Is it the power development, confidence development, coordination of movements, physical material....... or other factors..... explain....

:rolleyes:

Originally posted by Goldendragon7

Is it the power development, confidence development, coordination of movements, physical material....... or other factors..... explain....

:rolleyes:

I have no issues with power development..I think my biggest concern is .. well one of them.. is being put on display .. I do not like being watched at all.. I tend to 'lose it' as far as my focus.. I react well when provoked.. but lose all my brain cells when I have to 'preform' if that makes any sense. Stage fright maybe? I am not sure.. I don't like being in the limelight ..
testing.. forms...etc.. I'm thinking I'll be this rank forever cuz I'm rather terrified of this Long4 preformance~!!!


:uhohh:

I train every night.. and yeah it's hard for me to see the younger students (I'm the oldest in the school) doing their jump kicks.. and yeah I realize it's not what Kenpo is about.. It still rather strums my inner strings the wrong way because I am unable to be 20 again.. I do wish at times there were other students my age around just so maybe I could vent to a peer. .hahaa.. silly I know.. ;)
I realize my punches would take them out.. and yeah I do concentrate on my hand techniques .. so it's a matter of compensation for me..

Not sure now after reading all that if I even answered what you sought Dennis.. *looks at clock.. it's early hahaa

Okay, personally I think that the toughest part of my training was more of a confidence thing. Since I'm short I used to get very intimidated by all these guys that were over towering me. Now I know that I'm not the strongest person in the world, but I can hold my share for sure. I don't really have a problem with coordination, as Tess likes to say I'm the "water ballerina" type, but I can normally do a technique after seeing it and practiceing it. I think that the coordination and physical abilities can be worked on much easier than the confidence. The person has to be willing to expand there horizons to get past their lack of confidence in themselves. That's why I now like to work with taller people that over power me. That way I can show myself that I can get a kick to their head or do techniques up that high, and if not then I can learn to adapt to it.

Originally posted by KenpoTess
Not sure now after reading all that if I even answered what you sought Dennis..


Well, there is no canned answer/s that I seek, actually only your thoughts and opinions. So, question is ...... did you "search and realize" what part of training you have the most trouble with.

Many (men and women) have to come to grips on the age and skills issue..... We are all growing older....... (darn) so we must only do what we can do ....... but yet not let that be a crutch for not achieving more than we thought we could. So you must try your best and not over do it........... but be reasonable for your age and abilities. You said a key word...... compensate.... since you may lack the ability in one area (for whatever reason - injury, age, genetics... etc) you try to, in another area push harder.... this is a great attitude!

Stage Fright! I see no stage here....... hee hee......... but it is a problem that many have and one that hopefully Kenpo will help your overcome. Remember, the toughest warrior to conquer is yourself! So, this may be a deep rooted lacking of confidence somewhere along the line. Once develop enough skill that YOU feel comfortable with yourself.... you will more than likely lose your stage fright to some degree..... you may never lose it altogether..... some are just shy.... YOU...... Ha...... are not!!

:asian:

Originally posted by Goldendragon7



Well, there is no canned answer/s that I seek, actually only your thoughts and opinions. So, question is ...... did you "search and realize" what part of training you have the most trouble with.

Many (men and women) have to come to grips on the age and skills issue..... We are all growing older....... (darn) so we must only do what we can do ....... but yet not let that be a crutch for not achieving more than we thought we could. So you must try your best and not over do it........... but be reasonable for your age and abilities. You said a key word...... compensate.... since you may lack the ability in one area (for whatever reason - injury, age, genetics... etc) you try to, in another area push harder.... this is a great attitude!

Stage Fright! I see no stage here....... hee hee......... but it is a problem that many have and one that hopefully Kenpo will help your overcome. Remember, the toughest warrior to conquer is yourself! So, this may be a deep rooted lacking of confidence somewhere along the line. Once develop enough skill that YOU feel comfortable with yourself.... you will more than likely lose your stage fright to some degree..... you may never lose it altogether..... some are just shy.... YOU...... Ha...... are not!!

:asian:


I really didn't search for my answer.. It's there on the surface.. I'm the type of person that knows herself inside and out.. Ok I'm not Shy but Reserved how's that. .*chuckles.. I've never been one to be out in the limelight in an arena that I'm not totally realistically going to shine in.. I grew up in team sports -sailing was my forte.. but if I won or lost.. I shared in it with my crew.. I have always been a leader which comes naturally.. and to be honest I would rather teach and have someone who's ability outshines mine be clad in the laurels .. and I can smile satisfied on the sidelines. Sure I enjoy attention who doesn't? But in Kenpo I shall never be a star.. someone who has to 'learn by saying 'here.. here .. here.. here.. for each move when learning a tech is going through the motions. striving for the time when it all comes naturally.. and eventually it does.. but sure I get exasperated by people who can 'see something once or twice.. and perform it just as it's meant to be.. I, unfortunately am not that way.. :( and yeah it gets me down sometimes.. but I always come back .. :)

Originally posted by FUZZYJ692000
Okay, personally I think that the toughest part of my training was more of a confidence thing.
I think that the coordination and physical abilities can be worked on much easier than the confidence.


