As I'd done other "budo" before and best friends growing up were boys,
no problem...except with some people who will push and I'm not very tall.
In Japan, tho, we females are expected to sometimes serve tea while I think
any sex person should serve the senseis...but in that aspect, we're thought of
as female. Otherwise, have found no discrimination insofar as being a female is
concerned (about being non-Japanese, well that depends...).
I'm a woman, I started practicing kendo with my university's kendo club, and then progressed to practicing with our sensei's dojo, once my interest sparked. I got my bogu May of last year, after two and half months of practicing without, and passed my ikkyu examination around New Years. Just so you have some context.
The hardest thing about female beginners is that a lot of them have very sensitive buttons, and they're often not of the same kind. Being female in contact martial arts is a difficult thing, mostly because all of us expect to be pegged one way or another, and inaccurately. One new female beginner may drop at the first sign of being treated any differently than the new boys (I was one of those), while the other may quit if they can't find a sense of female camaraderie. Some require both. There is no typifying female beginners. And, as someone mentioned above, the drop rate of female beginners, also, at our dojo is not even half the percent of male drop figures.
The worst kind of modification you could make is to have the others hit lighter for women, "simplify" waza for them, or have them only practice with other women. In the United States, the majority of tournaments are co-ed. Not only that, but since this is a weapons martial art, in theory, any woman should be capable of the same kind of mastery as a man, and be able to have an equal chance at defeating a man as a man does her.
With that out of the way, I'll address your original questions.
I don't believe physical aggression intimidates females, at least not in the way that most would imagine. It's not the fact of the aggression that's the issue, as women can be, and often are, aggressive with each other, it's just the manifestation of it in a controlled environment. The fact that you need to run into your opponent full force after striking, as if the body were cleaved in two from a katana, is a practical methodology, but is awkward for a typical woman to understand and accept since displays of female aggression are never this... I guess ritualized might be the word I'm looking for? Some of my fellow university kendoka who are female are loud as all hell outside of the dojo, yelling, shouting, making fun, pushing boys around no problem, and then are as quiet as field mice and barely touch their opponents when in bogu. If women have previous experience in sports where noise was necessary (i.e. calling the ball, cheering on teammates, grunting in tennis or squash, etc.) for designed purpose, you may have luck approaching the noise aspect from this angle. My first soccer coach spent three days with me trying to help me overcome my fear of getting kicked in the face (as I was keeper), and eventually found that he could get me to forget about a mouthful of cleats if I yelled my brains out while rushing the ball.
Other qualities of kendo that appeal? The competition, for one. I like hitting people, and this is not uncommon, especially not for women. To be able to do so well, efficiently, elegantly, against other kendoka (especially a sensei), even if it's just one strike, or one set of footwork, or one waza, is absolutely worth it. The drinking after practices, the other women in the group (one of my senpai is about to move in with me). Seeing other female kendoka who are really amazing kick ass, both mens and womens, is so heartening. The ritual. The history.
The modification of drills and such should be handled very delicately. Generally, I'd say absolutely not. But there are certain advantages and disadvantages that female players have over male/taller players that should be addressed. If you want to deal with it as a seperate group, I wouldn't suggest doing it during regular practice time. If you have any female senpai, have them confront the other women right after or right before class and go over some modified techniques taking into account female agility, lower center of gravity, smallness of frames, and hight deficit, especially the latter, which though it seems it would be a disadvantage can actually be used to extreme advantages during shiai, so long as the shorter player's spacial awareness is worked on.
Encourage your women to think beyond their gender. I don't know if your dojo allows folks to experiment with kamaes or styles, but there are so few female jodan and nitou players, make them think outside the box. Find shiais and demonstrations where strong female kendoka or female senseis are going to be fighting, and let your girls see what women are capable of. Inspiration is 9/10ths of the motivation necessary.
A lot of this is very generalized advice, and for that, I'm sorry. My body type and build aren't that of a typical female, so I find myself fighting a lot like a shorter, stocky male would, since I'm so broad-shouldered, most guys don't even notice I'm a woman till I take off my bogu.But a lot of this ties back into why I started and what kept me and my buddies going, so hopefully it'll be of some use.
I think that might be the key point. The fact that bogu-less Kendo, is so different. I'm used to contact sport but even to me, it's a huge change after training without bogu for 3 months. Especially once you wear men and do ji-geiko, it's very different than the technical drills and I'm wondering if maybe many female beginners get the wrong image of what Kendo is and then once they're in bogu, they stop. This would also explain why so many quit AFTER they got to bogu.Originally Posted by ixi
I thought we were doing well but so far out of 6 women beginners 2 have already quit and another is not showing up often enough to even make it into bogu. 2 of us are already in bogu and I think we're both staying (I know I am ^^) and I think we'll have to wait and see about the 3rd one who still comes regularly. She trains really hard but I worry that she won't like being in bogu.
