There were tears in the ring when two little girls went to toe to toe in a kick-boxing bout at the weekend.
But one of the girls' fathers says his eight-year-old daughter loves the rough and tumble of the sport.
Jasmine Parr cried during her first Muay Thai fight, on the Gold Coast.
She admitted she had been scared of her opponent, seven-year-old Georgina "Punchout" Barton, from Brisbane.
Health experts had criticised the fight, saying the girls were too young to be slugging it out and could suffer brain damage.
But kick-boxing world champion John Wayne Parr has defended his decision to allow his daughter to glove up and step into the ring.
Parr, who has eight world titles, said the fight was "beautiful to watch" and Jasmine had "loved it".
"My daughter and I shared an experience which no medical expert will ever understand," he said.
"It was amazing, it was history and something we'll never forget.
"Jasmine is already talking about her next fight."
...Parr said Muay Thai was safer than ordinary boxing because it involved body kicking as well as punching.
"She might have two fights a year - I'm not trying to smash her," he said.
A seven-year-old girl named Georgina "Punchout" Barton kickboxes a crying 8-year-old girl in front of an audience of mostly adult men.
I don't think they're respecting the unique qualities of their daughters in doing this.
Nor are they looking ahead to their daughters' future lives. A childhood spent violently fighting other girls is not exactly going to cultivate the feminine qualities these girls will need as wives and mothers.
We live in a world in which non-white minorities prey on white women. For white women to learn combat skills is only sensible. My daughter is for damn sure going to learn to fight and shoot.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
ReplyDeleteSo let's say you do teach your daughter to fight and shoot. But what do you have in mind to develop her more attractively feminine qualities? How do you see this side of things being accomplished?
On the other hand a bit of self defence training is almost mandatory for children of both sexes these days, you just can't protect your kids.
ReplyDelete""But what do you have in mind to develop her more attractively feminine qualities?""
Mark I have been out with some very femme girls who were also highly proficient martial artists; usually they had no shortage of confidence with a tendency towards being grounded, not unattractive qualities at all.
There is a world of difference in letting your daughter gain confidence and a few self defence skills by taking Karate classes and putting a small girl in the ring for Muay Thai, one of the worlds most dangerous full on physical combat sports.
The first is being a responsible parent, the latter is perhaps not.
Oh and as an aside, no kid under 12-13 should be sparring or in bouts IMHO.
ReplyDeleteSeriously kids can develop their skills without smacking each other in the head, plenty of time for that later.
This is disgraceful. The role of the state is to protect us all from having to all "warre against each other" as Hobbes would say. Now we have everyone taking up self defence regardless of their gender, or in this case age as well, in a manner which goes far beyond mere sporting contests. Its not useful for our citizenry to spend all their time preparing to defend themselves against their fellow citizenry. This attitude doesn't either just stop at the martial arts stuido’s floor, people are more aggressive in their treatment with each other and also with the opposite sex. Social decorum matters and we shouldn't be preparing, or be required to be preparing, for the next showdown or confrontation. Nor should we be looking to assert our will by force over each other, to the accompaniment of a winner takes all attitude. This is a common attitude guys and its time we recognized it as such.
ReplyDeleteGirls should not be doing self defence courses in extended fashions nor taking them past the basics. Why? Because guys should be on hand to protect them, and also realistically the majority won’t be able nor should they be required to be able to, compete with guys effectively. Guys shouldn’t seek to assert their will by force over women. Why? Because it’s a sin and its base. Women shouldn’t seek to assert their social power over men to get them to dance to their tune. Why? Because its unfeminine, without virtue and also destructive.
We have human natures with potentially unlimited desires and wants and with relatively few inherent checks. This is our human nature but we can overcome it with correct guidance, social expectations and some state enforcement. We should seek to protect ourselves primarily through the implementation of these social standards and not seek to outmuscle the world on our own. Nor should we subject our women to Muay thai in the hope that by doing so we’ll give them the self protection that they may need, which as also stated diverts them from other far more worthwhile activities.