Well, it is definitely part of "the Process". First you are taught movements and things that you know NOTHING about. But have the HOPE and DESIRE that they will lead you to somewhere. The movements and coordination's that are contained within the early stages of the Art do just that. They instruct you in areas of development that you do not gain automatically.

From the execution of these new body coordination's and physical skills that are now being acquired, and once you familiarize yourself completely developing knowledge with the maneuvers your confidence will soar. This is all part of the plan.... in fact often times the opposite occurs......overconfidence can be a new factor to contend with.

Ultimately, you need to seek a good "balance" for yourself as you achieve more and more.

:asian:

As soon as overconfidence rears it's ugly head, we make sure it is squashed.:EG: I love my job!:D

Originally posted by Seig

As soon as overconfidence rears it's ugly head, we make sure it is squashed.:EG: I love my job!:D

Masochist!!!!! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Originally posted by Kirk



Masochist!!!!! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
Kirk,
A masochist likes beign hurt. A Sadist likes hurting others.

Originally posted by Seig


Kirk,
A masochist likes beign hurt. A Sadist likes hurting others.

I stand corrected, I'm no expert. I see your knowledge in
matters such as this, AND your kenpo knowledge both exceed
mine! ;)

Ahhh, the benefits of a classical education!:rofl:

Hey..

Well for me the hardest part of my MA.. is the dang sparring... im just physically not up to snuff when it comes to that.. Ive gotten some tips...(like breathing.. WOW that one worked wonders) and it's helped.. but I know that with time and more sessions.. i will Improve in this area as well...

:shrug:

Everything is hard for me but the hardest part is the coordination! I am SO clumsy! I'm constantly turning or stepping wrong and I'm forever loosing my balance when I'm supposed to be making the other person fall down. I often end up falling down on top of some poor person. Hopefully, this isn't something that will stay with me forever. ;)

Robyn :angel:

That's easy.............. @$$hole instructors. :moon:

Originally posted by KenpoGirl

Everyone should be respected as an individual, but no one idolized . Except Gou. He's the man.---- Albert Einstein

Aww...thanx.
:rolleyes:

Originally posted by The Opal Dragon

Everything is hard for me but the hardest part is the coordination! I am SO clumsy! I'm constantly turning or stepping wrong and I'm forever loosing my balance when I'm supposed to be making the other person fall down. I often end up falling down on top of some poor person. Hopefully, this isn't something that will stay with me forever. ;)

Robyn :angel:
Robyn,
Learn to control your fall and it could become a devastating weapon!:asian:

Originally posted by GouRonin



Aww...thanx.
:rolleyes:
When Einstein stated that the closer something gets to the speed of light the larger it becomes, he was obviously thinking of your ego!:rofl:

haven't run into this in a kenpo school, but I've seen it in two of the four TKD schools I've trained at.

Toughest thing for women to handle in those schools was....

THE MEN.

they had chauvinistic attitudes and drastically overinflated egos. I eventually left one school because I was getting sick of getting patted on the head and called "sweetheart" If I'm in a skirt and high heeled shoes, fine, call me sweetie. If I'm in my uniform and ready to train, don't go there, especially if I outrank you. I also had a problem with these men calling me Krissy or Kristi (and the protocol in these schools was that anyone who outranked you by even one belt was sir or ma'am). Anyone who knows me well knows that unless you are either related to me somehow or Master Brock (who's known me since I was 14 and is therefore permitted to call me by my full name if he so desires, besides, I've given up on correcting him, it just doesn't stick) you'd better not be changing my name to anything that ends in y or i, and I don't like my full name, so people just call me Kris. I wouldn't go around calling someone named John "Johnny" or Dan "Danny" unless they told me to, especially if I don't know them very well, but for some reason, these particular men thought they had that right.

Just because I have two X chromosomes does not mean that I do not deserve the same respect and courtesies as someone of my rank with only one X chromosome.

sorry for the tone of this message...not my usual self...this was four years ago and thinking about it still pisses me off.

I agree with kenpo tess. I get stage fright too. I can do a technique just fine but if I'm watched by a group I freeze up a little and lose my concentration enough to make mistakes. I hate that and I'm working on it. also being vocal in class too. I'm shy by nature and yelling kiai is hard for me but I'm working on that too.:asian:

Rachel, what you describe does not just effect women, it also effects men. I see it all the time, I'll watch a student do a technique correctly 5 times, the SECOND they sense I am watching, they loose it. It comes with time. "Let time be your measurement to skill and experience."

