Posted on 04/15/2003 12:10:12 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
I've beaten down a few women in my time. I'm not writing metaphorically here. I'm talking about punching a girl in the face, doubling her over by kicking her in the stomach, then putting her down on the ground with a right cross to the side of the head. I can't say I didn't enjoy it – an adrenaline rush doesn't know gender.
Now, before my inbox overflows with outraged accusations of criminal Neanderthalian misogyny, I should probably point out that this all took place in the brutal full-contact martial-arts dojo that was my home away from home for almost six years. I still remember my first day there, seeing all the fighters in their black robes and the savage gleam in their eyes as they warily circled each other before exploding in a paroxysm of violence. It was truly a place apart – a broken ankle was a cause for mockery and uproarious laughter, and if one was so unfortunate as to get knocked out during a sparring session … well, to that ignominy was added the expense of buying the victor's drinks that evening.
Of every 10 newcomers, one remained a month later. Few – very few – ever reached the highest level, as the punishing belt tests were not so much sought as fearfully avoided at all costs. They were tests of skill and discipline, but more than anything, they tested one's willingness to get back on one's feet after being knocked down, again and again.
There weren't many women in our midst, understandably enough. But I was close to one in particular, we called her "Penthouse" because of her long, flowing mane of hair and her not-quite-ready-for-Playboy prettiness. She was a single mother who'd been pushed around by her ex-husband one too many times and she was determined to learn how to defend herself. After three years, she was called on the carpet to test for her green, and I was one of those selected for her sparring test, which consisted of six consecutive two-minute rounds against three high-level fighters, none of whom had just been through a grueling three-hour demonstration of every strike, kick and kata in our repertoir.
By the fifth round, she was exhausted and bruised, barely able to keep her hands up to her chin, much less defend herself. She was nearly helpless, but she must have sensed my desire to take it easy on her, because she snarled at me not to dis her like that, that she'd earned the right to be treated as a fighter and a Dragon. And she had, so it was with genuine affection and admiration that I dropped her twice in the next two exchanges, leaving her with a black eye and a bloody nose. It was a wonderful performance on her part, as she never hesitated to pick herself up, unaided, from the concrete floor. A few months later, the entire dojo cheered her on as she mercilessly destroyed the competition and won her first tournament – never having fought a woman before, she said afterward that she couldn't believe how weak and slow her opponents were, how easy it had been when compared with her training.
But if my time in the martial arts taught me to respect the inherent toughness and mental resolve of women, it has also taught me that combat of any sort is no place for them. It may be easy for a woman who hasn't taken a straight-line headshot from a 200-pound man to spin airy myths of martial equality, but no woman like "Penthouse" would ever believe them, and only a man who hasn't felt for himself how easy it is to smash a woman to the ground would take them seriously for a second.
Modern combat may be less strenuous than it was in the age of the heavily-armored Greek hoplite, but it is still physically punishing. The fluid nature of America's new uberblitz tactics means that the attacking forces must carry more of their own supplies on their backs, and indicates that the supply lines will often be operating behind enemy lines.
The capture of Jessica Lynch and Shoshana Johnson and the fact that a significant percentage of our casualties came from a maintenance company does not support the foolish myth of the American Amazon. Instead, it proves that women should be excluded from far more elements of the U.S. military than they are today.
To assert that women are more naturally gifted with firearms is to engage in barstool blow-hardism, a patronizing attempt to win female admiration for your barstool "insight." I don't care if you've based your "insight" on having taught 10,000 men and women to shoot. Unless you methodically, carefully, and objectively documented each instance, your opinion is largely worthless--driven and filtered more by emotional considerations, not factual ones.
Until and unless you produce an objective study proving otherwise, the most sound assertion to make is that there is no difference between the marksmanship of men and women firing a particular caliber at a firing range (or in combat; the environment is important). This is a sound inference because good shooting technique is not so dependent on brawn and upper-body strength.
Particular women can be phenomenal shots. I have known a few. But I have known far more men who are phenomenal shots. Does this warrant an inference that men are naturally more gifted than women as marksmen? No, and I wouldn't try to make that claim either.
Twenty years ago, I had a female acquaintence with testosterone poisoning (She worked out alot in a Judo dojo, and thought she was hot stuff). She told me at one point that she would kick my butt (I'm 6'4, was 180 lbs at the time). I had decided that if she, as a martial-arts trained person, threw the first punch, I was going to respond exactly the same as I would to a guy initiating a fight. It would not have been pretty for her.