I am the anon up top. Not sure what I am going to do to develop feminine qualities. I sorta think of that as the wife's department, heheh. However, a WSJ article over the weekend ("Daughters and Dad's Approval") says,
ReplyDelete"No matter how successful their careers, how happy their marriages, or how fulfilling their lives, women told me that their happiness passed through a filter of their fathers' reactions. Many told me that they tried to remove the filter and—much to their surprise—failed."
Thus I propose to react positively when she behaves in a feminine manner (chaste, modest, demure), and react negatively when she doesn't. Moreover, I plan to counter as best I can the lies that feminism and the popular culture will fill her head with. If she is a feminist, she will not be feminine, and I will have failed. If she is not a feminist, then I will have gone a long way to ensuring she is feminine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Robinson
ReplyDeleteLikewise, an example of a boy born to parents who really, really wanted a girl
@Anonymouse My daughter is for damn sure going to learn to fight and shoot.
MArtial arts & knwoing how to shoot are not bad but she would do better to learn interpersonal skills to avoid altercations. And avoiding certain areas. At least these skills should not be neglected when doing physical training.
NO amount of martial arts training is going to protect a slight woman from a larger criminal. Living with the knowledged that you've shot & killed someone, even if they were attackingyou, is no picnic, either.
"Its not useful for our citizenry to spend all their time preparing to defend themselves against their fellow citizenry."
ReplyDeleteIt may not be useful or desirable but it is necessary to have self-defense skills. In the USA this includes, first and foremost, awareness of your environment and the fact that many blacks and Hispanics regard you as prey - especially if you are a white woman but even if you are a white guy. Moronic liberals contend that there is "no reason" to fear minorities and that everyone has a "right" to go wherever they want, even the worst part of town at 2am. One is a poor steward of one's person and property if only blindly accepts liberal dogma on this score.
Where I live, attacks are rare, but still sometimes happen. It would be foolish to think they could never happen, though, and thus blindly fail to prepare for them.
"Girls should not be doing self defence courses in extended fashions nor taking them past the basics. Why? Because guys should be on hand to protect them,"
The simple fact of the matter is that guys won't always be on hand to protect them. Every woman, at one time or another, even a "traditionalist" stay-at-home-mom, will be out in public by herself at some point.
"and also realistically the majority won’t be able nor should they be required to be able to, compete with guys effectively."
Nevertheless, there are realistic combat skills that a woman can acquire that will improve her chances in an encounter with a predatory male. The idea that women should not even bother to acquire such skills is pernicious and should be rejected.
I expect that for most women, as for most men, martial arts are a hobby and a form of healthy exercise rather than serious preparation for ever-imminent attack, and these skills will never be used in "real" combat. I got a black belt in high school, but have never been attacked on the street (being 6' 2" and a muscular 200ilbs has something to do with that). Still I am glad I have these fighting skills, and they were fun to acquire.
There is no need to exaggerate what's actually happening here.
"MArtial arts & knwoing how to shoot are not bad but she would do better to learn interpersonal skills to avoid altercations. And avoiding certain areas."
ReplyDeleteYou can see that I addressed this in what I posted at 11:23. I practice those awareness / avoidance skills myself, and I am a big guy.
"NO amount of martial arts training is going to protect a slight woman from a larger criminal."
That's where the old 9mm comes into play.
And in any event, a woman with some training is far better off than a woman with no training.
"Living with the knowledged that you've shot & killed someone, even if they were attackingyou, is no picnic, either."
Eh, as they say, better to be tried by twelve than carried by six.
Idiots fail to see the difference between Violence and Combat Sports.
ReplyDeleteThere are less serious injuries in this sport than there are in Football and Rugby.
It does not teach kids violence, it teaches them discipline and respect.