And I fear, this is something you can't really change. You cannot make Kendo more atractive to women who won't enjoy being in bogu and doing ji-geiko. Maybe you can ease their inhibitions and prepare them, but if they are not made for it, there's nothing you can do. And yes, I do believe you need a certain mind-set to face the challenge that Kendo poses. Especially if you're a woman.
I love both the grace of kata and the explosiveness of ji-geiko (the explosion of me being pwned, lol) but I've been prepared for this in my past with other MAs. I'm sure If I had not done Karate before Kendo, I might have run away too. Before I started karate I was very quiet, kiai-whatnow? Hit someone? Me???
So maybe some women would stay if they had a bit more time preparing them for bogu. I'm not sure. This is purely individual, and not generally for women. It could maybe even applied to guys, but I think for guys it's easier to get over that hurdle since they generally feel more pressure of "not being a wuss"
But yeah, I think that's the key point of why many women quit after they recieved bogu and maybe that's what you could focus on, even if it just means sitting after practice, talking with the new ladies how they feel about the agression in actual kendo fighting (just hitting the motodachi repeatedly does not prepare you for jigeiko at all...) stuff like that. And I think a female sempai really does wonders in this aspect, to reassure you, answer questions you wouldn't ask a male sempai etc.
Up with this I will not put!
Perhaps before doing jigeiko with them you could do kakarigeiko/uchikomi in bougu with them before?
Nuernberg Kendojo
http://kendo-nuernberg.de/
Digg for family guy ref.
Always laugh when you can. It is cheapest medicine.
...and it keeps the ravenous, man-eating squirrels off of you.
Can't believe somebody caught that.
"Drunk off of legitimacy"
sponsored by-League of Extraordinary Assholes
From the same episode as:
"Mmmmmmm......You smell like th' inside of mah Mommah's purse...."
Always laugh when you can. It is cheapest medicine.
...and it keeps the ravenous, man-eating squirrels off of you.
This was actually written by some woman on some website regarding 'medieval' swordfighting.
Sorry that I don't have the source.
It's the Lizard's fault!Five Hurdles
Men and women think differently, we react differently, we have been conditioned differently in a prejudiced world. How can we expect men and women then to approach fighting the same with the same training and style?
I have found five hurdles that most women must overcome before they are on the same playing field that the male counterpart is. Because of the differences society has exposed us to, men, in general, do not experience these hurdles and may have some difficulty in even seeing them at all. For those gentlemen who wish to understand but do not have the reference, look at the stunned faces of the women reading this and you will see that it does make sense to her. Take it on faith, the hurdles are there, even if you have never experienced them. For the ladies who have been fighting for many years and have overcome these hurdles in the distant past, you may not recognise them for what they are. I firmly believe that I could teach someone in two years what it took me 12 to learn in trial and error. For those who were raised in a nontraditional fashion, without corporal punishment, possess a different sexual orientation or any outlook contrary to the established "norm", you are not immune to the effects of these hurdles. These conditionings were imprinted between the ages of 1 and 6 by parents, church, friends, day care, school, TV, commercials, public and so on. Even if your parents brought you up to believe one thing, "society" made up over 90% of the conditioning in your life and believe me, it imprinted.
That early conditioning is left behind in what I call the Lizard Brain. It's the reptile in us, the one that never forgets. It is concerned with only the basic needs in life and does not think about cause and effect. To the Lizard Brain, things just are, and it learned how the world worked by the time you were 6, and nothing has really changed. The saying "Everything I need to know I learned in kindergarten" is true. For those of us who are interested in changing the world, we must change the way we think first. Fortunately, the Lizard Brain can be overcome, with practice and understanding. To do this, however, you must understand what the Lizard is thinking if you are to overcome it's prejudices
Briefly they are:
1) Getting out on the field: Women spend on the average 7 times longer, getting the armor together than men. No matter how much help they receive, they will not go to the field until the battle between the ears is won. We have been conditioned to believe that boys do not compete with girls, (Look at the cartoons targeted at children--when boys and girls play together a boy always jumps up at the end and says "I win!". When is the last time you saw a girl play "Rock'em Sock'em Robots"?. Even the competitive sports teams are segregated in school.) There are dozens of examples, but let's face it this is a message that we have been bombarded with. So, when they are ready to believe that they can compete with men, in a male dominated sport, then they will go to the field, not before. Trainers can help overcome this by tackling the problem (competing in a male sport) not the symptom (getting the armor together). One last note. When she does get on the field, recognise this as the accomplishment that it is. The shadow of this will rear it's ugly head in hurdle 4.
