Femininity versus Strength

The prevailing misperception about active women, particularly those engaged in body contact (martial arts, rugby, etc.) or so-called "extreme" sports (mountain biking, rock climbing), is that their sport overshadows their femininity. This comes up in casual conversations quite often, as women perceive that sports, sweating, working our bodies, means that they are less feminine somehow. The assumption that women can only do step aerobics or walk on the treadmill means that many women won't try new or exciting sports for the fear of looking less than female.

The thought processes behind our world views of what is "male" and "female" are most certainly influenced by the media. The fashion magazines, despite a probable correlation between eating disorders and how super-skinny models are portrayed, have not stopped flooding the market with women who might weigh 100 lbs soaking wet. While channel surfing the other day, I saw a portion of the show about tryouts for an NFL cheerleading team. I stopped the remote; I couldn't help it. The part that I saw had to do with the candidates trying on the actual uniforms for the first time and the coach/leader/whatever she is would seriously critique each woman's physique in the uniform. Some of the comments seemed inane to me...honestly, who is really looking at the "line" of those tee-tiny little shorts and whether or not it is perfectly smooth? Maybe some people do look at those things, but the women who are there trying out for the team have to be fit and fairly strong in order to perform the moves they do. They are true athletes, but unfortunately, cheerleading (at least at that level) seems to be more about appearances. I hate to think how many of those beautiful women developed or will develop eating disorders as a result of trying to have a "smooth line" along the butt cheek or to lose enough weight to fit in the damn uniform to begin with. How much of this attitude trickles down to our teenagers? I respect cheerleading as an athletic pursuit, but I cannot buy in to the "looks are all" mentality.

Women can be strong and beautiful. Most women, even those without children, have had the occasion to pick up a two year old child. That takes real strength. Climbing a rock wall? Same strength. Mopping a floor requires muscles too. Women must be strong to manage and run a household. Granted, some women do have significant others who do the "heavy" lifting or the "men's work" in their home, but many do not and have to function with the strength of a man and a woman.

Perhaps I am biased, as I grew up wanting to be active regardless of how others viewed me. Sports and fitness are expressions for me of how I can use my body's abilities to the fullest potential. I am not necessarily athletically gifted, but strength training, running, playing basketball are not activities for the male gender alone. We can pursue our fitness and maintain control over how our bodies look.

Turkey Day 5K

Yesterday my cousin and I ran/walked in the inaugural Early Bird 5K in Lexington, NC. Honestly, it wasn't pretty, but we did it actually 2 minutes faster than the 5K we did October. Was the 2 minute decrease due to our awesome speedwork and training? Hell, no...it was a measure of the amount of hills in the Lexington race versus the amount of hills in the Ardmore 5K in October. Nonetheless, we finished and finished fairly strongly, particularly since the end was about a quarter mile of downhill! I sorta left my cousin behind, mainly because I was afraid to stop and also because, despite my best efforts, I can be very competitive. She makes fun of me for this, as she has noticed that if we are near others, I tend to speed up to pass them. I insist that this is totally unconscious on my part, but the reality is, I actually do this "accidentally on purpose." I can be so competitive that it is really good that I engage mostly in a sport where the competition is only with myself!

My karate has a tenet that states that our training is "Not to conquer others, but to conquer the weakness in oneself." This is very appealing to me, especially since the increase in popularity of Mixed Martial Arts gives the public the idea that the goal is to beat others bloody. That is not what my karate is all about. While karate was developed as a means for those who were not allowed to use weapons to defend themselves, it was not intended as a means of controlling others. That being said, if I get attacked, then I WILL defend myself. A responsibility, as any law enforcement officer can tell you, is using equal force. If someone hits me, I should not then pull out a knife. If he has a knife and I am 30 feet away, I cannot then use a gun. Heck, if I'm 30 feet away, I ain't sticking around to see what he will do with the knife! With the knowledge I have been given, I am charged to use it responsibly. Because my job as a child welfare worker involves going into some potentially charged and tense situations, I must always be aware of my own actions. If someone is angry with me, I cannot come back at them with anger (even if they are the worst child molester on the planet). I attempt to defuse the situation and defend myself only if physically attacked. After nearly 11 years as a child protective services worker, I have never been physically threatened. This doesn't mean that it won't happen; my responsibility is also to be aware of my surroundings and to respond with common sense. This may mean being polite and showing compassion even when I don't want to do so. I have to disengage that competitive, "I-can-beat-you" aspect of myself.

On the other hand, competition can be motivational. I have competed in tournaments before, even at the national level. What you realize though, is that after a certain age and rank, women do not feel compelled to compete, particularly in sparring, so tournaments really don't give me much motivation. (Why pay $40-$50 or more to get "awarded" 1st place?) My competition, then, can be friendly. If my friend in the dojo can do a better spinning back kick than me, I try to use that as a means to make myself want to improve on my own kick, rather than do it for the sake of being better than someone else. Alas, it can be difficult...but as with anything, do the best you can however you can for as long as you can!

