickboxing classes and whilst they were good for a workout, they were less good in terms of self defence - I always used to stay on and do the men's class that followed. Although, I may go to the women's class at my new MA club, but only to try to persuade some of them to join the BJJ class which curently consists of little old me and several hulking brutes filled with testosterone! ;) :D I do agree with Piratebudo though, that they can be a good way of getting women into the sport and giving them the confidence to try the mixed classes.
     
  19. John Titchen

    John Titchen Still Learning Supporter

    When I teach a women's self defence course I only spend about 50% of the time on the physical stuff.

    I go through personal awareness, attacker strategies and intent, fear and adrenaline, personal motivation, you and the law. I tell stories of women who have fought their way out of situations and women who have tricked their way out of situations.

    When we get to the physical stuff I don't teach techniques. I indicate stronger physical positions biomechanically and get them to try them. I indicate everyday movements that can be used to hit and get them to use those against pads. I indicate weak parts of the human body and unbalancing methods and get them to try them on each other. I then get a load of blokes in body armour (head to toe) to simulate (with gradually increasing ferocity and speed with verbal abuse) the most commonly recorded attacks against women and allow the students themselves to figure out how to get out of them using what they've been shown. They invent the combos and find out what works for them. I believe that if they've had to think it rather than imitate something I've shown then they are more likely to be able to do it for real.
     
    Last edited: Jan 4, 2008
  20. Hiroji

    Hiroji laugh often, love much

    Hey, the most perfect Martial art for a woman to learn is non other than the deadly Wing Chun.

    It suits woman down to the ground, after all, it was created by a woman.

    I recommend all women do it right now.

    ;) :D
     

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