I HATE hearing, 'You are one of the best FEMALE martial artists here,' statements that include..'for a girl, considering she's a woman...' etc. Either I am good, have potential or not. I want to earn respect and be good- period. Not good 'for a girl.'

I realize that I will never have the strength or power that most men have. But that doesn't mean that I cannot match them in skill or ability...

My two cents...

I've never had anyone act in any manner disrespectful to me in the Martial arts .. I teach College also and I've never had any of the students act in any way but with respect.. I don't mind them calling me Tess.. that's my name.. I guess maybe as I get older titles mean less. It breaks down the barriers between the students and myself. Some get very friendly and that's great. after class .. during class they see me as an instructor and treat me as such. I'm a good 20 yrs older than most of them and surely don't have to be reminded I'm Mrs. S. I am comfortable with everyone and if someone calls me a pet name.. Hey whatever makes them smile.. it makes me smile too :)

Just rambling.. :)

Tess

Originally posted by student
I HATE hearing, 'You are one of the best FEMALE martial artists here,' statements that include..'for a girl, considering she's a woman...' etc. Either I am good, have potential or not. I want to earn respect and be good- period. Not good 'for a girl.'

I realize that I will never have the strength or power that most men have. But that doesn't mean that I cannot match them in skill or ability...

My two cents...

Oh! I hear that!!
Speed and agility are a good match for strengh and power!:asian:

I agree with that too...

ANOTHER thing that bugs me.. it that well especially with the new guys that come in.. or the ones that don't train with me that often... is that they slack off in the applications of techniques.. or joint hold.. they always say.. "I dont want to hurt you" WHY in the H@LL would i have come to a martial arts school and not expect to ruffed up a bit.. They don't realize that by slacking or easing (for better choice of words) is more harmful to my training then good. BUT.. it usually doesn't take em long to come around once ive taken them down a few times... :D it just ticks me off that they (in the beginning) they do that because im a woman.

Sigh :rolleyes:

I am a female. What really drives me nuts during technique practice is being paired with a female partner who will barely make contact with her movements (or very softly).

I prefer male partners because I can feel his firm strikes and he can feel mine. I believe that being able to feel where the strikes are help reinforce for both of us the correct placement. There is an awareness that if the strikes had been harder, they would definitely cause injury at the targeted areas.

It is my opinion that if in practice contact is firm (rather than very softly), it is easier to translate into much harder stikes should the need arise in perilous situations.

- Ceicei

Tess, I identify with you on the age. I would love to have other students my age in my school. Being part of a small school, almost everyone is much younger which can play on me sometimes. The few people that are around my age either can't do certain things or aren't willing to take it to the same level that I am which again leaves me standing alone. Makes me feel sometimes that I'm being silly working at it so hard but on the other hand, I can't ignore how good it makes me feel. I train as hard as any of the younger ones and I don't let myself even think that I can't do anything they can do.

Other than that, it seems to me that the speed, agility and fluidity of motion just comes so much more naturally to males. It's something I struggle constantly with - I'm so awkward and mechanical. Also, as Tess also pointed out, it would be nice to be able to learn some of the techniques so much faster rather than have to repeat and repeat a thousand times physically and in my head before I finally get it.

Originally posted by KenpoGirl
That's easy.............. @$$hole instructors. :moon:


wow, that seems a little harsh.

i have several different instructors at any given time and i get pissed off when particular ones dont treat me as tough as the guys. my favorite instructor is probably the most harsh, yells the most, expects the most, is overall the toughest master (at my school) and always say "i expect more out of you because you are a woman."

Hmmm...this is a toughie. I find that the hardest part of my training is actually being treated equally amoungst the guys in the class. I have found that some of the guys are perfectly fine with having me in the class and treat me as a regular student. But I see that some go easy on me because I am a female. I have noticed throughout my training that some of the guys have gotten used to having me in the classes, see how I can be just as aggressive as most of the guys, and have let go of the whole idea that I am a female. But, I still see some of the males going easy on me and I view it as this, "If they won't notice me as just a regular student now, they never will." I have adapted this philosophy because I have been in the school for quite a while and I've just given up on trying to get those people to see me as an equal. I'm just focused on my training and grateful that anyone has noticed me!

Originally posted by LostGrrlDies
wow, that seems a little harsh.

i have several different instructors at any given time and i get pissed off when particular ones dont treat me as tough as the guys. my favorite instructor is probably the most harsh, yells the most, expects the most, is overall the toughest master (at my school) and always say "i expect more out of you because you are a woman."

If you check the date when I posted it, that was over a year ago. Long time ago, and since then hurt feelings and misunderstandings have been corrected. :)

Dot
:asian:

Originally posted by KenpoGirl
If you check the date when I posted it, that was over a year ago. Long time ago, and since then hurt feelings and misunderstandings have been corrected. :)

Dot
:asian:
Good!!!!!!!!!!:cool:

Originally posted by Ceicei
I am a female. What really drives me nuts during technique practice is being paired with a female partner

I agree with you Ceicei, mostly when it is because both of are are females and not just happened to have not worked together for a long time.