2) I can be hit, in fun: 90% of the times men have been hit have been in team building, comraderie and fun. 90% of the time females have been hit have been in discipline or as a shock. Discipline as a child was associated to shame, even if it did not hurt, we cried, because we were ashamed, we had done wrong. So, he and she go to the field, he gets hit and says "Wow, a new game!" she gets hit and says "I've done something wrong". This is particularly true when the shot is sudden, and to the backside (head or butt, it doesn't seem to matter). The conversation with the Lizard Brain goes something like YOU'VE BEEN HIT YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED. I'm fighting, I'm supposed to be hit, it's ok. NO, YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED. But I'm fighting. NOT WELL, YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED. I want to be hit. SO YOU'RE ACTING LIKE A BATTERED SPOUSE, NO ONE RESPECTS THAT, YOU ARE ASHAMED. There are lots of variations of the argument but the end result is a flood of unexplained tears. The Lizard is sure it knows the way of the world and is just as sure that you have done wrong. Understand what the Lizard thinks, and combat it with reason when it appears. Continue to fight, recognise what created the tears and continue. Trainers, you may have to tell the student what conversation just took place, it went by very fast and they may not have noticed. Sit down and talk about it, face it together and continue. Running away from the field or the stimulus will not solve the problem, it will just give a victory to the Lizard and he will continue to use this tactic to help her see the error of her ways and return to the norm (non fighting) after all, the Lizard believes he knows the one true way and will help her realise the right path.
3) I can hit without hurting: This is often seen when she hits the center of the shield, or won't swing at someone who is not swinging at her. This comes from the conditioning that we are nurturing creatures, not hitting ones. We were all taught not to hit, and then we see a boxing match. This is rationalised as it is ok to hit in some places, not others. Hmmmm, says the Lizard, all those places that it is ok to hit are between guys, so girls are not suppose to hit/hurt. The front brain can overcome this belief, but the Lizard will insert itself, particularly when she is pressed in a fight. Trainers, fight the real battle. The real battle in this case is not just hitting, but hurting. The Lizard does not want to hurt, that's wrong. Let her hit the shield, and then drop it at the last second and let her tag you with a hard, unblocked shot. She will apologise profusely, and ask her why she is apologising for hitting the mark. To overcome this hurdle she needs to know that she has not hurt you. It often helps to have her get into some rough and tumble fights to let her see that the armor protects her (and you) and that she is doing no harm.
4) I can't do this: This is a particularly vicious one. Every fighter comes across something that they can not do right away. A block, a shot, something. When she comes across it she will try and try to overcome it and if she can't there will be a building pressure, panic and tears. What? Let's slow it down and see what happened. The Lizard Brain has been thwarted a number of times so far. It has tried several times to return to the non fighting way it should be, and she has consistently overcome every attempt by demanding that the Lizard be out logiced or ignored. Well, here is something that she can't do, everyone can see that she can't do it. Lizard says "See, I told you this was a guy's game, here is proof. You've been wasting your time, you have failed, and everyone can see it. You're embarrassed, you should leave the field. You can't play this game." Trainers, if you see this moment, STOP! Pay attention, this is the most important point in the early training to dedicate to her. She does not want to give up on the point she does not understand, so explain it differently. If that fails, explain that YOU do not have the right words and have someone else explain it. NEVER use the phrase "This is easy" for men this translates to "With practice you will have this down" for women it translates to "You are a stupid idiot for not getting it." (More on language differences latter.). Move on to something else, but promise that you will return to this before the end of the evening, and then do. Remind her that all fighters have problems with a particular thing and show her what yours was and how long it took you to overcome it.
5) Go out and play: Men have a tendency to see where they are compared to all other fighters so they go out and fight every style and person they can get to. Women seem to be more content with knowing where they are on a given scale. As a result, they like to fight the same people over and over again. This suits the Lizard just fine, after all according to it, she should not be fighting and tells her that the people she is fighting are only being nice to her, because they know her. She is not really fighting on equal ground. Stick to the folks that know you and like you and won't let you get hurt, you can't really play this game, so don't go bother the big boys. (This is one of the reasons that women will fight in wars far more than tournaments. She has the protection of those who know her and will not let her get hurt, around her.) Trainers, point out someone else she should fight. The stronger the fight, the better, provided the other fighter does not fight with his ego and need to pummel everyone. Find someone who will fight a level or two above her and send her out, watch for a bit and then go elsewhere. Warm up with her, pick her next fight, then have her pick fights with others. Wean her away from her chosen group and insure that she fights someone new as often as possible.
