The Forum > Article Comments > The forgotten secret of the ancient Greeks > Comments
The forgotten secret of the ancient Greeks : Comments
By Dave Smith, published 8/11/2005Dave Smith argues the pugilistic arts teaches boys to be better partners, fathers, citizens and men.
- Pages:
- ‹
- 1
- 2
- 3
- ...
- 5
- 6
- 7
- Page 8
- 9
- 10
- ›
- All
I have been a great advocate of women in the fighting arts. I've been teaching women to fight all my life, have fought with the state govt. over the ban on women in boxing/kickboxing, have been threatened with legal action on numerous occasions for sanctioning female fights, etc. Having said that, I personally believe that most 'self defense' training for women is counter-productive. Why? Because it tends to give women a false over-confidence in their fighting ability.
I've sparred with my mate Holly Fernley - women's world kickboxing champ - on a number of occasions, and she is the only women I've ever encountered who I believe could truly knock me down with a kick. She's a great lady and a great fighter, but most women are never going to get near that level of power. It's all about weight and muscle to weigh ratio, and from a self-defense point of view, if you are a light weight, you need more than flexibility and high kicks to stop a large male assailant.
I don't think this is meant to reflect a negative attitude towards women. I have two daughters, and a wife (who also has a black belt) and I think it's because I care about women that I want to help them be realistic about their chances in a street fight. I teach the 'panic attack' system for women (developed by Tony Blaur in Canada) and recommend Win Chun to women looking specifically for a self-defense system, as this was designed for women.
I don't think this issue is a side-track, as I personally believe that the very reason men are genetically programmed to fight is so that they can defend people who are not able to defend themselves. Frankly the only time I've ever been in a street-fight was to prevent an attempted rape situation.
I've said enough. Catch you guys at www.fatherdave.org some time :-)