Suddenly the sex barrier is back up? What happened to equal opportunity for all sexes? And YES, being able to get in the ring in full protective gear IS an opportunity to learn, keep fit, and gain confidence that you at home would never have ever dreamed you could have.
This is not about a father living vicariously through his daughter - he's already lived his own 8 time world champion career.
It's not about doing it for the son he never had - he's got a son, and he'll probably be doing the same thing IF HE WANTS TO.
Sensationalist journalistic bullshit. The amount of power in those girls punches and kicks is akin to me tapping you on the head with a pillow.
In 10 years when she's 18 she will turn around and say that she is thankful for the opportunities she had as a child, and that she loved it. You people who have never experienced the feeling of personal success in such a way won't ever understand the confidence and self esteem boost to be gained from being in the ring.
The sooner my daughter learns to protect herself and keep fit, the better.
better to be tried by twelve than carried by six.
ReplyDeleteSpoken like someone who has never actually been in that position. NO it isn't good to live with blood on your hands and it IS often possible to put away your pride & egoi and just avoid an altercation and get out alive.
http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com/self-defense.htm
"Spoken like someone who has never actually been in that position."
ReplyDeleteDoesn't make a damn bit of difference. I carry a gun and thus have thought about using it, and believe me, I would not do so lightly.
"NO it isn't good to live with blood on your hands and it IS often possible to put away your pride & egoi and just avoid an altercation and get out alive."
Not every "altercation" can be avoided. People in the USA are attacked without provocation (i.e., preyed on by criminals) all the time.
Since I have already said, more than once, that I plan to instruct my daughter to avoid dangerous people, places and situations, and that I follow this habit myself, you are attacking an argument I am not making, and you can get off your self-righteous horse already. If she has a choice between shooting someone and being beaten, raped or killed I want her to choose "bloody hands" every time, and be damned to the fools who advise passive submission.
Stay critical of everything said,
ReplyDelete"Suddenly the sex barrier is back up? What happened to equal opportunity for all sexes?"
Um, this is a conservative blog so you might want to consider that before you make an equal opportunity statement.
"Idiots fail to see the difference between Violence and Combat Sports"
Please elaborate, this is a violent combat sport. The fact that there’s an umpire in the ring makes it non-violent? People will use these skills on the outside and some will use them for self defence and others will use them to attack. Now we have women throwing their hand into the fray.
"In 10 years when she's 18 she will turn around and say that she is thankful for the opportunities she had as a child, and that she loved it."
No doubt if the activity played a strong bonding role with her father she'll say that, and if she did some other sport instead she'd say that too.
"You people who have never experienced the feeling of personal success in such a way won't ever understand the confidence and self esteem boost to be gained from being in the ring."
Congratu-bloody-lations. If a man undertakes this kind of activity he can know that in so doing he can be a more productive male in some regards and defend his family or country in time of danger. If a woman does it you've just turned her into a bloke. Like I said congratulations.
Each to their own? Except you're engaging in and promoting a violent activity and we have every kid in the school yard, most of them without much self restraint, wanting to emulate this kind of fighting style. Society is definitely on the upswing wouldn't you say?
On the comments from JP I didn’t say that women should have no self defence training only that they shouldn’t engage in it in an extended way.
"Except you're engaging in and promoting a violent activity and we have every kid in the school yard, most of them without much self restraint, wanting to emulate this kind of fighting style."
ReplyDeleteThis is the classic criticism of martial arts that has never been valid. Martial arts instruction teaches discipline and self-restraint, it does not turn kids into playground killing machines. If every kid had proper martial arts training there would be fewer fights, not more.
The simple fact of the matter is that guys won't always be on hand to protect them. Every woman, at one time or another, even a "traditionalist" stay-at-home-mom, will be out in public by herself at some point.
ReplyDeleteIt's one thing to give mild self-defense tips and a few classes for traditional conservative women, it's another to learn violent, combat sports like Muay Thai.