But in regards to the topic, most of the new girls in the school lack confidence in themselves, and that's also the reason they ain't hitting in the techniques. They believe they're gonna hurt somebody. :shrug:

I'm not a very big woman, but I'm strong for my size. I've found that the most difficult thing for me in Martial Arts has been sparring. My height difference between some of the guys I work out with in class in considerable. Even some of the students i help teach are getting taller than I am.

I try and stay focused but its hard to do when you have a guy twice your size beating your brains in. Granted there is control in my sparring class, and the guys who beat me are all like brothers to me, but it doesn't take away from the fact that I'm still getting torn apart in class. I've learned to take the beating of course and try never to quit, as hard as that is some times.

I know that if I had no choice I could use my training to defend myself whole heartedly, but I'm not going to tear the head off of my training partner. I want them to be back in class with me the next day so that I can beat on them some more. But again, sparring I find is my biggest weakness overall. But I still love it.

Lady Dragon, I feel your pain there. I barely reach the 5ft 1in marker and a lot of the kids I help when I can are starting to get taller than me now. I used to be really intimidated by much taller people than myself. I still am sometimes, but I try not to psych myself out. With new guys I try to go in really hard so that before they lay a hand on me I've already had my foot to their head or in their chest. I find that doing this they realize that I'm not their punch dummy. Over time most of them mutalate me in sparring, Chronuss and Randy being two of them, but every now in then I get a really good punch or kick in that makes them think other wise.

I know what you mean Fuzzy. But the best shots I usually get in on the guys are shots to the groin. It holds them off for a while though, at least till they get comfortable and start coming in on you again.

I have a couple of guys in my sparring class how's reach is so long that my foot can't even match it. I asked one of the seniors in my system who started off as a boxer how to deal with it. And he told me that as they stick up their foot to try and kick you, you give them a good shot to the cup and they'll think twice before try to pick up that foot again.

The only problem I find with this tactic is that after a few matches, no one wants to spar with me any more. So I can't really use that tactic to often.

Ladydragon, try sinking your elbow into their leg as they come in for the kick.. ;)
Or crawl right up that leg fast and furious..and launch a barrage of hand attacks..~!!


I hear ya Jani~!! Chad and his 'Inspector gadget' Arms.. man those things reach out and swat us before we know what's going on ~!!! Yeti~!!
We need to gang up on him ;)

I hear ya Jani~!! Chad and his 'Inspector gadget' Arms.. man those things reach out and swat us before we know what's going on ~!!! Yeti~!!
We need to gang up on him ;) [/B][/QUOTE]

Gang up on them???? Hum that sounds good, maybe a surprise attack...haven't we tried that before and it didn't work?

Originally posted by FUZZYJ692000
I hear ya Jani~!! Chad and his 'Inspector gadget' Arms.. man those things reach out and swat us before we know what's going on ~!!! Yeti~!!
We need to gang up on him ;)

Gang up on them???? Hum that sounds good, maybe a surprise attack...haven't we tried that before and it didn't work? [/B][/QUOTE]
What if I help?;)

My worst experiance with training is getting involved emotionally, this in the past has been due to relationships, some people can keep personal lives out of the dojo and because mine was not it caused lots of stress in all areas of my life. I have decided never to cross that boundry again because of this. I am also short and at first thought that might cause problems but soon realized I get the oppotunity to do techniques that taller people cant.....small people get the chance to take the balance of those bigger than themselves, I think this is great!!!:D

Originally posted by Shhh
My worst experiance with training is getting involved emotionally, this in the past has been due to relationships, some people can keep personal lives out of the dojo and because mine was not it caused lots of stress in all areas of my life. I have decided never to cross that boundry again because of this.

Sometimes it can be an asset having a boyfriend in the dojo. I guess it depends on what kind of
relationships.

I am also short and at first thought that might cause problems but soon realized I get the oppotunity to do techniques that taller people cant.....small people get the chance to take the balance of those bigger than themselves, I think this is great!!

Being able to get tall people off their balance can be fun! I really enjoy foot sweeps.

- Ceicei

Thanks for the suggestion Tess. I've done that in the past and it works great. But your training partners are never to happy with you after something like that. (you know, they get dead leg syndrom, heehee) I've come to realize that I've got to find other ways around their defenses. At first you try the head to head, but that does go on for to long before you realize that you need to re-think your strategy.

Let's get some new members thoughts on this :)

I have to echo a lot of the previous sentiments about what other women found tough in training. The things that bug me most are guys who go too soft because you are a female and the polar opposites to that, the guys who go spastic because they figure a) you don't belong there b)in a real life scenario your attacker will be going spastic or c) they are petrified to lose to a girl so they go balls to the wall to win.

