Are Women Doomed on the Street?
Are Women Doomed on the Street?
Imagine a tennis player judging the power and accuracy of her
serve solely by its form. Visualize a volleyball player
sharpening her "spiking" skill by hitting only air. Also
finally, picture a pole-vaulter competing in today's event while
refusing to use a fiberglass pole? Ridiculous; you say? As
farfetched as the above scenario may sound, many women martial
artists, unlike their female counterparts in other sports, have
not availed themselves of modem training methods. Instead, they
are still relying on so-called "traditional" training methods
that are all-but obsolete when applied to sell-defense
situations on today's urban streets.
What's wrong with tradition? Nothing at all, as long as we
distinguish between stylized forms of kicking and punching, with
their emphasis on pre-arranged or choreographed kata, and
combat-oriented martial arts that stress actual contact over
aesthetic or ceremonial considerations. Furthermore, most
classical martial arts have a preponderance of "passive"
blocking movements that women can ill afford to use against much
larger, stronger opponents when precious seconds can mean the
difference between life and death. So we can further distinguish
between "blocking-type" martial arts regimes, and hitting, or
"striking-type" martial arts training.
At this point, it should be understood that we are not
discussing "this" style versus "that" style, but rather,
evaluating a methodology of training. This approach to training
has an underlying premise: All martial arts training should
parallel actual combat as closely as possible. With this premise
in mind, we now have a checklist with which to analyze whatever
martial art we are presently studying, so we can be confident
our training is truly applicable for someone of relatively small
stature in realistic fighting.
Women's marital arts study must incorporate impact-training from
the inception of the program. After all, how else can you know?
How hard you kick and punch unless you are making solid contact
with something? Impact training can be broken down into three
progressive stages. At the first stage of training, the
practitioner develops power by striking (or kicking) stationary
targets, be it a focus glove, air shield, heavy bag, etc. which
will also acquaint her with her own reach (distance) and body
mechanics.
The second phase of impact training requires the female martial
artist to hit moving targets, such as the top and bottom bag,
air shields, focus gloves, Thai pads, etc., which an alert coach
or training partner can move randomly at a variety of angles,
thereby compelling the student to deliver strikes while moving.
Unlike the performance of forms, nothing in this stage of
training is pre-arranged, since the coach moves her targets in
an unpredictable manner. This phase not only enhances mobility
and precision, but also acquaints her with the attribute of
timing, since the targets are constantly moving. The third phase
of impact training is the unrestricted force brought to bear on
an "opponent" who a wearing full body armor. This is not a
self-defense mode of training, because the partner wearing the
protective gear will not cooperate, but rather be hitting,
kicking, and striking you as well. The "assailant" is not a
model "mugger," but an aggressive adversary changing the combat
ranges with no consistent pattern of attack.
This brings up another item on our checklist of combat-oriented
training; a method of training that encompasses all four ranges
of combat. How often has a well-meaning male martial arts
instructor encouraged female students to develop their kicks
since the "legs are much stronger than the hands?" Yet,
statistics show that most assaults on women occur in the
"in-fighting," or close-quarter range of combat. While
back-spinning kicks may-be beautiful in the gym, it is unlikely
that you will have time to even launch any kick, since the range
of combat closes in less than one-tenth of a second. To restrict
oneself to a martial arts method that emphasizes long-range
kicking is to limit one's coping abilities in the other ranges
of a violent confrontation.
So important is this in-fighting range for women that it is
imperative we have the necessary "tools" to deal with aggression
in this "war zone." Strikes that convey the most damage in the
shortest time must be perfected. This means hitting, and not
blocking, on the first move. Since no referee will say, "break"
when the combat range closes, women must launch damaging
shockers so that the assailant cannot continue his attack. (This
concept eliminates most restraining-type arts that were
developed when professional warriors were clad in armor, thus
prohibiting striking or kicking of any sort.)
