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ARTICLES AND COMMENTARY This article, "Why more women are not in the Martial Arts," was written by Sensei Cathy Anderson. I know of no woman in the martial arts more qualified to give this gender information and advice. Having watched her perform, and having been on the wrong end of some of her techniques, I can personally attest to her skills and toughness. Cathy is married to Sensei Mike Anderson. Together they own and operate a four hundred-student dojo (Goshin Karate & Judo Academy) in Scottsdale Arizona. Cathy is a Go-Dan in both Okinawan Kempo and Judo as well as a Sho-Dan in Hoteikan Jujitsu. Her Karate and Judo tournament wins and personal awards, are too numerous to mention. It is worth noting that Cathy was selected to train with the U. S. Olympic Judo team. It is a real privilege to have Cathy contribute to this site. She writes and speaks, as she trains and teaches; with great knowledge, conviction and dedication.
Shihan
Denny Shaffer WHY
MORE WOMEN AREN’T IN THE MARTIAL ARTS
If I pause for a moment and take a look at the martial arts world in general, I
find that there are a great number of styles within the martial arts, which is a
good thing. Diversity makes for a
better developed and well rounded martial artist. The more we go out and train, the better we become.
The beauty of martial arts is that we are always learning new and
different things and can continue to educate and train ourselves.
However, in looking over the many styles and dojo’s, the fact stands
out that as a percentage of the total martial artists, there are relatively few
women in the martial arts. Why is
that? I believe the number one reason that more women aren’t in
martial arts is that they lack confidence in their ability to do martial arts.
Most women see it from the outsider’s point of view and believe it is
too physical and too aggressive. They
don’t understand that there are so many mental benefits, as well as the
physical benefits that one gains as they train.
Society has contributed greatly to this lack of confidence in women to go out
and try something that is obviously very physically and contact oriented.
Many women are afraid to hit someone or to be hit – they fear that type
of contact. They have been taught
since birth not to hit others or to be too aggressive with other people.
Boys grow up with a large variety of contact sports, such as football,
basketball, wrestling, etc. Girls
are taught not to be aggressive and seldom do they participate in any contact
sports as they grow up. This leaves
an in-bred fear of contact and striking another person, even with safety gear
on. One of the hardest tasks that I
have in my dojo is convincing the females that it is O.K. to hit someone during
sparring, or that it is acceptable to make the appropriate amount of contact in
partner drills. Oftentimes, this is
the first time in their life that they have been actually encouraged to do so,
and it is hard for them to break from the values that society has drilled into
them.
Another reason that contributes to the lack of women in martial arts is that it
has been traditionally a male oriented activity, which makes it very
intimidating to many women. They
feel that they won’t be able to measure up to the same expectations that the
men do. Again, this is more of a
society instilled belief, rather than fact.
However, the traditional methods of teaching and testing have certainly
contributed to this belief as well. Prior
to the last 15 years, many dojo’s trained and taught in a very militaristic
fashion. A lot of this was due to
the fact that the instructor or his instructor learned their martial arts while
overseas in the military. When they
returned, they not only brought back a variety of martial arts, but they also
brought back how to teach it in a very militaristic style.
The goal was to make it hard so as to weed out the weak and the
undedicated. Only one in perhaps a
thousand who started, ever made it to Black Belt. Fortunately, we are no longer the Marines.
So a change in teaching methods was required to keep more students in the
arts, which is a good instructor’s goal.
But change comes very slowly and is a hard thing to achieve within
martial arts. Over the past 15
years, many dojo’s have slowly begun to change their attitudes towards how
they teach, and have now begun to use positive reinforcement and encouragement
to train their students. This
doesn’t mean they have watered down their system or requirements; it is just a
change in the manner of teaching the same standards and techniques.
As a result, students stay longer, enjoy what they are learning more, and
get more out of their training because of this.