Another pet peeve is women who act 'girly'. I can't stand when another female won't hit back or grapple hard. We are both there to learn how to do something properly - don't waste my time or yours.

But on the flip side, there are great things to being a woman in training. I find my instructor's take extra time and care with myself because they want to make sure that I really 'get' techniques. Because we have a mutual like and respect they want to make sure that any self-defence aspect is really well learned so that they know that I don't have a sense of false security.

I have also found that a lot of guys enjoy working with me, especially in grappling, because they feel like they can slow down and perfect the technique without having to 'prove' something to their training partner. They feel far more secure with me and don't feel like they are being judged.

The breaking - multiple jumps that require more height/good knees. Guys usually jump alot easier without as much training as they have a better core-ab structure, besides quads/hams. Women could be training all the time and still not get more than a few inches off the ground and not get that extra "air" time. Also there are more difficult to overcome requirements for most women ie. concrete/knife and pushups. Alot of us didn't go through sports in high school that required those ie. football, hockey, even basketball requires pushups for guys. My arms actually got slimmer as I ran races and did aerobics for twenty years.

For testing, women get stopped at breaking with rigid requirements that are easy for guys starting with more mass and stronger bones and musculature. But the guys don't come as much to class, don't practice flexiblity, not good at kicking especially control/slow motion, don't practice forms as much, alot of times are not as cardio fit. But I see them passed when they have really BAD form, especially when I leave the testing table. It is more subjective to pass form than to pass a definitive break.

Personally, what is hard is training, period, now. After I passed difficult requirements for 2nd, hard multiple jumping and knife/concrete, everything difficult was taken out, especially for one woman relative of the master. I was the master's first woman 2nd dan at age 53, under the same breaking requirements that he had, when he was testing for 2nd. But now we have three other 2nd dan women within the last three months with the easy requirements.

I could do all the hand breaks but after my test, hand breaks for women were taken out. Just last week, a relative of the master did a stomp, a stomp from an elevated position for her requirement to do something with concrete. She only had to do two boards with elbow/forearm strikes. Two boards each arm, each leg, any technique. She never did a palm or knife. So now other women can continue to advance, but I cannot. I have wrecked knees and have to stop jumping so cannot do breaks for 3rd. And then there is the fact that I am at least twelve years older than the other women.

And whether this is good for women, I don't know, none of them are great at breaking, not even good. One woman was bad at everything, not the relative though. Two didn't even train for the breaks prior to the test. I trained for a year steady. Does this do a service for them? No. Could they ever show students how to do breaking? Those passed without standards met, including guys, are poor teachers. But the master still gets to collect those tuition/testing fees and his school base is expanding.

So I think there should be a panel of judges for testing including a woman or two with a scorecard vote, not just the subjective viewpoint of one male biased judge with an agenda. Should be, but not going to happen without national guidelines and no independent masters. I heard lately of all women schools. That sounds like a good idea but then, we women would not have experience sparring, defending against males. :(

So yeah, I think the toughest part is having to do my own workout 75% of the time because the workout is practically always jumping and bad for knees. And in three years, these would-be 3rd dans could be in control of the class I am in, as he gives over more of his teaching to highest ranking BB's. Should I train under such an instructor when I would have been teaching the longest, been there the longest and tested under more difficult requirements? I know, most of you would say, leave. Probably what he is counting on. TW

I'll echo the sentiments of others.

The actual being a girl part annoys me.
Guys won't hit me as hard or will spar me easier.

One guy actually said to me "I hate sparring all these female jammers, I'm afraid I'm going to punch them in the face.." What, but you're not afraid to hit guys in the face? WHEN YOU GET HIT, IT IS YOUR FAULT. He shouldn't even be worried about it. But he refuses (STILL!) to hand blitz me.

After 17 months, nearly a year and a half, the boys are SLOOOOOWLY coming around.

Oh-So-Slowly.

Yep, I agree with Nightingale and IsshinryuKarateGirl, although not with the same issues. I don't care if the guys call me sweetheart. Oh, I know that very un-feminist of me, but as long as it's not done in a dispariging way but out of affection, it does not bother me. Usually the older guys with whom I'm friendly will do this and I don't mind because I've very fond of them...they are old enough to be my grandfather. Probably it wouldn't go down as easily if they were younger or closer to my age. I also don't care if they abbreviate my name but the style I practice is very informal and we are all on first-name basis.
Hardest part of training is guys who don't take me seriously although they are clearly no match for me. I don't usually get this attitude from advanced practitioners, mostly newcomers, although some guys who have been coming for months still have this attitude. But anyone who is a dedicated student generally does not mind working with women. However, the guys with the crappy attitude don't want to work with me, they'll try to boss me around even as I am wiping the floor with them. They simply do not believe women can be effective fighters. It irks me but I've gotten used to it.
Best,
Rachel

For me the toughest part has always been the size differential, compared to guys I have small hands and so on some techniques it is grab X with you Right hand, but that is hard cause X on men is so large (like their wrist or bicep) if find it hard to get a good grip on them....