We live in a world in which non-white minorities prey on white women. For white women to learn combat skills is only sensible. My daughter is for damn sure going to learn to fight and shoot.
You haven't caught up at the glaring contradiction that feminism promises power and liberation for women but it has reduced women to being raw meat for predators endlessly.
After all of the "beast self-defense" books and warrior woman film for chicks over the last decades and which you wish to continue to endorse on your own daughter why are women still open meat for gangs, predators, criminals and so forth?
Why are non-white minorities still being able to prey on white women? Haven't women been promoted in the military (leading to its inefficiency), government jobs and corporations (leading to dysfunction which is constanly masked)? What gives?
Hint: Liberalism and libertarianism.
My theory is this: there are some men who want sons to mentor and when they end up with daughters they treat them like the sons they don't have.
Good point.
Suddenly the sex barrier is back up? What happened to equal opportunity for all sexes?
ReplyDeleteThis website is not liberal, not neoconservative, not libertarian. Calls for equality of oportunity tends to lead for calls for equality of outcome.
This a traditionalist conservative website (basically far-right). Here there is opposition to the belief in individual rights, equality, autonomy, "progress", human rights, diversity, multiculturalism, (leftist) environemtalism, non-discrimination and secularism (no transcendence).
Also there is criticism of the idea that freedom (in the autonomy and equality sense) should be the all highest goal in the universe at this website.
ReplyDeleteMark I have been out with some very femme girls who were also highly proficient martial artists; usually they had no shortage of confidence with a tendency towards being grounded, not unattractive qualities at all.
ReplyDeleteIf you mean femininity by sex-positive, magazine, celebrity obsessed feminism then no that isn't femininity.
Thus I propose to react positively when she behaves in a feminine manner (chaste, modest, demure), and react negatively when she doesn't.
ReplyDeleteJP, a nice answer, thanks.
NO amount of martial arts training is going to protect a slight woman from a larger criminal.
That's one thing that worries me. I can imagine a woman being taught how to break a hold and then quickly run and/or scream or maybe even how to try to land a stunning blow and then run and/or scream.
But how many women are really going to win a stand up fight with a man, even if they do have some martial arts training? And what if there is more than one man? Or he has a weapon? Or he simply hits her from behind?
In 10 years when she's 18 she will turn around and say that she is thankful for the opportunities she had as a child
I disagree. One of the achievements we have in life is to feel confident in who we are as men and women. This means that we as men connect with what is masculine in our natures and that women connect with what is feminine.
If girls are raised to believe that the feminine is inferior, and that they will be judged successful in life if they compete with men in a masculine environment, then it becomes difficult for women to be non-conflicted in their sense of identity and to feel that they are connecting with something worthwhile in terms of their own womanhood.
Mark I have been out with some very femme girls who were also highly proficient martial artists
I wouldn't disagree that that's possible. I know some feminine women who are into sports and who do the kickboxing/boxing gym routines for fitness.
One issue of concern, though. Every society has to find its point of sexual polarity. In a traditional society, this polarity tends to be embedded in everyday life - in the daily interactions of men and women, in forms of dress, in occupations and recreations, in manners and mores.
In a liberal society, men and women are expected to do the same things and follow the same paths. This doesn't abolish sexual polarity, it shifts the point of polarity to the body. Women express polarity through "hotness" and sexual activity.
So a woman might don her leathers and ride a motorbike but the polarity is maintained if she can project a sexy image of herself in doing so. Kickboxing women will reassure themselves and society of polarity by donning skimpy bikinis and doing a calendar photo shoot.
But the end result is a culture which pushes women toward a relationships and dating culture which is less safe and which is more difficult for many women to confidently participate in.
It's also an expression of polarity which is more compartmentalised and therefore, in my opinion, less rewarding.
