Females in FMA

[Tarot]

In my school, there are only two females who train in Arnis. Me plus one other chick, and we both started at the same time. Which works out really well. I'm wondering if a low number of females is pretty common in regards to FMA.

How many, if any, females do you currently train with?

If the number is low or nonexistent, why do you think that is?

Do you feel that FMA is a good art for females to learn?


In my case, I just learned about Arnis. I had never heard of it before and therefore didn't know anything about it. I'm really glad that I discovered it and am very serious about my training. I think it's an excellent art for women to learn but am wondering if some might be intimidated by the strong male presence and the use of weapons. Neither of which I have an issue with. :) I'm interested in hearing your thoughts.

[lhommedieu]

Met my wife in martial arts school. She's helping me demo at the MAP Meet in NYC this Saturday. I can always count on her to swing hard and without warning...

Generally I find that females make excellent students because they understand that moving a weapon around requires excellent body mechanics.

Best,

Steve Lamade

[Captain Jack Sparrow]

when i was studying for my physical therapy degree, it was proven that women are better at fine motor motions vs men... include their vehemently natural instincts to defend their children and you got warriors!...

too bad i've only met a few (about 4) women who are consistent followers of eskrima/blade arts


Captain

[Ron B]

Tarot I think the same can be said about most martial arts.more guys take martial arts than girls.but this appears to be changing.when I trained in boxing 19 years ago some girls came to the club and wanted to learn boxing.they were told that the boxing club does not train girls.that was not right they should be allowed to train.now almost 20 years later girls do train at most boxing clubs and make up a good percentage of boxing cards.if you look at a flyer advertising amature boxing matches you will probably find some women in the card.as far as the FMA being good for women I believe they are good especially if someone wants to learn self defence.in the FMA techniques that are learned for stick can be translated for knife use,improvised weapon use and empty hand use.

[Rich Parsons]

Right now we have one Woman in our class. She is the Girl Friend of one of our most recent male students.

[arnisador]

In most FMA classes I have been in there have been more women than in other martial arts classes I've attended, but not a lot more.

[Damien Alexander]

I have 1 or 2...
this is one of mine:

www.dfauner.com

[Pat OMalley]

A lot of people outside of the FMA think it is all about sparring with weapons all the time and this in it's self can scare anyone off, but also Martial Arts in general tends to have a higher percentage of male participants purely because of the male ego, we like to think we can fight and it is the macho thing to do.

But once the arts are taking up, views can and do change. Thankfully more and more women are taking up the arts and especially the FMA because of the weapons size and gender are no longer an issue, sticks, swords and daggers are great equalisers:EvilGrin:

I met my wife Lucy because of the FMA and she is still very active and very skilled, I have found that women learn the fine motor skills far quicker than the men and many end up beiong more skillfull players because they do not rely on strength and ego.

Let just say that my scariest sparring partner is my wife.

Best regards

Pat

[Alex(ander Bautista Bayot France)]

Just today, a lady just told me she "was still working up the nerve to attend" my Filipino Combatives (Kombatan) class. When I told her that Lorie (the General Manager for the fitness center where I'm holding my classes) wanted me to start up an all-female class, she said. "That would be good thing!" She would like to join that! She explained to me that the scary part for her (and some other females --Not all. I'm thinking "Lucia Rijker" here!) was that we're dealing with weapons and she was afraid that "the men might hit her too hard without realizing it". That's why she would be more comfortable (starting out at least) in an all-female class. I can understand that! What might be a light or tolerable hit for one (example: me hitting Lucia) might be too much for another (example: Lucia hitting me back!).

[KrissOfSweden]

How many, if any, females do you currently train with?

If the number is low or nonexistent, why do you think that is?

Do you feel that FMA is a good art for females to learn?


In the school where i train here in sweden, we only have 2 girls for now, but our headquarters in gothenborg which has a lot students has a lot of female students, in our club we are only 20-25 people so we are a small group.

I think it is the mentality, i can't say that this is the case in other countrys, but i have noticed when i have talkt to a lot female friends, they want to learn any martial art but they don't have the guts to train with guys. That's a bit sad, but this seems the biggest reason that and just plain blunt... hahaha...

I believe that FMA is exellent for females, because of the princibals of handling weapons and also that FMA is hyperbrutal.

I have trained to make my girlfriend intressted in fma, but she thinks it is boring(!?) i do not know why.. and she is a bit lasy to... :P

[Datu Tim Hartman]

I would say my adult classes have about 20 - 30% women and my kids classes are about 50% girls.

[JohnJ]

Andie,

For some insight on women in the FMA, you may wanna check out www.fmadigest.com (http://www.fmadigest.com) There are 2 Special Edition issues on Women Warriors.

[arnisador]

when i have talkt to a lot female friends, they want to learn any martial art but they don't have the guts to train with guys.

I find a lot of guys want to be able to do martial arts but aren't willing to put forth the effort either. It works both ways!

[Tarot]

John, thanks for that link!

In response to women who don't want to train with men, I think that's something they need to over come and quick. If they are thinking of taking a martial art for self defense reasons, the best training partners are men because the reality is, if a woman is going to get attacked, chances are high it's going to be by a man (holy run on sentence Batman!).

