Shouldn't all girls learn martial arts?

Question

I'm 18 and last Saturday me and my friend were on our way home from a party at 3 AM when we were attacked by two guys. Lucky for us that my friend knows thaikwondo! She totally kicked one of the guys a** and the other just left the place running. If my friend didn't know martial arts we would both have been robbed or raped. I know I will start taking classes too! Now what if all girls knew martial arts, or at least many of us, so that every rapist and robber would know that if they attack a girl, there would be a big risk that they themselves would come off worse and get beaten up! Wouldn't that be great? Shouldn't all girls be encouraged to learn martial arts?

Answer 1

yes

Answer 2

Actually, even with martial arts training many people freeze in a crisis situation, a lot, if not most, of the training in this country is simply about winning tournaments, which has nothing to do with practical self defense.  There is also the fact that violent criminals who suspect the prey might be dangerous will escalate as well, if women are likely to fight back effectively rapists will simply TASER or mace them.  There also the very real danger of getting shot, that is why, except for rape, the police tell you not to resist a criminal.  Most self defense is basically common sense, and knowing how to recognize and avoid the high risk situations, there is nothing more dangerous than overconfidence.

Answer 3

It is a good idea to encourage all girls to learn some self defense, yes.

Martial arts is not the only option.  Instilling an overall sense of self-confidence and using some city-savvy techniques can be equally effective in heading off a potential attack.

And I continue to question why we do not address the other side of this issue - how can we reduce the incidence of violent attacks?  It is not acceptable to to say "there will always be criminal minds, you must protect yourself."  I say society has failed these people in some way or they would not resort to criminal behavior.  What do we need to do to prevent people from making violent attacks?

Edit@Mike T:  A good martial arts program will have a conditioning element at each belt level.  Your concern is a non-issue.

Answer 4

Yea... or avoid questionable situations so you aint gotta worry about getting raped in the first place. >.> that works too.  

Answer 5

Yes. It's certainly a good skill.

To SP: Guns could be easier, but criminals often overpower the gun holder, turning the tables in a terrible way. Martial arts would be much easier, since you can't steal skill and agility. As for the assailant with a gun, though this may seem odd, I would rather be shot and killed than raped.

Answer 6

I'm a believer that all kids should be given the option of learning some kind of self defense in school, boys and girls alike.  If anything, boys need it more, because they're much more likely to get attacked than girls are (about 4 times as likely I believe).  This is due largely to the fact that nobody warns boys about the dangers of the world, but girls are told all kinds of things about the world and its dangers and are taught to avoid them.

Livefree- Schools have to actually bring back gym class before that's an option.  I do like it though.

Answer 7

Only girls? Aren't you a little bit sexiest? I do Tae Kwon-Do too, and its great.

Answer 8

It would not hurt anyone to know how to protect yourself

Answer 9

Absolutely yes! Girls (and boys) should learn some form of martial arts. I wish it were taught in schools as an elective PE course. How great would it be if you, instead of the dreaded gym mile in school, could have been working towards your black belt?

Martial arts isn't just about learning to defend yourself, it's also about learning to have confidence (not the wimpy talk-to-someone-new-on-your-first-day-of... confidence, like throw-your-bra-at-a-rockstar confidence) in yourself, and a really confident walk is a lot less likely to get you attacked than a meek shuffle to your car. I think all women should take a martial art (and this is coming from someone who NEVER thought she would enjoy it) so that they can see just how much more prepared they can be for an attack.

To Vote Barr: Girls who are worried about running into big guys and not having the defense skills can look into Judo. Judo is all about the smallest, lightest guy (or girl) being able to defend themselves against (and lay out) the biggest, tallest, and/or strongest guy (or girl). Even in taekwondo we do a lot of stuff that works whether the person grabbing you is big or little by using leverage, natural weak points, and a quick response to give you enough power to get loose and enough time to get away.

Answer 10

Everyone should learn self-defence. I'm surprised it hasn't gotten into high-school phys ed curriculums by now.

Answer 11

I fully agree.  Martial arts can help to catch up with a boy´s physical strength. Applause for every girl who can beat up a rapist or terrible abuser ! Girls need these skills more than boys, because the other way round it is very seldom that a boy is raped by a girl.

Being trained in martial arts can help to make girls more secure and confident.

Answer 12

I agree.

Answer 13

I took Tae Kwon Do when I was younger, and plan on sending my daughter when she gets older.  If I have a son I will send him as well.

It's not only good for fighting self defense, also great exercise, builds self esteem, discipline, and confidence....all around good thing.  

Answer 14

Yes I guess from a female perspective it would be great, so that you girls can defend yourself. So you really should go ahead and take those classes!

But it would also feel a bit strange for me as a guy if most girls knew martial arts and could kick my butt anytime they wanted to... But I suppose I would get used to it.

Answer 15

Seems like owning guns would be the easier route to take.

Martial arts kind of fail if your assailant is armed.

Answer 16

That's unrealistic... you have to be in shape and healthy to take martial arts. Most women aren't in shape enough. But maybe there would be more hot women if more of them started taking martial arts dammit! Haha..

Mike T HYPOCRISY meter: -------

-If two women attack some men and the men beat the c**p out of them it becomes "excessive force".

But its fine for women to beat the c**p out of men.

END Mike T HYPOCRISY meter--------