Today for the first time, I did "Cindys," (a Crossfit workout of the day) that consisted of 5 (weight assisted) pullups, 10 pushups, and 15 squats. I completed 10 rounds in 20 minutes, which is not great, but not bad either. I was sucking wind when I finished, but wow, did I feel good afterward. We will see how I feel in the morning!

I've been doing quite a bit of reading at several strength training for women websites. I am really enjoying Gubernatrix. The author there gives excellent advice about exercise technique, as well as demystifying the experience of the weight room.

I have yet to find a martial arts/fitness blog written by a woman. (Hey, maybe I'm the first!) I plan to keep searching, however. Most of what I have found is primarily focused on MMA style fighting. While I have nothing against MMA, even the representative women who engage in this form of martial exercise (I hesitate to call it an "art", but that is a post for another day) are...well, let's just say that there appears to be an emphasis on looks and their photogenic qualities. Again, definitely not knocking these women...they are active, after all, and I totally support that.

I know that there are more of us female martial artists out there who do our art because we love it. So back to the "Google" drawing board!

About Karate

My original, but not very well thought out idea for this blog, was to try to be an encouragement to other women to get fit and to make exercise a life-long priority, and secondarily, to discuss martial arts as a potential path to that fitness for women.

While obviously martial in nature, the other side of the coin involves the art. Many women may feel that the martial arts are too violent. Again, the martial arts do involve self defense and doing what one must to defend against attack. The emphasis is that the majority of martial arts operate under the premise that using the art is for defense only. My own karate school adheres to this belief. I do not train to go out and beat people up (that's not really within my nature, anyway), but I train to give myself a slight edge over an attacker who would be willing to do me harm.

Another aspect of karate and martial arts that appeals to women is the learning of kata, which is a set series of techniques against an imaginary opponent (or more than one opponent). Kata often be very graceful, or it can be powerful. Some of the most graceful practitioners of kata are women. In addition, kata has multiple interpretations of different moves (are you blocking a punch with a technique, or might you be deflecting and countering?) and in this way, you can bring your creativity into play. The exercise of doing certain moves over and over in a way that makes sense involves the muscle memory, so that eventually, you can do techniques without conscious thought (mushin).

The most "scary" part of martial arts for many women is the thought of kumite, or using the techniques against an opponent in a controlled arena. I personally have been doing kumite for years and I still get nervous. Most often, we start out kumite, or sparring, by calling out what we will do. For example, I say, "high punch, osu". When my opponent says, "Osu", this is my signal that she is ready to block and counter my technique. Osu is a Japanese term that most often indicates "yes", "I am ready," "I agree," or "I am listening." After mastering this, you move up to doing two techniques, announcing them ahead of time to your opponent. Finally, you move to one-step uncalled sparring. You do the technique and allow your opponent to block and counter, then they return the favor. Finally, there is the uncalled sparring, and eventually, for upper level belts, sparring with take down moves and sweeps of the foot. (Yes, this means you end up on the floor!) So, still sounds a bit scary, eh? Well, honestly, I have not always enjoyed falling on the mat, but I have learned to get up without using my hands, as well as learning that just because I fall down doesn't mean I stay there and wait for an attacker to pounce. Learning to fight/spar/kumite in class is an exercise in working with, not against, an opponent. Most often, you are not trying to "one up" your opponent, but you are working with them to help them learn to defend attacks and vice versa.

Lastly, is the mental/emotional benefit to doing martial arts. I can have the crappiest day in the world at work, but I walk in the door to the karate school, bow in (also a formality indicating respect), and for the one or two hours I am there, the outside world ceases to exist. I get a nice endorphin flow. Typically, if I walk in with a headache, I walk out with sore muscles, but a feeling of "all is right with the world." Exercise is a huge mood elevator. I seldom leave karate in a bad mood. Honestly, if you have any aggression or anger, you can let it out (safely) without expressing it in a negative way at work or home. We also get to yell too! The yell, or kiai, is sometimes called a "spirit yell." The reason for the kiai is that it involves tightening the muscles in abdomen and yelling FROM this point, as opposed to the throat (which would just hurt). By tightening the abs, you protect yourself from a possibly blow to a vulnerable area of the body. Yes, it works. Yes, I have been punched in the stomach and been able to absorb it by tightening up my muscles.

Now, yes, I did say I got punched. As with any sport, there is always the risk of injury, particularly when practicing with a partner. Part of any martial art involves learning control and, as an instructor, I get to typically work with those students who have not yet developed control and I get hit. But I would much rather be punched for the first time ever in the nose inadvertently by a white belt than by a mean person on the street. For one, once you know what that pain feels like, you will do one of two things: You will learn to avoid getting hit, or you will learn to block. If by chance, you are in the street and get punched in the nose, the shock to the system will be lessened by the fact that you know what it feels like. It sounds crazy, but it's true. So, full disclosure, you can get hit. In my ten years with my dojo, we have not had any students seriously injured, as we practice with caution and with safety in mind. Just watch out for those white belts!

So, come on...do martial arts. It's fun!

Top Five Reasons Why Women Should Do Martial Arts

1. Self defense skills- Women typically make up the student body of your typical self defense class or seminar. One of the primary learning tools in martial arts (as with any sport) is repetition and development of muscle memory. With a single class of self defense, it is very possible to learn some moves and basic self defense tips, but when defending oneself, it is extremely vital to be able to react quickly to the point that there is no thinking involved. The Japanese term for this is mu-shin, literally translated as "no mind." In martial arts training, the goal is for self-defense to become automatic.
2. Self-confidence- Let's face it: many women are naturally confident. For those of us who are not so blessed, martial arts can give women feelings of empowerment. Milestones in most martial arts styles are marked by the awarding of different colored belts- usually starting at white belt (beginner) and progressively moving upward toward the "darker" colored belts up to the black belt. In addition, new skills are constantly being learned and built upon. Today's basic white belt punch will eventually lead to a more advanced belt's Ippon Ken (foreknuckle punch). Testing oneself in a physical sense....(remember how difficult it was to get those complex Zumba moves, but once you did, it was a feeling of accomplishment) leads to development of self confidence.
3. Camaraderie- Some of my best friends are karate students (and parents, spouses, or siblings of students). Much of the learning in a martial arts school takes place while working with a partner. While many times, an instructor will partner students up based on size (which means that the female students work together oftentimes), much of my best learning has taken place while partnered with male students. Men often have a different perspective than women, and the reverse is true. Our hips, balance, and center are different than a man's and gaining insight into the "best way" to perform a technique is done many times with a partner who is of dissimilar body type. There are few sports in which men and women work together toward the common goal of learning and martial arts, at least in my dojo, is non-sexist.
4. Physical Fitness- Martial arts is an all-round, full body workout. In order to practice techniques and have the endurance to perform them while in a stressful situation (such as being attacked!), drills and combinations of techniques, as well as kata (a set series of techniques performed in a particular order) is done with the intent of conditioning the body. People often comment that if they are attacked, they will kick the attacker "where it counts" and run. Not that attackers are necessarily fit people, but how's that gonna work out for ya if you've never run a day in your life? Adrenaline can help under the auspices of the "flight or fight" reaction, but honestly, what if you are a 40-something individual and your attacker is a late teens, early 20s individual who looks as if they've been training for marathons? Young people have infinitely more energy and younger bones and muscles than me and I wouldn't bet on my chances of winning that race if I had no training. (Even though I DO train to run, I am a slow runner, hence, I hope I can use my self defense skills to assist me in getting away.) Contrary to a widely held belief, WOMEN DO NOT BULK UP LIKE THE INCREDIBLE HULK WHEN EXERCISING THE MUSCLES. Any woman who does bulk up unnaturally is likely taking steroids. Endurance, fewer health problems, weight loss...all the positives from physical fitness!
5. Firmness in the chest area- I saved the best for last...When I began training in my current dojo, I could not do a push-up. I could do them on my knees, but could not do a full-body pushup. I started small and since we did pushups every class, I would try to do a few more full pushups each time. Now, I am NOT the Queen of Pushups. In fact, I hate them! I noticed, however, that after several months of doing more full pushups (and the knee pushups are still good for the firmness too), I noticed that I was more...um, perky. Now breast tissue is not muscle and some of us are more well-endowed than others, but what I was building up was the muscle tissue underlying the breasts with the end result that I did not sag! Again, full body pushups aren't necessary for this effect, but the added benefit to the full pushup is the engagement of the core stabilizers in the abdominal area, which works the abs just as well as sit-ups (and yes, we do situps too!). So, I do not like pushups, but I do them because the torture of doing a few exercises I hate has benefits that I can definitely get along with!

This is a short list of the reasons women should do martial arts. There are many more reasons, but some are individual. Some women, for example, consider it "their" time. Others do martial arts with the family, and in my dojo, there are several family groups- husband and wife, father and son, etc. You don't have anything to lose by checking it out!