Martial arts builds confidence. The problem comes when it builds EXCESSIVE confidence
- Annie Oakley, Oct. 1919
A combination of martial arts and weapons training is optimum. Martial arts will help you handle the first 3 seconds of an attack, so you can establish enough distance to GET TO your gun. It's also good for young people who are not old enough for a carry permit
The best reason for women to learn karate or judo, is not to actually defeat a man, but to change her will to want to defeat a man any way she can.
But you're right, there's really no comparison in physical strength between women and men in martial arts. I don't train with the "big guys", I'm very happy in the novice group at the far back left hand side of the mat! My husband, on the other hand, just eats that stuff up.
I prefer to place my trust in the dependable products of the Colt Firearm Manufacturing Company.
Women may do OK in slots that never involve physical strength, but that's not front-line combat. She might not have to go hand-to-hand too often (but it does still happen), but she WILL need to be strong enough to carry 60-80 pounds on her back for miles, moving quickly. She might be strong enough to pull a trigger, but not in good enough shape to run through alleyways, pulling herself up 8-foot back walls, then running to the top of an 8 story building in order to get into position FIRST.
Absolutely. That's why we have to keep working hard to make sure the same thing doesn't happen here.
With so many socialist demonrats in place in our government, it's a very real threat!
And in any event, the combat firefight enviroment is a special environment quite unlike a sedate shooting-range-with-benchrests environment. Before any claim about women naturally being better marksmen would hold water on this thread, you would have to account and control for the special environment of combat firefights. Critical factors and controls include type of weapon and deployment, e.g., holding an M16 and laying down covering fire from the prone position is one thing, lugging a 24 pound M240G medium machinegun in a sprint across 500 yards of open field and firing effectively once you get there is quite another.
The best way to get a woman to change her mindset on guns, and to want to start carrying one, is to have her go on the mat with the "big guys". She is already in the class, she is already determined to do something about self-defense, etc. Quit pulling your punches with women enrolled in those self defense classes. Dont give them a false sense of security by being easy on them. Once she sees the futility of relying solely on karate, she will opt for the gun. I took a self defense class, and my black belt instructor told me that if I was more than a step or 2 away, I could defeat him with my gun.
That's why I would prefer to ventilate any assailant from a relatively safe distance with the 1911A1. I have carried either a Govt model or Officers model stainless for 20+ years - although I recently acquired the baby Sig P245, which looks promising.
My youngest daughter never showed much interest in shooting despite my best efforts. One day I did get her to do a lot of shooting with a daisy target air rifle. I can't recall the model but it was the one which cocked with a long under barrel lever which was made of some synthetic material. Before the end of the day, I had her shooting very well, better than most people who have shot all their lives.
On the other hand, I taught skeet shooting at a Southern University for two years. The boys were generally better shots. Some of the girls did just fine but some really were bothered by the recoil. We almost always had a Japanese girl in most classes. Some of them were really petite and I noticed the recoil really did bother them. (the school guns were 870 Remingtons). I tried my best to help them, such as keeping the butt firmly against the shoulder, but there was not a lot I could do.
I will share one personal experience which really surprised me. One day a bunch of my nieces and nephews asked me to take them down to the creek on their Grandpa's land and do some shooting. One of the girls was a runner up in the Miss Kentucky pageant. She is built a lot like her Grandma, which is tall and slender but fairly strong.
After we had shot the .22's for awhile I got out a Ruger Super Blackhawk. A few of the boys shot it, then the niece asked if she could. I told her it was probably not a good idea. She insisted so I let her try. To my surprise, she fired it six times with no problem at all. I do think the fact that she was wearing eye and ear protection made a difference. Sometimes the recoil is not as bad as the blast.
Some good women do outshoot men. It's just that there are not that many of them. Look at shooting competitions. How many women show up, and how many win (outside of women's special categories)? For example, look at 2002 Bianchi Cup final scores.
A woman will almost always buy a gun that fits her which gives her an advantage, a man on the otherhand will try and buy the biggest he can hold, it's an ego thing, if it wern't we wouldn't have .50 cal pistols..
My better half (dansangel) almost always beats me at the range, Freedom Poster has already attested to that. There are many more men that are good shots simply because there are many more men with guns.Given an equal amount of men and women with the same training I will bet on the women..
As far as a woman protecting herself I think at a minimum they should carry pepper spray or one step further a pistol, an agresser that is 20 feet or closer to a woman is too close, hand to hand with a man should be out of the question. As far as I am concerned it's too close for me too..
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