Muscle Up Like a Girl

I met a coworker in the gym the other day and she commented that she would like to lift weights more, but she doesn't want to get big and bulky. This is, by far, the most common myth I hear from other women. Unfortunately, the media gives us the idea that women end up looking like the Incredible Hulk, when in fact, our bodies do not make enough free testosterone to stimulate that type of muscle growth. Women DO have testosterone, as it is one of the many hormones that is including in the delicate balancing acts within our endocrine systems, but men have more free testosterone, or testosterone that is not "bound" to the sexual system, which gives the muscles more of that hormone that increases the rebuilding of muscle tissue that has been broken down (by weight lifting, for example.) Women have less free testosterone, so our muscles do not get the same build-up. Having said that, there are pictures a-plenty on the internet or in magazines of women who are bulked up...can you say anabolic steroids? That is, in fact, the only way a woman would get this type of muscle mass.

On the other hand, lifting does help strengthen and tone the muscles you do have. Muscles need more fuel than fat does, so you get an increased caloric burn since your muscles will need to feed. The pitfall with this is not lifting and then assuming you can eat whatever you want since "the muscles will burn this off!" This is not the case. A good strength training program in combination with aerobic activity is often times the best way to burn calories. Creating a deficit is what encourages the body to burn off fat stores. Healthy eating (not dieting!) is the best way to increase this as well. The best motivation I have is browsing through the Oxygen Magazine website and looking at the healthy, fit models (not super skinny, anorexics!).

I may never actually look like those models, but I do know that strength training has helped me "see" more of my muscle and has helped me do things that maybe I wouldn't have been able to do before. One night I was at the grocery store, the parking lot was semi-dark since some of the streetlights weren't working and a woman and her small child were putting groceries in the car when she dropped her car keys. The car was unlocked, but obviously, she couldn't go anywhere. She couldn't see the keys and didn't have a spare. My husband and I asked if we could help and we she mentioned that she thought the keys had fallen underneath the car, I immediately and without thinking, dropped down into a pushup plank position and held it (it had been raining and the lot was wet, so I didn't want to get wet!) until I could locate the keys. Then I was able to reach out with one hand, while holding my position, and grab them. She was grateful, needless to say. I felt awesome because I had just proven to myself that all that strength training paid off in a functional way (Rar! Go, Me!).

Finally, strength training is a weight bearing exercise that can help women, particularly those in peri-menopause or menopause who are worried about losing bone mass.

So, get your butts in the gym (strength training can help the butt too!)

Mind Matters

I had an awesome workout tonight! At my dojo, we have class with an Isshinryu practitioner every other Monday. Although his style of karate is different from mine (wado ryu), I learn so much from him every time. As he reminds us, he does not teach us different karate techniques or anything that is not a part of our own karate system, but he teaches us a different perspective and makes us exercise our brains.

One additional benefit of exercise is that while facilitating the mind-body connections, neuroscience research tells us that it also can improve memory and learning, particularly the cognition-related declines that can occur with aging, and can help with preventing or alleviating depression. The point is, that whether you do bellydancing, Zumba, kettlebells, or walking around the block with the dog, you can impact not only your physical body, but also impact your mental and emotional health. Perhaps this is why, especially after our black belt classes on Mondays, I always feel (especially for a Monday) that all is right with my world.

Keeping On Top of Things

This week has been nuts, maybe because it is so close to the holidays. Regardless, my job has me running (literally), as one day I HAD to get to an appointment on time and the weather was monsoon-like. I delayed as long as I could and then finally decided that it wasn't going to let up and, hey, it's just a little rain. I had to ford a river in the parking lot that had to be 2 inches deep and I got drenched (but made it to my appointment!). During my venture to my car, approximately 100 yards or so, I was walking fast and then running, which probably got me wetter, but to the car much quicker. I was pleased that I could run and was only slightly winded.

I managed to bail on my walk/runs, except for the unplanned walk home after running out of gas. I did, however, make it to the gym twice and karate workouts twice (not counting teaching on Thursday). I also teach tomorrow, but plan to get some kata work in. So, for the upcoming 5K run on Thanksgiving, my cousin and I will likely walk and run in equal measure depending on how we feel. Still, that's a minimum 300 calorie burn, pre-Thanksgiving meal regardless of the method of getting there. Not too shabby for a holiday!

An Idiot Gets Fit

So, I drive my personal car for my job and I go all over the county I work for making home visits, school/daycare visits, etc. In the midst of my hurry and angst over trying to get my visits done during a monsoon-like rainstorm, I kinda sorta neglected to pay attention to the gas gauge. Well, duh...I ran out of gas, on the side of the road, thankfully, about 2.5 miles from my house.

Once I pulled over (before the car gave out completely), I debated calling a coworker to rescue me. Since it was not raining, I eventually decided to hoof it. So, I got out of my car and....I walked home. Now, it occurred to me that even once I got home and got the gas can that it likely weighed around 10 awkward pounds and I REALLY did not want to carry that weight back the 2.5 miles to my car. I gave in and called my husband, who graciously came from work and picked me up to drive me back to the car with the gas can. So I got my workout in....despite how my inattention created the conditions for such a workout to occur, I actually...enjoyed...the walk home.

Lesson learned: Opportunities to exercise may come about where you least expect them but look at the freaking gas gauge!

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!