After all of these have been accomplished, she can start to compete on the level that most men have when they walk on the field. Unfortunately, the Lizard wins far to often and she gives up completely. These five steps are not absolute and some will not experience each step in as great a depth as someone else might. It may take several months or years to overcome each of these. Don't rush it, each step will show in its own time, conquer it when it gets there. "
I always figured that the reptilian part of the brain reacted more clear-cut in one of two ways fight or flight. Nevertheless, this “5 Hurtles” article seems incredibly insightful in some ways; I recognized a few aspects in both my own training and the other girls that train with me. Buy today’s trends a lot of women have let go of some of those gentler aspects and women who do kendo seem to have less problems with some of those hurtles to begin with. But yes, some of those are hard to let go of when you’re new at this sport.
P.S.
I looked up the article, it’s from a book titled "The Armored Rose" is part of a collection of articles and essays put together by Tobi Beck.
http://swordmaiden.com/armoredrose/ in a new window.
Because as we all know, Kendo is exactly like the SCA.
But seriously, I'd recommend approaching the content of this author with a highly skeptical eye.
Just my 2 cents.
Always laugh when you can. It is cheapest medicine.
...and it keeps the ravenous, man-eating squirrels off of you.
Hm. I dunno what I think of that article.
It suggests the same thing we're trying to avoid, doesn't it, saying that a woman is all women? And that a woman has to face these hurdles but men don't?
I was raised as a nurturer, sure, I'm the eldest of six children. But you want to tell me that that means I'm not a physically aggressive person when I need to be? I'll laugh in your face.
(Also it's somewhat suggestive of a fault in the author that s/he thinks 'possessing a different sexual orientation' should make any difference whatsoever.)
Filling the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run...
Yeah I kinda agree with you there. That article is really a bit weird. One sided. Like the author has a personal agenda or something.
For me for example, I find my aggression not in defense for myself, I never have, but in defense for those I love, and that's a very maternal/nurturing thing. When I was bullied in school I didn't do anything against it cause I didn't care, but as soon as my friends or my siblings got bullied I'd be there dealing out punches straight to the face. That's nature, the mother cat protects her cubs. There is no hurdle for me, it comes natural. I get really angry when I see injustice being done to someone weaker/helpless.
So in Martial Arts I learned that instead of having the agression of wanting to hurt someone else, I just project on each opponent that they have just hurt my loved ones. Sounds weird, but it really works. Maybe women do have a different source of the aggression, we have less reason to physically compete with each other for dominance, but we still are protectors in a way. (if you look at it from a nature aspect)
And I also have no clue what sexual orientation has to do with it. That's like saying all gay women are a certain way and all straight women are another way. It doesn't make any difference whatsoever. There are plenty of straight women who grew up as tomb boys, getting into fights and plenty of gay women who love wearing dresses and panic when they break a nail. It's all very individual.
Then again the whole lizard thing just makes the article ridiculous....
Up with this I will not put!
That article is a load of crap...
Last edited by H.Sandsleth; 22nd February 2008 at 05:07 PM. Reason: adding
1. So is the implication here boys aren't hit for discipline's sake? Because that's not true.90% of the times men have been hit have been in team building, comraderie and fun. 90% of the time females have been hit have been in discipline or as a shock. Discipline as a child was associated to shame, even if it did not hurt, we cried, because we were ashamed, we had done wrong.
2. Or is the implication that girls never hit or shove in a teasing, playful, or familial manner? Because ask any girl with siblings or a large family, or one that's lived away from home (i.e. boarding school) and you'll find that's also not true.
Also, it's interesting that the author thinks that the automatic reaction of "women" to subconscious victimization is to back down. Me and a friend of mine coming through kendo at the same time both had to deal with a Korean sempai who was, for a lack of a better way of describing it, mean to newbies. Constantly kept hitting us, even if the hits weren't valid points, even if we were just trying to adjust our bogu, or were trying to back away from a wall (since our dojo is very narrow) so we'd have enough space to continue. We didn't feel ashamed because he was trying to make us feel helpless. We got pissed off that he was trying to make us feel that way and fought back. And maybe that's why he did it, to get us to fight back, but I digress.
The point I'm trying to make here is that the author of the article has some interesting psychological pigeonholes that are very fundamentally flawed.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks