Is Martial Arts pointless for women?

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That's exactly what I was explaining to someone the other day.

I'm 5'2 and a judoka, and in my classes I usually fight against women who are in most cases near my height and the same weight as me. This also applies to the competitions I enter, I always fight against women.. guys too if they're the same weight as me but that's very rare. But if I were to get man-handled by a guy, who will (99.9% of the time) be taller and heavier than me, where do my Judo skills come in? :zomg:

the whole principle of judo is that you can beat any opponent regardless of their 'size'....its a tactical martial art. I've trained with some of the female GB team members and get my ass kicked sometimes and one of them is shorter than me but im physically stronger but she has better skill than I do.

Reply 61

miser

It's next to pointless for anyone to learn martial arts for self-defence unless they're at some enhanced risk of violence. In most western countries, the likelihood of being involved in a fight as an adult is pretty low. There is also the phenomenon of feeling safer and that you can handle yourself, which discourages people from leaving or de-escalating a situation when they should. On the other hand, the sheer amount of time and money it costs, and the limited effectiveness it actually gives a person in a real-world chaotic altercation, make me think that for self-defence it's quite a poor investment.

That being said, I've practised martial arts for 10 years and have moved to Japan to continue my practice. There are great reasons to do martial arts but I'm always critical of self-defence as a primary motivation.

Reply 62

thecatwithnohat

Original post by trapking

I'd rate it as more of a tactical martial arts than one that could help you in self defence.

Reply 63

trapking

Original post by thecatwithnohat

I'd rate it as more of a tactical martial arts than one that could help you in self defence.

then you clearly do not understand judo.

Judo is used in all UFC takedowns, the groundwork you learn in judo is on par with brazilian jijustu...look at Ronda Rousey in UFC most dominant female fighter she was a judo olympian for USA.

the only thing lacking is striking which is forbidden in judo but can be learnt in other sports.

Reply 64

trapking

Original post by TheRadUser

I honestly think learning karate striking will hold you back more than help you.

Nobody actually sits in square stance and punches air from the hip, it's awful, should be banned, the way boxing practices punching is so much more useful

Karate is one of the 'sissy' martial arts imo lol

boxing takes serious skill so does judo! Would love to learn sparring from a boxer

Reply 65

TheRadUser

Original post by trapking

Karate is one of the 'sissy' martial arts imo lol

boxing takes serious skill so does judo! Would love to learn sparring from a boxer

This guy gets it.

Not saying it would be in OP's interests to do this, but if you're a strong guy who hits the gym regularly, learning both judo and boxing would be a great combination.

Reply 66

trapking

Original post by TheRadUser

This guy gets it.

Not saying it would be in OP's interests to do this, but if you're a strong guy who hits the gym regularly, learning both judo and boxing would be a great combination.

which art/arts do you do? :smile:

I had to quit judo for a little bit to take care of uni workload :redface:

but i miss it badly and want to go back to training again.

Reply 67

TheRadUser

Original post by trapking

which art/arts do you do? :smile:

I had to quit judo for a little bit to take care of uni workload :redface:

but i miss it badly and want to go back to training again.

Nothing currently, but I used to do more than one.

I'm slightly skeptical of the really traditional Asian ones tbh, too much art and not enough martial, judo is good though.

Reply 68

trapking

Original post by TheRadUser

Nothing currently, but I used to do more than one.

I'm slightly skeptical of the really traditional Asian ones tbh, too much art and not enough martial, judo is good though.

Nice, you should get back into it when you have free time! :smile:

hahaha i totally agree like kung fu wtf....life isn't a bruce lee movie :rofl:

Reply 69

Copperknickers

Original post by anitax

If you learn it just to defend yourself?

I am thinking of doing something like kung fu, but even if I learn it I am still a skinny 5"6 woman.. For self defence purposes can a martial art for women be much use? :yep:

Kung fu is not a martial art intended for self-defense. Martial arts intended to be useful for self-defence are things like krav maga, jiu-jitsu, and some of the more practical karate dojos. Many martial arts classes offer specific classes for female self-defense, which is more useful for people who are only interested in that aspect. Most martial arts are 70% repetition of basic techniques, 20% sport fighting, and 10% actual applicable self-defense.