For me as a women, training with all men doesn't phase me in the least. As long as the guys don't have any issues with working with a female, then I don't have any problems working with a guy. Yes they may hit harder and be a little more rough, but that only means I need to work harder to counter and presents me with more of a challenge. :D

[Sheldon Bedell]

I have 4 women in my class today. They seem to like the idea of training with men larger adn stronger than themsleves because it gives them a chance to realy try their techniques.
I have noticed that in todays world but men and weomen seem to not want to put forth a lot of physical effort to learn and that many seem to fear getting hit but have little problem when they get to do the hitting

[DAMAG-INC]

I can't believe that no one has brought up OR even acknowledged the existence of Guro Dan Inosanto's oldest daughter, Diana Lee.

I got to meet her and her husband Ron Balicki at a seminar hosted by Alvis "Hound Dog" Solis of Humble Texas. I seen her and Ron work together and boy that lady can move! I mean she's got some MAD SKILLS! And she's also a very cool cat too.

[KrissOfSweden]

I find a lot of guys want to be able to do martial arts but aren't willing to put forth the effort either. It works both ways!

yes of coures it works both ways, but stil there is a majority of guys that are training martial arts... how can we trigger the ladys to start train.. :)

[kroh]

I mean she's got some MAD SKILLS! And she's also a very cool cat too.

You are showing your age with the "cat" comment, my friend.

Shortly after becoming my girlfriend, my wife started to train in JKD and Filipino Martial Arts at the school where I was training. She used to get this grin on her face the second she picked up a knife and started slicing (i still have nightmares). She told me that working with timid women was the worst and that working with men that thought they were tough was the best. The weak willed women gave her no challenge and the brutes made her rise to the occasion or get her head handed to her.

I read an article online (FMA website) where the author stated that he liked to start men out with a stick and women with the knife (men like to bash and women have that whole fine motor thing so they cut very well).

I think more women should get involved in the FMA's as they are perfect for them (and guys like me who need a step ladder to jump up and kick some one in the knee). Hopefully more will come into the mix as time goes on as it is good to have a mixed bag in classes. Everyone benefits from training from a different perspective.

Regards,
Walt

Rgards,
Walt

[DAMAG-INC]

Here's one video link I came across on youtube.com of two girls training with sticks filmed in the Philippines at the University of the Philippines at Dilliman campus at one of the FMAForum.org FMA gatherings.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tGJu4MweMGA&search=arnis

[arnisador]

It's good to know that it's still being practiced by women back in the Philippines as well as here!

[Carol]

There are two other women in my class besides me. As a percentage, the represenation is a lot lower than what I'm used to. One of my instructors is female and is this year's FMA Diget woman of the year - Guro May Williiams. I'm proud of her and intimidated by her at the same time. SHe can HIT. :D :D

[arnisador]

There used to be very many female practitioners at the Michigan Modern Arnis camps. I don't know if there are statistics on which martial arts tend to attract which genders, if indeed there is a significant difference.

[Brock]

At one point I had more women training in my classes than boys, but the odds have changed. Not that I haven't kept the same girls, I've just added boys at an exponentially greater rate. Small town thought process I guess. Fighting is "men's business" and such. I hope my girls never fall into that mindset.

[Carol]

There used to be very many female practitioners at the Michigan Modern Arnis camps. I don't know if there are statistics on which martial arts tend to attract which genders, if indeed there is a significant difference.

If I were to guess...I would guess that schools with a large children's program and place an effort on recruiting families/moms would tend to have a larger participation of female participants, regardless of what the style is. Just a guess though.

[Carol]

At one point I had more women training in my classes than boys, but the odds have changed. Not that I haven't kept the same girls, I've just added boys at an exponentially greater rate. Small town thought process I guess. Fighting is "men's business" and such. I hope my girls never fall into that mindset.

Somehow, Brock, I have the feeling they won't. :)

I haven't been training for all that long, personally. The first time I stepped on the mat was last year. I was surprised though...the kind of attitudes I saw....and how those attitudes CHANGED after people saw the change in me!

My neighbor's relatives went from "Your doing Martial Arts...why?" to "Good for you for learning how to protect yourself" (I don't live in a high-crime area, but my neighbors know I live alone). My colleagues went from wondering why I didn't just "go to the gym" to cheering me on every time I had a stripe test.

Sometimes it just takes a person to put a face on an activity. Brock, I bet you are doing a great job at showing your daughters how cool MA training can be. :bow:

[ap Oweyn]

One of my teachers in Doce Pares was a woman. Ms. Maria Patalinghug. I think the appeal of something like arnis to women is that weapons are the great equalizer. Ms. Maria was literally half my height. But I had no doubt that, if push came to shove, she'd have the right tool for the job.


Stuart

[Brock]

Sometimes it just takes a person to put a face on an activity. Brock, I bet you are doing a great job at showing your daughters how cool MA training can be. :bow:

I hope so. I think my oldest takes for granted that everyone does some form of MA. Kinda' like someone who takes for granted that everyone has a TV or something.