So a woman might don her leathers and ride a motorbike but the polarity is maintained if she can project a sexy image of herself in doing so. Kickboxing women will reassure themselves and society of polarity by donning skimpy bikinis and doing a calendar photo shoot.
ReplyDeleteBut the end result is a culture which pushes women toward a relationships and dating culture which is less safe and which is more difficult for many women to confidently participate in.
Femininity in Jack's words isn't connected to motherhood and transcendence. Instead femininity to from his context means "hot, sexy, slutty" looking like a girl but acting a like a guy sex-positive, Hollywood feminism.
Mark I have been out with some very femme girls who were also highly proficient martial artists; usually they had no shortage of confidence with a tendency towards being grounded, not unattractive qualities at all.
ReplyDeletePerhaps this is superficial or faux-femininity. It's concerned with the matter of appearances and less with actions or forms of thinking. I call this looking like a girl, acting like a guy style of feminism. This is the contradiction that has emerged with women wanting to hold on to femininity (conservatism) and feminism (liberalism) at the same time. Basically "having it all".
So a woman might don her leathers and ride a motorbike but the polarity is maintained if she can project a sexy image of herself in doing so. Kickboxing women will reassure themselves and society of polarity by donning skimpy bikinis and doing a calendar photo shoot.
ReplyDeleteBut the end result is a culture which pushes women toward a relationships and dating culture which is less safe and which is more difficult for many women to confidently participate in.
Femininity in Jack's words isn't connected to motherhood and transcendence. Instead femininity to from his context means "hot, sexy, slutty" looking like a girl but acting a like a guy sex-positive, Hollywood feminism.
Sorry this comment was mine but my name didn't go through. Sorry for my typing mistake.
Mark said...
ReplyDelete""That's one thing that worries me. I can imagine a woman being taught how to break a hold and then quickly run and/or scream or maybe even how to try to land a stunning blow and then run and/or scream.""
There are very good female focused self defence courses which are pretty much: How to break a hold, how to best kick a bloke in the nuts and why it's a good idea to then run away screaming.
We live in a world in which non-white minorities prey on white women. For white women to learn combat skills is only sensible. My daughter is for damn sure going to learn to fight and shoot.
ReplyDeleteShouldn't protecting your daughter be your job, as well as that of her brothers (if any) and future husband?
Oh, and teaching a woman martial arts is almost certainly a complete waste of time. Their lack of strength is too great a deficiency.
This is the classic criticism of martial arts that has never been valid. Martial arts instruction teaches discipline and self-restraint, it does not turn kids into playground killing machines. If every kid had proper martial arts training there would be fewer fights, not more.
ReplyDeleteI studied martial arts for about six years and can assure readers that the above statement is errant nonsense. Most of the instructors were rampant egoists who had watched one too many Bruce Lee movies. They were constantly at odds with other instructors from other martial arts styles, making threats, trying to assert themselves as the big man etc.
I studied martial arts for about six years and can assure readers that the above statement is errant nonsense. Most of the instructors were rampant egoists who had watched one too many Bruce Lee movies. They were constantly at odds with other instructors from other martial arts styles, making threats, trying to assert themselves as the big man etc.
ReplyDeleteI studied martial arts for twenty years, and have three black belts, and can assure readers the above statement is arrant nonsense. Every instructor I've ever had has been mature and responsible, and inculcated discipline and self-restraint in his students.
Shouldn't protecting your daughter be your job, as well as that of her brothers (if any) and future husband?
ReplyDeleteI, or her brother(s) or husbands or boyfriends, are not going to be handcuffed to her 24/7. She will inevitably be alone in public at some point. It behooves her to have some self-defense skills for those times.
Oh, and teaching a woman martial arts is almost certainly a complete waste of time. Their lack of strength is too great a deficiency.
Oh, and I can introduce you to some female martial artists who will kick your ass.
Oh, and she can always carry a firearm, which is the great equalizer.
how many women are really going to win a stand up fight with a man, even if they do have some martial arts training?