One of the many reasons that women are intimidated with the arts is that they
have seen or heard about rank testing procedures, perhaps through family or
friends. Many dojo’s make testing
day more of a hazing ritual rather than a true test of knowledge and ability.
Making someone spar for 30 to 60 minutes without a break, or making them
hold in a horse stance for 20 to 30 minutes purely at the whim of an instructor
is not only a type of hazing, but also reflects poorly on the instructor.
Apparently, the instructor doesn’t have much to test the student on,
which means the instructor has either done a poor job of training that student,
or else they just have very little of substance to teach to their students.
Many instructors feel they must play good cop/bad cop during these tests.
One instructor is the good cop, telling the student to do their best and
keep it up. The second instructor
is the bad cop, who shouts and yells and asks if that is the best they can do
and if they really want to pass this test, then the student will have to give a
lot more effort to even come close to passing.
These archaic methods of teaching and testing are just one more reason
why there is a lack of women in martial arts.
One of the primary goals in martial arts is to teach self-defense.
Unfortunately, many women are in a state of denial when it comes to
personal safety and fighting back against an attacker.
They tend to believe that something like that could never happen to them. Those terrible things we see on the news only happen to other
people. Some women don’t
believe they can defend against a bigger and stronger attacker, so they just
give up to being victims, if an attack were ever to occur. These women don’t understand the principles of
self-defense; that it doesn’t require strength against strength to win against
an attacker. They don’t realize
the strategy that is involved which lets a smaller person win or defeat a larger
attacker. Many women believe that
they have to be younger to start martial arts training, or that they need to be
in excellent physical shape before they could start training. They think that training in the martial arts is too hard for
a “normal” post-teen woman to do and achieve, unless that person started
when they were young. Also of major
concern to adults in general is the fear of looking foolish in front of a group
of their peers. Putting on a funny
pair of white pajamas and going out in front of a group of strangers can be
daunting to many people. WHY IS KARATE GOOD FOR WOMEN TO TAKE
Many women take martial arts for the self-defense aspect. They are interested in not becoming victims and want to build
that confidence that goes along with not looking like or being a victim.
Too many women feel that if they don’t acknowledge the predator’s
existence, it just won’t happen to them.
Many women take martial arts for stress relief.
It becomes an outlet for the frustrations and unmet expectations of their
day-to-day reality. Training
becomes a conduit to release these daily pressures, resulting in a calmer,
happier person who has recaptured their composure through the relinquishing of
these negative emotions and stresses.
Other women take martial arts to further develop their strength and/or
flexibility. Training is a great
way to stay in shape, as well as a fun and exciting way to get into shape.
Overall, I believe that training in martial arts develops a comprehensive
feeling of confidence in oneself and greater self esteem, either through the
development of self defense techniques, or through the general practice of and
improvement in the arts over a period of time.
HOW
TO GET MORE WOMEN IN THE MARTIAL ARTS
I believe one of the best ways to encourage more women to train is to first have
more women instructors as role models in the martial arts for new students to
emulate. These role models play a
major part in attracting women into the arts.
Once other women and girls see these female black belt instructors, it
becomes much more acceptable for them to join and participate, knowing that
others have done the same thing. It
seems to give them the mental permission they need to let themselves join in and
not feel looked down upon by society in general. Other ways to attract women to the arts is to first offer
self-defense seminars, and slowly work these women up to the idea of on-going
training in the dojo. The
self-defense seminar allows them to try out a small portion of the martial arts,
and gives them a better feeling of empowerment.
This then develops their confidence and self-esteem in their ability to
be able to train and become a martial artist.
If we all strive towards this end, the percentage of women training will
continue to grow exponentially.
Over my twenty-seven years of training, I have met and trained with many
wonderful martial artists and become friends with many of them. I know that the martial arts has enriched my life in so many
ways, and made me a better person for it. One
of my goals is to be able to communicate this to other students and pass on the
many wonderful things that the martial arts has to offer and has given me. Sensei Cathy Anderson
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