The expert
Looking for a form of self-defence, AJ started learning taekwondo in 2000 under Master John Callegari. A few years later, AJ began learning the traditional weapons of Okinawa under the direction of Sensei John Etcell and went on to attain a 1st Degree Black-belt in both WTF taekwondo and OIKA kobudo. AJ taught both these styles for several years at the Academy of Martial Arts in Sydney.
Still searching for a reality-based self-defence system, AJ discovered Krav Maga while reading Blitz in 2002. Instructed by Carl Halley of Tactical Krav Maga, AJ went on to be awarded an Advanced Civilian Instructor Certification by Israeli master Mr Itay Gil.
In 2006 AJ established ‘Fight Like A Girl TKM’ in Victoria, specialising in self-defence training for women. AJ went on to establish, with partner Zunami White, Guardian Defence in Brunswick, Victoria, in 2008. It is now one of the largest Krav Maga training facilities in the Southern Hemisphere.
Her answer
When a business is looking to offer a service to a select portion of the community, it needs to weigh up if there is enough interest to make it a financially rewarding experience. However, as an instructor you are looking at whether the experience of learning will be enhanced for those in attendance. When it comes to women-only training, the answers to these two questions may be in conflict, as it is often much more challenging to gain good attendance at a class that limits participation to a select portion of the community. With that said, it has been my personal and professional experience that women can definitely benefit from an introduction to martial arts through women-only training, and the club may in turn gain students that it may not have otherwise attracted. In fact, I may have never started my own martial arts journey if it weren’t for a women-only taekwondo class that my friend introduced me to. I put this down to women-only training environments appearing less confrontational and more welcoming. There is also the advantage of women with different religious beliefs being able to train with more ease. The trick for martial arts schools is to market the classes well enough to ensure a good attendance, and then provide a welcoming environment that is designed to build confidence in the participants to the point that they are comfortable adding mixed classes to their training schedule.
This leads me to the second question: Would I encourage women to train in women-only classes over mixed classes? In short, no. Let me explain why. Over my many years of both training in, and running, women-only self-defence classes, I‘ve discovered that although providing a great introduction, the women-only classes are often abandoned by women as their confidence increases and they feel more prepared to join in with the mixed classes. This therefore creates a void of experienced students in the women’s classes. Even if this situation could be overcome, I feel as an instructor that the intensity of being attacked by, or even holding a shield for, a large fellow student in class cannot be simulated by people of a smaller or similar size to yourself. A good self-defence training environment will attempt to get participants to be competent in achieving successful self-defence outcomes even when faced with the most dangerous and intense attacks. Having a mixed environment allows this to be trained much more successfully, especially as the students are able to test their skills against physically larger threats and psychologically more intense attacks.
In summation, I would encourage schools to not abandon women-only training due to poor attendance, but rather appreciate it for what it can achieve and strongly market the program. For women, I would encourage them to take advantage of the opportunities provided, especially the more advanced students, even if it is in addition to your regular mixed training, as it allows a gateway for those that need the comfort of that environment to start their rewarding journey into the martial arts.
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