What has been the toughest for me has been something that I've struggled with for quite some time...long before I started Kenpo. When I watch someone move a certain way, the move just does not sink in. I can't imitate it very well. Parlaying a move between what I'm watching and what I'm doing is very difficult. I do better when responding to verbal commands or verbal cues.

Otherwise, I really do love my school.

If there was some evil Kenpo force in the universe that was trying to seperate me from my training, it sure did its damndest to do that last year. My instructors, the owners, they all reached out to me when something went terribly wrong. Why they had so much faith in me when I was just a white belt, I'll never know.

I want to show them that their faith in me was not misplaced. They're offering me a great place to train and great people to train with...men and women. The big egos, the jackasses (to quote another thread), the girly-girls, the people that are afraid to hit me...they just are not there! I don't know how the owners of my school have managed to build such a great place...but they have done it.

I truly hope I can stay with them for a long time to come. I'd be devastated if I were separated from my school for any reason. I feel very lucky and very grateful to be there.

I don't like being bragged on (even though it doesn't happen often), and expected to do it again to show someone. I get nervous when that happens, for some reason. In that sense, I hate being in the spotlight. I don't mind it so much if it's the usual thing- like pretesting forms, etc. I've been involved in performing in front of total strangers a good chunk of my life, so any jitters I have, I can take care of before hand. I also don't like it too much when doing SD with a guy, and they seem to take it very easy on me because I'm a woman.

The toughest part of training for me is having to pair up with another female because Im a female. Especially when we are grappling or if the instructor feels it gets too rough to be partnered with a male. I understand my limitations, but i dont like them being enforced by someone else! I feel I have alot to learn by being partnered with someone from the opposite sex. It makes me work harder. I guess I dont like the feeling of being segregated because Im female!

The only differences that I have experienced due to gender were different brackets at tournaments (the women's weight classes don't have as much variety as the men's, [fewer classes and a greater weight range] and the highest weight class is 165 pounds and up) and having different breaking requirements - but even the last one was due to body size and not gender; a male of a similar weight would have the same breaks I did, and the variation is in number of boards, not in the techniques. In the tournaments I attend, patterns competition are by rank and age, but the genders are mixed, so that's never been an issue.

Any other differences between the way I was treated and the way other students were treated were due to individualization in instruction - I was a wuss, and the seniors in my class put a great deal of effort into teaching me to be more aggressive... but another female student was too aggressive, and the same seniors put a great deal of effort into teacher her to be more controlled. The same things occurred with male students who demonstrated similar traits - granted, more men than women were too aggressive, and more women than men were not aggressive enough - but the difference in treatment was toward the same end (controlled ability) and differentiated based on individual characteristics, not gender. I try to do the same thing with my own students.

This is something I hate...sorry in advance to the fellas: the wonderful event that happens every 28 days. Man, sometimes I just wanna curl up and sleep through it. Although once I do drag my butt to class the situps usually help with the cramps.

The hardest part for me right now is the grappling and mental focus. I am really struggling with them in my class right now. In the past when I was assaulted, my attackers were a lot bigger and stronger than me and one knew some martial arts (not sure what style). I felt so utterly helpless then because I as much as I tried to fight back, I was no match. Well now when we work on grappling moves in class, because it's so new to me, I feel kind of that same helplessness and I get very flustered and frustrated.

I've overcome having flashbacks in class and my fear of sparing. I love sparing now and the guys in my class have nicknamed me "Buzzsaw" because of how I spar. I do fine working with most of the guys now and overcome sooo many obstacles in class already, so I know I can do this. I have to. I refuse to give in to fear.

Ladies, how do you deal with grappling? Are there some tips or techniques that might make it (for lack of better word) easier to learn, or help me overcome this obstacle? I am not going to give up; I am going to get this stuff down, but dang it's hard!!

To get power and "spirit" to back up my kata form. At our dojo, guys when they start have usually a rigid technique but force behind the cuts, and my problem is that I'm told my kata is good but "lifeless".

Working paired kata has helped some (it somehow helps my concentration when I might get hit with a bokken), but it's an ongoing battle. I just don't get it. And my "sabbatical" sure doesn't help...

The thing that I find the toughest are the males that make gender related comments like "If you ladies find this too hard you can do the alternative technique" instead of making the comment ability based ,"If any of you....."rather than gender based. I know I am still progressing and cant do some things yet!!!, but that is true for all genders.
My second peeve is undergarments that dont behave as they should!!either failing to perform or riding up or down contrary to their designated design.:mp5:

Does this question sort of... irk anyone else?

Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it seems worded funny... as if all women feel the same way.

Have you ever seen a thread that said, "What's the hardest part of training for a man?" I don't know, maybe I'm just thinking too much.