Some of the most efficient (if not artistically pleasing)
strikes are: the finger jab, which should be cultivated on
something harder than a pillow since you will likely run into
facial bone. (You can build up to striking padded diving goggles
by starting to finger jab your shower curtain.); elbows, knees
and headbutts can be perfected on focus gloves or Thai pads; low
kicks (below the waist) should be directed to the groin, knees,
femur bone, or shins and can be practiced on a partner wearing
shin guards or long "banana bags."
Now that We have discussed impact training and range
familliarity, let's examine another cornerstone of combat-ready
martial arts training - contact conditioning. This is the phase
pf training that most women (including myself) would rather
avoid. Contact conditioning is the progressive and controlled
willingness to absorb impact, and can only be obtained by a
willingness to don gloves and headgear and "go for it" Taking a
punch is critical, because women have not had the exposure to
full-contact sports, such as football, in which most men have
participated. This is not an endorsement of two partners
standing toe-to-toe and "duking it out," but enough conditioning
in your martial arts training that will allow you to continue
past the shock of pain and impact in a real encounter.
While we are on the subject of conditioning, you must realize
that you are much more likely to be struck by a jab or hook on
the street than a sidekick or ridge-hand. A familiarity with
basic boxing will let you feel confident in effectively dealing
with it Rest assured that there is nothing unfeminine about
women who can deliver jabs, crosses, hooks and uppercuts with
explosive power. Once again, however, it is important that after
you master the basic mechanics, you attempt to execute these
strikes while someone is trying to hit you back. After all, it's
very different shooting a handgun at a target range under ideal
conditions than it is attempting to shoot with accuracy when
someone is firing back at you. Familiarity with boxing will help
to "demystify" realms of combat that until recently were
reserved for men.
Our checklist would not be complete unless we mention two other
items. It would be ludicrous to imagine a running back in
football refusing to be tackled by anyone except those of his
own height and weight. Yet, when women train exclusively with
other women, that is exactly what they are doing. Women must
experience the aggressive energy and greater strength of men in
their martial arts training regimen, or else, like the runner,
they will not develop the evasiveness and resilience necessary
to compete. Like the professional athlete, female martial
artists must take advantage of supplemental training, along with
practicing just technique.
What female tennis player could hope to compete even at an
amateur level without some sort of weight training program?
Supplemental training (weights, conditioning, etc.) will not
replace skill of movement, but will surely enhance it. Merely
looking smooth, flexible and yelling while delivering a kick or
strike is not enough to make it powerful. Once again, the female
martial artist could do well to observe the training programs of
professionals athletes, who do not rely on sheer repetition of
movement to increase skill, but rather supplemental training
regimens to develop "attributes" necessary for their particular
sport.
Finally, a martial arts program that does not include weapons
training is basically incomplete in preparing the female
practitioner for street combat. No matter how diligently a woman
trains, she is at a disadvantage when facing a much larger,
stronger assailant, let alone multiple attackers. The ability
and willingness to use a knife, stick, or other weapon will give
the female martial artist an "equalizer." Just as the feudal
samurai in Japan would never walk the streets without their
sword, women in urban areas of the U.S. must likewise be armed
and ready to protect themselves with their weapons of choice.
Like empty-hand training, weapons training should emphasize
hitting (cutting, stabbing), rather than blocking or wide,
flowery movements that look beautiful in kata or forms, but have
little or no application to combat.
Are we going to continue to pretend that the traditional methods
of martial arts training are sufficient, or will we discover the
hard way that our training regimens do not work against someone
who is not a cooperating partner? Are we going to avail
ourselves of a way that allows us to fight back? Modem training
methods will eliminate many of the unpleasant surprises that
female martial artists would encounter in an actual
confrontation. Ignorance on our part of modem martial arts
training methods will only benefit our aggressors. So let's
avail ourselves of innovative training techniques so that we
have the power (and speed, coordination, conditioning, etc.) to
fight back and win.
Fran Joseph's website: http://www.franjoseph.com
This article originally appeared here)
http://www.realfighting.com/issue6/josephframe.html