The Martial Arts Woman shares the stories and insights of more than twenty-five women in the martial arts, and how they apply martial arts to their lives. Unlike most other martial art books, the reader will catch a glimpse into the brave and empowered woman who dares to be all that she can be. Many of these women had to overcome great societal or personal challenges to break into the men's world of martial arts. This book will motivate and inspire you to go after your goals in life and to fight through every challenge and defeat every obstacle. The Martial Arts Woman will open your eyes to the power of the human spirit and the martial art mindset that dwells in each of us!
Essays discuss various types of martial arts, and looks at how the martial arts help women to develop positive self-images and break free of the role of victim.
The surprising roots of the self-defense movement and the history of women’s empowerment. At the turn of the twentieth century, women famously organized to demand greater social and political freedoms like gaining the right to vote. However, few realize that the Progressive Era also witnessed the birth of the women’s self-defense movement. It is nearly impossible in today’s day and age to imagine a world without the concept of women’s self defense. Some women were inspired to take up boxing and jiu-jitsu for very personal reasons that ranged from protecting themselves from attacks by strangers on the street to rejecting gendered notions about feminine weakness and empowering themselves as their own protectors. Women’s training in self defense was both a reflection of and a response to the broader cultural issues of the time, including the women’s rights movement and the campaign for the vote. Perhaps more importantly, the discussion surrounding women’s self-defense revealed powerful myths about the source of violence against women and opened up conversations about the less visible violence that many women faced in their own homes. Through self-defense training, women debunked patriarchal myths about inherent feminine weakness, creating a new image of women as powerful and self-reliant. Whether or not women consciously pursued self-defense for these reasons, their actions embodied feminist politics. Although their individual motivations may have varied, their collective action echoed through the twentieth century, demanding emancipation from the constrictions that prevented women from exercising their full rights as citizens and human beings. This book is a fascinating and comprehensive introduction to one of the most important women’s issues of all time. This book will provoke good debate and offer distinct responses and solutions.
Learn the fast escape maneuvers combined with powerful counterattacks that make Krav Maga the world’s most effective self-defense martial art. With its emphasis on instinctive movements and efficient counterattacks, Krav Maga is the ideal self-defense system for any woman regardless of strength, size or age. Targeting its easiest-to-learn and most effective moves, Krav Maga for Women presents techniques and tips that quickly give you the skills and mindset to defend yourself against an attacker. As the official defensive tactics system of the Israeli Defense Forces, Krav Maga has been battle-tested on the front lines and backstreets. With Krav Maga for Women, you can gain the physical and tactical tools to protect yourself and loved ones. With more than 300 step-by-step photos, Krav Maga for Women makes it easy to learn the world’s best self-defense system, including: Disabling strikes Effective escapes Real-world defenses
Designed to help people involved in the martial arts understand the challenges women face when training, this edition helps instructors create and provide appropriate martial arts and self-defense instruction. Most how-to martial arts books are written primarily with men in mind, and women's experiences differ dramatically from men's.
This 19th-century self-defense manual—written by a master swordsman—will appeal to fencers and martial artists as well as fans of Victorian-era culture, steampunk, and American history Colonel Thomas Hoyer Monstery was a master swordsman who participated in more than fifty duels, fought under twelve flags, battled gangsters, and was constantly involved in the great conflicts and upheavals of his time. In the 1870s, he began writing his magnum opus—a series of newspaper articles that are now collected here for the first time in Self-Defense for Gentleman and Ladies. In this book, Colonel Monstery presents a unique look into the Victorian-era fighting world. He describes styles such as British “purring” (shin-kicking), Welsh jump-kicking, and American rough-and-tumble fighting, in addition to providing illustrated instruction in the art of gentlemanly self-defense with a cane, staff, or one’s bare hands. Fifty rare drawings and photographs from the period illuminate Monstery’s world, while an extensive glossary of terms and an introductory biography of Colonel Monstery—including fascinating details of his many duels as well as his groundbreaking devotion to teaching fencing and self-defense skills to women—update his text to make it accessible and useful to gentlemen and ladies of any era. Contents Colonel Thomas Hoyer Monstery: The Unknown American Martial Arts Master I. Introduction. II. The Logic of Boxing. III. Standing and Striking. IV. Advancing to Strike and Feinting. V. Simple Parries in Boxing. VI. Parries with Returns. VII. Effective or Counter Parries in Boxing. VIII. Offence and Defense by Evasions. IX. Trips, Grips, and Back-Falls. X. Rules for a Set-to with Gloves. XI. Observations on Natural Weapons. XII. The Use of the Cane. XIII. The Use of the Cane (continued). XIV. The Use of the Staff. XV. The Use of the Staff (continued). Appendix: Monstery's Rules for Contests of Sparring and Fencing Glossary
Women and Gender in Chinese Martial Arts Films of the New Millennium, by Ya-chen Chen, is an excavation of underexposed gender issues focusing mainly on contradictory and troubled feminism in the film narratives. In the cinematic world of martial arts films, one can easily find representations of women of Ancient China released from the constraints of patriarchal social order to revel in a dreamlike space of their own. They can develop themselves, protect themselves, and even defeat or conquer men. This world not only frees women from the convention of foot-binding, but it also "unbinds" them in terms of education, critical thinking, talent, ambition, opportunities to socialize with different men, and the freedom or right to both choose their spouse and decide their own fate. Chen calls this phenomenon "Chinese cinematic martial arts feminism." The liberation is never sustaining or complete, however; Chen reveals the presence of a glass ceiling marking the maximal exercise of feminism and women's rights which the patriarchal order is willing to accept. As such, these films are not to be seen as celebrations of feminist liberation, but as enunciations of the patriarchal authority that suffuses "Chinese cinematic martial arts feminism." The film narratives under examination include Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (directed by Ang Lee); Hero (Zhang Yimou); House of the Flying Daggers (Zhang Yimou); Seven Swords (Tsui Hark); The Promise (Chen Kaige); The Banquet (Feng Xiaogang); and Curst of the Golden Flower (Zhang Yimou). Chen also touches upon the plots of two of the earliest award-winning Chinese martial arts films, A Touch of Zen and Legend of the Mountain, both directed by King Hu.
Kicking ass and taking notes—what it’s like to be a woman in the ring. Alison Dean teaches English literature. She also punches people. Hard. But despite several amateur fights under her belt, she knows she will never be taken as seriously as a male boxer. “You punch like a girl” still isn’t a compliment — women aren’t supposed to choose to participate in violence. Her unique perspective as a 30-something university lecturer turned amateur fighter allows Dean to articulately and with great insight delve into the ways martial arts can change a person’s — and particularly a woman’s — relationship to their body and to the world around them, and at the same time considers the ways in which women might change martial arts. Combining historical research, anecdotal experience, and interviews with coaches and fighters, Seconds Out explores our culture’s relationship with violence, and particularly with violence practiced by women. "An important addition to women’s martial arts scholarship, Dean provides personal insight into the radical space women occupy in sport fighting. Seconds Out is a must-read for all fighters looking for mentors in the complicated world of martial arts." —L.A. Jennings, author of Mixed Martial Arts: A History from Ancient Fighting Sports to the UFC "Dean brings a fresh new female voice to the topic of combat sports." —Trevor Wittman, renowned MMA trainer, UFC analyst, and founder of ONX Sports "Trained in the discipline and art of both fighting and literature, Dean combines both with style. She honors the fighters, writers, and historians who have come before her and definitively ends the idea of women fighters as a novelty. Seconds Out is a must-read for anyone who feels the call of the bell and reverence for a good fight." —Sue Jaye Johnson