ReplyDeleteWomen can't win a stand-up fight with a man, that's why they are not trained to do that.
And what if there is more than one man? Or he has a weapon? Or he simply hits her from behind?
By this rationale, men shouldn't have martial arts training either. Indeed, these types of rationales are used to say that there is no point in carrying a gun, either. Men with black belts (or guns) can be overwhelmed, or shot, or hit from ambush. The fact that martial arts training (or carrying a gun) is not a 100% guarantee of total personal security does not invalidate either approach.
Oh, and I can introduce you to some female martial artists who will kick your ass.
ReplyDeleteYou don't understand what a "generalisation" is, do you?
Oh, and she can always carry a firearm, which is the great equalizer.
It's not easy to get a gun in Australia.
I, or her brother(s) or husbands or boyfriends, are not going to be handcuffed to her 24/7 She will inevitably be alone in public at some point. It behooves her to have some self-defense skills for those times.
ReplyDelete"In public" is too broad a generalisation to be meaningful in this context. She is unlikely to get mugged in Westfield so it is fine for her to go there on her own.
Allowing her to get into situations where she might be at threat (e.g. being out very late, drinking, nightclubs etc) would be a failure on your part as a father. Sorry, but teaching her martial arts does not allow you to dodge your responsibilities.
Anonymous 9:46am said,
ReplyDelete"I studied martial arts for twenty years, and have three black belts, and can assure readers the above statement is arrant nonsense. Every instructor I've ever had has been mature and responsible, and inculcated discipline and self-restraint in his students."
This is obviously an overgeneralised response. Fighting skill is a power and it can be abused. We don't have to be reminded of the continual subtle or not so subtle abuses of power by people in every field to be aware of that. In fact, one of the reasons given for learning martial arts is so that it will protect you from others if they abuse their power towards you. So what makes martial arts so different from other situations involving people with power? Is it based on a particularity strong ethical or moral framework? Are martial artist’s simply better people? If you see the movie Napoleon Dynamite you’ll recognise the martial arts instructor who was more interested in showing off than providing proper teaching to his pupils. As said we've all experienced this, and I've certainly met people with some of those characteristics in the martial arts field.
If everyone has enhanced fighting power it stands to reason that people's abuses of it can lead to greater harms. This is also an argument btw used in the gun debate and its the reason why I'm very happy the average idiot (especially suburban idiot) can't get a gun in Australia. If you need martial arts to defend yourself against other people who have martial arts, then this can become a potentially endless and nonproductive spiral.
Some self defence training is necessary because even a small amount of it can dramatically increases the costs and difficulties of others in attacking you, it provides a deterrence and does inculcate masculine virtues. However, too much of it, or self defence used inappropriately, such as with young children, and especially young girls who should not be excessively masculanised, will not lead to positive outcomes for society as a whole.
It's not easy to get a gun in Australia.
ReplyDeleteThen she should carry a knife. A concealed blade is going to do her a lot more good than learning a "martial art" that places no value on learning how to kill or incapacitate quickly. There's an old joke (or quote) over here about watching your karate instructor get the sh*t kicked out of him by a drunk in a bar brawl.
Inflated ego is another unintended consequence of teaching combat sports to young children. I wonder how many of these young girls will come to believe that they are uniquely qualified to handle any physical situation they might run in to. To spar in the ring is not to know how to fight.
Any weapon can be taken from her and used against. Particularly knives which require close combat.
ReplyDeleteI think people often don't under stand the affect of adrenaline in the moment and how this can impair even the best trained victim. The criminals have an upper hand. They came prepared for violence and have no compunction against seriously injuring or killing someone to get what they want.
Non-sociopaths have a hard time working themselves up to inflict violence and then living with the consequences is tough, espcecially for us mroe emotional women. A lot of this talk is out of touch with the reality of crime and creates a very dangerous situation for a young women who really believes she is likely to be able to defend herself inthe moment.