Does this question sort of... irk anyone else?

Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it seems worded funny... as if all women feel the same way.

Have you ever seen a thread that said, "What's the hardest part of training for a man?" I don't know, maybe I'm just thinking too much.


Sam, I am sure Dennis could answer for himself. But as a one of the male portion of the human race, I might ask how do women approach something and thenif the sample size was large enough I could get a good cross diagonal information, and make some adjustments to training to help everyone improve and or teach.

Hello, As an assistant Instructor for our school where over half the students are high school girls, you have open some interesting issures here.

We keep all the training same for both sides. All the defense and strikes are the same. We expect the same intensity and hard work..nothing else.

We also know everyone has there own learning curve, some people it will take longer (men and women)and we work we them to get it right.

Physcial excercise is all the same except for push-ups (our Professor set the rules on this) women can do push-ups with the palms or on their knuckles, .......the rest of us it is expect to do them on the knuckles...Aloha

When I watch someone move a certain way, the move just does not sink in. I can't imitate it very well. Parlaying a move between what I'm watching and what I'm doing is very difficult. I do better when responding to verbal commands or verbal cues.

I have a hard time with this also. Sometimes I have to be shown several times before I "get it".

I also have a hard time pulling off certain manouvers because of my height (5'0). It is hard to reach up and grab the shoulders of an almost 6 foot tall man and try to drop him when I am nearly a foot shorter and have no reach. Ugh, being short can be a big stumbling block.

The hardest part for me is the confidence. Nothing bothers me more than self defense drills- the winging it! Tell me any kempo or combo to do for any attack not a problem- tell me to react I freeze. This has been my biggest drawback. Fortunetly I work with a great group of supportive men that put up with my stress!

For me, the hardest part of training is:
1. sparring- my instructor wants me to be aggressive, but I'm not wired that way. And, I kinda suck at it.
2. being the youngest adult & the only adult female in class (usually- sometimes there are other female students, but not normally)
3. having to kihap- By default, I'm quiet and slightly shy. And, kihaping makes me feel REALLY self-conscious.

For me, the hardest part of training is:
1. sparring- my instructor wants me to be aggressive, but I'm not wired that way. And, I kinda suck at it.

It took me quite some time too - and it's still not my favorite part, although I'm a lot better than I used to be. It helps that my students look at my belt and are automatically afraid of me!

2. being the youngest adult & the only adult female in class (usually- sometimes there are other female students, but not normally)

Yeah, I went through that too - I was the youngest, although not the only adult female, but there weren't that many, and there were days I was the only female to show up (it was an adults only class). Still, as I kept coming, more women joined, because there were women there.

3. having to kihap- By default, I'm quiet and slightly shy. And, kihaping makes me feel REALLY self-conscious.

It took me a long time to kihap... but now I can outyell 5-10 students (depends on the age/size/gender/enthusiasm of the group).

Give it time - you'll get there!

It took me quite some time too - and it's still not my favorite part, although I'm a lot better than I used to be. It helps that my students look at my belt and are automatically afraid of me!



Yeah, I went through that too - I was the youngest, although not the only adult female, but there weren't that many, and there were days I was the only female to show up (it was an adults only class). Still, as I kept coming, more women joined, because there were women there.



It took me a long time to kihap... but now I can outyell 5-10 students (depends on the age/size/gender/enthusiasm of the group).

Give it time - you'll get there!


Yesterday(Sept. 19, 2006), I ACTUALLY kihapped loud enough for the black belt teaching class to hear me. Needless to say, he was pleasantly surprised.

I'm the only woman in my swordwork class. I felt a bit funny and silly training with them at first, because they all held god-status to me back then - I wasn't able to discern between good form and bad form, so they were all perfect, and I just felt like a little nobody.

They were also a very tight-knit group, all know each other, are good friends, etc. A newcommer was never embraced. Sure there was professional respect, but to get in their 'circle' took some time. As a trained harder and harder, stayed on after so many were scared off, showed persistance and most of all gave them their attitude right back at them (hehe) I eventually wormed my way in.

They're GREAT guys and the dojo feels like another home to me. It isn't something I do when I have time, it's something that's ingrained in my schedule and everything else is planned around it. If I'm tired and exhausted, that's what picks me up.

But anyway, getting back on topic, my main difficulty is the strength factor. I've gained some muscle over time and improvemed my fitness, but I still have much less upper-body strength than them. When I have to spar with a naginata for 15 minutes my muscles just start to BURN. I push myself though, and they push me, so i guess that's a compliment.

Also, the KIAI! (kihap?) I have never been very vocal, have been shy for so long it's like my voice box has lost contact with my brain. And because of this, I feel SO silly doing kiai, and nobody will let me off the hook.

I don't know if it's a woman thing but I find it hard to clear my mind. Thinking about other things really gets in my way of learning.