That's not to say they aren't useful for self-defence, but they're useful in the same way that calligraphy is useful for improving your handwriting. If you practice martial arts for years and years you'll get lightning-fast reaction speed, a huge tolerance to pain, and strong core and leg muscles, as well as a knowledge of weak spots in the human body, so you'll be able to defend yourself better than most people, but most of your time will not be spent actively training for real-life defense situations and there are more efficient ways of achieving that goal.

Reply 70

username2284409

I have a good story about this. When I was 10 years old I practiced karate and my teacher was a women. I remember she told us that one day she was going to be robbed at night by 3 men, obviously they didn't know she was a black belt in karate... damn... she kicked their asses so good!

So yeah, you should practice martial arts. I recommend to look for a martial art that conciliates the mental state with the physical (they're the best ones).

Reply 71

Jacques_cuny

Yes

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Reply 72

Howard

It's pointless for almost everybody. With a few exceptions it really isn't very effective. You're better off with boxing lessons.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 73

anitax

Original post by Howard

It's pointless for almost everybody. With a few exceptions it really isn't very effective. You're better off with boxing lessons.

Why is boxing better? martial arts can teach how to punch too

Reply 74

Howard

Original post by anitax

Why is boxing better? martial arts can teach how to punch too

Martial arts is really handy is you attackers are considerate enough to come at you one at a time at the speed of a snail. Boxers will generally kick the crap out of you before you've had a chance to assume you stance.

In my view the best protection you can get is via the training you get in unarmed combat in the Army. Just shear strength, aggression, speed, and brutality.

Reply 75

e aí rapaz

Original post by miser

Have to agree with the above tbh...

Original post by TheRadUser

Not saying it would be in OP's interests to do this, but if you're a strong guy who hits the gym regularly, learning both judo and boxing would be a great combination.

...Which is why things like this, although accurate, are kind of irrelevant.

Honestly, it's really easy to avoid violence in England (and most places in the world). Martial arts only really help in one-on-one unarmed fights, and you only ever really get into those by your own choice, in 99% of cases. Anything truly unavoidable is likely be the kind of situation where knowledge of a martial art is pointless anyway. E.g. I got robbed at gunpoint a while back - I don't think knowing judo would have helped.

I also agree that martial arts provide loads of great benefits in terms of attitude, discipline, confidence, and so forth though. I would highly recommend it to anyone. Just not for the real-world self-defence aspect. I boxed most of my teenage years and early 20s. I still train and spar every now and then but not as often as I should. I would love to learn Judo or BJJ one day, but just find it really difficult to find the time at the moment.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 76

username1201943

Nope. It really does teach you to be disciplined and have control over everything (emotions and all that).

I second the above that boxing is better but i'm a little biased

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 77

Kanairee

I don't see any reason why it would be considered pointeless, it certainly helps to have a few tricks up your sleeve if the worst does happen. Personlly I found learning martial arts gave me lot of confidence, that's as good a reason as any to start training, you don't have to plan to use any of what you're taught in a real life situation.

Reply 78

Jackla1

Been browsing this forum for years, first time I've seen a post that's made me want to reply :smile:

There are lots of conflicting posts here and there are some good arguments. Generally, it's going to depend on what martial art you want to take up, and where you are going to go to learn it. There are some clubs (within any martial art) who will not teach you correctly but leave you with the impression that what you are learning is useful; ultimately this will always do you more harm than good in the long run. If you're planning on joining a club it's worth doing a bit of homework on that club, and that martial art if you can.

Most martial arts practiced routinely in this country are very much sport oriented (Tae Kwan-do and Judo being the main examples) so have relatively little use in terms of true self defense, but that's not to say they have none at all. Some training is always better than no training. I saw an excellent video the other day done by one of the UFC commentators basically saying how dangerous well trained martial artists are in terms of a real "fight", and he's not wrong. He talks about how when you're sparring with someone who really knows what they're doing, and you're a complete beginner you feel "like a 5 year old fighting a grown man" and it's a good analogy!

Any dojo worth it's salt will ALWAYS tell you to avoid having to use your martial art to defend yourself unless you have no other choice, but obviously this isnt always possible, sometimes you will HAVE to defend yourself, and this is where all that training will come in. Like anything, it's not something you'll learn over night, but over years and years of hard learning, and training it might, one day, save your life! Hopefully this helps :smile:

Reply 79

RiskVsReward

Here I will tell ya the secret tricks.
Hit throat with extreme force.
Hit balls with extreme force.
Poke eyes.

If you play dirty, you will be far more likely to win. I am talking about situations of life and death. Kill or be killed.