Alte from Traditional Catholicism has a very good post on this topic called Arming Your Wife.
ReplyDeleteI noticed a lot of American men have this female warrior fantasy. Probably comes from playing too many video games and taking Hollywood nonsense seriously.
A lot of guys really do have a Angelina Jolie/ Salt fantasy. In a one on one fight with a male I'm toast. A few years ago a woman kickboxer with medals and ribbons out to ying yang got raped and killed by a common street punk. Unless you have a gun all the martial arts in the world won't do a lick of good. And the guy in this news story is using his little girl in place of the son he wanted. She's going to hate him for it one day.
ReplyDeleteFemale here and just did kickboxing 30 minutes ago. Gosh is it intense and way too harsh. My body couldn't sustain for much longer.
ReplyDeleteI've decided to only do kickboxing for 20-25 minutes from now on. Can't stand 2 hours of kickboxing. Serious ouch.
ReplyDeleteAny weapon can be taken from her and used against. Particularly knives which require close combat.
ReplyDeleteIn that case she's dead either way, so she may as well accept her fate. According to your scenario, no defense is available short of carrying a firearm. She's not going to talk her way out of getting raped and possibly dismembered by an Arab or Somali who doesn't see her as fully human.
"She's not going to talk her way out of getting raped and possibly dismembered by an Arab or Somali who doesn't see her as fully human."
ReplyDeleteWell, may be she shouldn't be hanging in the places where such attacks occur? In my country the increase in females working outside home correlated with increase in attacks on women. Most women don't get raped and killeed while sitting at home.
Allowing her to get into situations where she might be at threat (e.g. being out very late, drinking, nightclubs etc) would be a failure on your part as a father. Sorry, but teaching her martial arts does not allow you to dodge your responsibilities.
ReplyDeleteWhen she's old enough to go out late, drink, and patronize nightclubs, then at that point, so sorry, but she is responsible for herself -- I have no further responsibilities for her at all. I intend to teach her to avoid dangerous situations, but I can't force her to do so when she is an adult, nor can I appoint myself her personal bodyguard to ensure her constant, total protection.
If she does choose to put herself in danger despite what I taught her before she grew up and left home, then that is her responsibility, not mine.
Ladies, if you're seriously at the point where you're trying to learn Mui Thai (which is extremely hard even for the average man) you'd be far better served by reconsidering what kind of dangerous activity you're engaging in. The kinds of men you're most likely to be assaulted by will completely destroy you: a man's body mass (both in terms of bone and muscle) is such that even with minimal training he can overpower any given woman.
ReplyDeleteIf you're that serious about wanting to defend yourself (I'm not altogether convinced that this renaissance of women taking martial arts and such is being instigated by women's "fear") and you're unwilling to stop behaving riskily, carry a gun. Even then your chances are bleak.
"By this rationale, men shouldn't have martial arts training either. Indeed, these types of rationales are used to say that there is no point in carrying a gun, either."
ReplyDeleteIn terms of what effect "martial arts training" and concealed weapons have on successfully deterring a crime, it is very hard to justify either: the main qualification here is what other people above have called the "sociopath" effect; people not used to thinking with their fists have a very difficult time hurting another human being (this is part of the same reason soldiers have such a low firing rate). This is not to say I don't believe in gun ownership but it should never be social policy and it works best at home.
I had a similar thread going, but I was the only one arguing against the martialization of women.
ReplyDeletehttp://traditionalcatholicism.wordpress.com/2011/06/20/arming-your-wife/
I'm not altogether convinced that this renaissance of women taking martial arts and such is being instigated by women's "fear"
Quite the opposite. My impression is that the most self-confident and independent-minded women are the most likely to turn martial and wander around town with weaponry and swagger, whilst the cowards like myself just keep our behinds in the house and make sure to lock our doors at night. Some of the more cowardly types have a gun in a home safe, but that's about it.