My biggest obstacle is not being ab;e to remember two things at once. Once I've learned a pattern, the rest go straight out of my head! I can do my latest pattern perfectly, almost as good as some of the highest colour grades, but once I've got that ingrained the rest go out the window. Even the simplest ones I find myself forgetting and standing in the middle of the dojang looking like a complete newbie lost and befuddled.

I'm getting there though, some memory training and daily pattern practice is starting to fix it.

Everything

I had trouble with the contact. You get a little close and personal at times in MA and I'm squeamish when it comes to that. Grappling, throws, even sparring at times. But I'm mostly over it now and just look at it as training, I get this whole new outlook and focus in training, like a switch.

Push ups too, my arms just refuse to gain muscle. But I'm determined.

Shy sparring, I get shy with people I'm not used to sparring. I'll be too embrassed and do my kicks all wrong. DX

I find it most difficult just to keep training in my mind. I homeschool our children. I'm involved in volunteer organizations. I try to keep the house decent and cook a decent meal occasionally. Sometimes I'm just so up to my eyeballs, I'm doing good to get myself into class. I usually feel better for having done it but it takes me a while to tune out the rest of life so I can focus. I'm not one of those folks who is giften in sports. I really have to work at it to be average. Sparring has never been easy for me. Fun, but not easy. I can't comprehend and react to what I see quickly enough. That is intensely frustrating. I'm just too stuborn to quit.

I can relate to a lot of the sparring issues previously raised... blokes going too soft on me (so suddenly my face is 3 feet to the right of head??!), other chicks being limp and floppy and not defending well, blokes suddenly making stupid cracks about me being some kind of killer machine if i manage to get them to the floor etc. It just seems like there is no middle ground - too much ego investment in gender roles methinks.

But actually, the thing i find hardest about my practice is the meditation... can't seem to shake that monkey mind! But i'll keep trying ...

Hm, I don't think that me being a woman has something to do with the difficulties I encounter during training.

For me, the hardest part of training is:
1. sparring- my instructor wants me to be aggressive, but I'm not wired that way. And, I kinda suck at it.
I've got the same problem! Fortunately I don't have to spar yet, so it isn't really difficult or somrthing, but my instructor always says that I'm too kind and everything... I was on a training camp once, and we'd just learnt all kinds of strikes & kicks. My instructor was blocking the doorway so I looked at him. And he said "What do you do now?" So I asked him very politely "Could you please move aside, sir" (or something like that) and everyone laughed really hard because they'd all expected me to hit him or something. But the possibility never even occured to me... I don't even want to be aggressive.

For me, the hardest part is uhm, how do you call that, anticipating the movements of your opponent. As I said, I don't spar, but when I'm practising a technique that involves responding to a kick or something, I only see it coming when it's about to hit (just a second too late). The real problem is that it's caused by the fact that I've got only one working eye :(.

However, I'm still having fun so I don't really care about it. Okay, it's quite annoying sometimes, but everyone is very supportive and I'm even getting a little better at it.

This doesn't have anything to do with being female, but for me the hardest part of training is I cannot react quickly enough when sparring. I kick quite well, accurately and fast, but I just can't react quickly enough if my opponent switches stance, for example, so I throw a kick that hits their back.

In terms of being treated differently because I'm a girl, I haven't really had any bad experience with this. I feel the black belts treat me like any other 4th Kup when working with me, and my gender is not an issue. I'm the only regular female in my class, except for one black belt woman, and everyone finds it quite amusing when a new male student comes, because they always mutter things about 'not wanting to hit a young girl' - I just show them what i've got and the soon shut up =]

Sometimes though, I think the 6 foot male black belts who have been training for 20 years forget that I simply cannot carry them on my back no matter how hard I try - but I tend to take it as a compliment that they think I can.

I tell you something though...i wish i had guy's muscles when it comes to doing those tricep dips. No matter how hard I try, I cannot do more than 10 good quality ones without practically losing all movement in my arms...

Ummm, it could be just me (blush)... maybe 'cos I'm a little overweight, but finding a bra that works has been the toughest part of my return to TKD... I can handle being the lowest belt (yellow), I can handle being the oldest (55), I can handle being female... but I'm having serious trouble with the bounce!.. I think I've tried every 'sports' bra on the market... I even tried a hernia support belt (it slid down to my waist and nearly choked me!)...
I really look forward to the kicks, the punches and the put-downs... but I dread the jogging and sparring - training with your arms crossed just doesn't cut it!!!
Lotsaluv..

The physical training, because I'm not in my twenties anymore (plus I have asthma) & the older I get, whenever I miss class it seems to take longer to get "back in shape." I've been gone from active training due to life stuff (injury & financial problems) for the past few months & am hoping to come back to class this week, but am not looking forward to the push ups, jumping jacks, leg lunges, etc.....

But if Mr. Billings reads this: just kidding, Sir--I love all of class! :uhyeah:

Oss,
Gin-Gin :asian: