Martial Arts Women and Girls in Kung Fu: More Benefits than Self Defence

The idea of women and girls taking classes in the martial arts of Kung Fu for self defence may seem a little obvious, in fact there are more reasons why ladies are starting this martial art...

What imagery comes to mind when we think of martial arts and in particular Kung Fu? Most likely it is images of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan or Jet Lee. Many movies or just a few classics may spring to mind. The idea of women in Australia undertaking Kung Fu classes may therefore seem a little foreign but in fact there are many excellent reasons why ladies in particular should participate in learning this art form.

It is important to clarify that martial arts is not without the history of women. It was both Zen Buddhist monks and nuns that brought yoga and martial arts from India to China. In war-torn China, protecting yourself was a matter of survival. Whilst the exact origins of Kung Fu are argued, there is a story about a 13-year-old girl named Shuen Guan who was born around 265AD. Legend has it that she was nicknamed “Little Tigress” after a brave battle she won when bandits tried to attack her town. After escaping to speak to a General in a military camp in a neighboring village, she so impressed him that he sent his soldiers to help fight the bandits. The Emperor of China honored these heroic acts at the time.

Physical attacks in the street and at home

One cannot mention Kung Fu without talking about the important aspects of self-defence. It is for this very reason that Kung Fu is the most likely to be so appealing to the female gender. Unfortunately from time to time there are serial predators that we read about in the media. And of course there are thousands of other crimes that go unreported or don’t make it to the newspapers. These stories leave us scared and frightened until the perpetrator is caught. For the victims of such crimes, they are often scarred for life and occasionally some will be murdered.

When women are out on their own, on quiet paths, in parks or car parks at night, they often have to be vigilant and alert. They are generally too scared to be out alone or to exercise on their own. One way to reduce this fear and feel less scared is to take martial art classes.

Martial arts provides you with the survival skills to feel less threatened and to be able to defend yourself in an attack. Being assured that you know how to defend yourself helps reduce your anxiety of potential attacks. Of course, one hopes to never have the need to use these skills in a real life situation but the security of knowing how to defend yourself should such a scenario arise is helpful, although of course it cannot provide a 100% guarantee. Undertaking fitness classes in a safe, group setting is far safer than exercising alone along bikeways. But attacks do not only occur outside and most victims know their attacker. In fact, a lot of attacks occur in the home and so it is vitally important for women to know self-defence moves to ward off potential attackers.

When we spar in a kung fu class, we engage in partner work and sparring. This means we often rotate the partners we are working with. For women, this provides an opportunity to practice their defence and attack moves against males of all ages, shapes and sizes. Even though it’s a class setting it helps give you some indication of the stress and pressure of a real life situation where you must think quickly and react to the different moves of your opponent. This helping you to ‘think on your feet’ goes some way into how you’d have to think in a more stressful unknown environment. It also shows us that you do not need to be the fittest or strongest to succeed in beating your opponent. And this is a vital concept for a woman where it is likely that in a real life situation, she may be smaller and weaker than her attacker.

From time to time group defence work is undertaken in class where 2-4 people attack an opponent. This is also to mimic real life situations where groups in social settings such as pubs, nightclubs and sporting matches, can become out of control. Once again, it is this quick thinking skill that makes you less afraid to face everything combined with the use of leveraging the skills and equipment you have on hand.

Weapons such as a cudgel and sword are taught in Kung Fu. The techniques learnt could be used as defence items when being attacked in the home. For example, you might have a broom, mop or kitchen utensil nearby if you are home. Kung Fu classes also teaches us knife defence techniques, which are essential skills to have as many attacks on women involve knives.

Using weapons and participating in sparring in a class environment is useful for women because they often haven’t punched and kicked and fought like boys do growing up in their playtime. Women tend to be less tough physically and generally participate in sports and hobbies that have less ‘rough and tumble’ attached to their ethos.

Women and Fitness

Women want to look good. We want to look toned and fit. Kung Fu helps us tone our muscles by many exercises and drills we do in class, which as a by-product helps tone our body. Tone is really just our muscles showing through. For tone and to see muscle, you need to reduce your weight and body fat. One way to keep our weight in a healthy BMI range is to exercise which helps increase our metabolism. Kung Fu is a great choice for improving tone and offers a range of additional benefits.

Kung Fu classes help us work on our balance and spatial self-awareness, something we probably don’t think too much about from day to day. As well as balance, Kung Fu classes work on flexibility, particularly in the warm up and cool down of each class. Increased flexibility improves your performance as well as reducing injury. Working on your flexibility also helps reduce muscle soreness and stiffness and improves muscle coordination. Not only does stretching help bring blood supply and nutrients to joints, it allows a wind down time at the end of the class to relax and unwind from both the class and your day. Long term there is the added benefit that flexibility helps improve your posture.

When we stretch in class, we promote muscle relaxation, helping to reduce the shortening and tightening of the muscles. Stretching improves the range of motion of the joint, keeping us limber and flexible. This in turn helps to reduce muscle fatigue. Taking time out to stretch in class is one way to reduce stress. Many women lead stressful lives and stress is a known cause of sickness. The warm up and cool down in a Kung Fu class gives you a chance to take time out from your day, to slowly loosen up the body and to calm down. Using the time to clear the mind before you go back into the world of jobs, housework and other such tasks, helps relax and calm you.

Kung Fu along with balance and speed also helps us improve our agility. Agility is the ability to change body position or direction of the body quickly and we practice this often in our warm ups when we run zigzag patterns. We also do this as we move quickly from move to move in our different routines. Improving your agility also helps with your speed of thought and overall coordination. Improved agility is useful in many recreational activities you might undertake such as tennis and dancing.

Womens Health

It’s funny how we plan our financial future but we don’t think too much about our health and our long-term fitness and health goals. How physically independent we end up staying throughout the decades depends on our physical fitness. It is likely that the more we put into prioritising our health, the longer and healthier we will be. No one wants to enter a nursing home any sooner than they have to, if at all. Being fit and healthy helps us remain independent.

Women need to prioritise exercise as it increases bone density and reduces the risks of osteoporosis. Exercise increases bone strength so that your chance of brittle and weak bones is reduced. Over time, there is a natural decline in our muscle fitness. Muscle tone combined with balance, which is worked on a lot in Golden Lion Kung Fu classes, helps reduce the risk of injuries from falls. Falls are a major cause of disability and death in older people, particularly broken hips.

In addition to muscle and bone strength, exercise is also good for our mind. Mental health is finally getting the media coverage it deserves and a good physical body is linked to our mental state. Exercise lifts our moods, decreases depression and makes us feel good, giving us improved self-esteem, which has benefits across our life. Being active helps us live our life well and to the fullest, keeping us young. In some instances, it can even reverse the signs of ageing.

A Challenge for Women and Girls

There are such a variety of techniques to learn and master when it comes to Kung Fu. Apart from providing a great workout, Kung Fu has many, many technical moves providing endless challenges and stimulation. Even after doing classes for many years, you will still find that there are numerous moves and routines to learn. And to finesse each skill, routine or movement, could possibly continue to challenge you for a lifetime! One case in point is the names and meaning behind each of the movements you learn. For example, the five animals of Kung Fu – the majestic dragon, a sleek snake, the powerful tiger, agile leopard and graceful crane. In addition to specific movements, techniques and stances, the history alone of Kung Fu and martial arts is interesting and can be motivating and inspiring to learn.

Kung Fu will always provide numerous challenges in many ways for women and there is no reason to ever become bored with the art form. Whilst we may seem the weaker gender when it comes to strength, Kung Fu teaches us ways to meet incoming force with equal force. It is possible to learn to use the weight and momentum of your attacker to your advantage. This combined with quick movements and some knowledge of dim mak pressure points can help off balance your attacker, thus ruling out the need for brute strength.

Kung Fu covers all of the areas that are known to help increase our fitness and reduce the inevitable signs of our bodies ageing. In the warm up when we run or during our drills or sparring, we build endurance, which helps our heart, lungs and circulation. Pushups that we do in our warm up as well as bag work, helps build strength.

And there is more…

It is rare enough to be genetically blessed to have the body and fitness we want without hard work. Of course correct food choices, sleep, water and regular nutrition all play vital parts in keeping us in shape. But exercise is a key component of keeping our body toned and shapely. No doubt we should all agree that regular exercise is hugely important in our life. Exercise slows down the ageing process and helps your lungs and heart working efficiently. It can also help prevent and control many diseases such as diabetes and heart attack.

If I haven’t convinced you yet that Kung Fu is a great way to keep fit as well as help make you more confident and reduce your stress, then hold on, as there’s two last reasons you should make it the sport for you.

Women, Friendship and Fun

Being a part of a club is a great way to be social. It’s often hard to maintain a fitness program on your own but in a club environment you meet new people as well as increase your physical activity. As friendships develop, you often push each other to achieve your personal goals. Partner and bag work helps you get to know new people who you end up regularly training with and in some cases, competing and travelling with.

If these various reasons why women should do Kung Fu don’t inspire you then think of one last reason – it’s fun!! That’s right: kicking, punching, knife defence, varied activities…and all with like-minded people who want to stay fit and healthy just like you! Chinese Martial Arts can be incredibly enjoyable and rewarding. It endeavors to teach you a whole range of life skills such as respect, perseverance, tolerance, loyalty, patience, dignity, humility and honour. So you might profusely sweat and gain a few bruises from time to time but if the end result sees you fit, toned, healthy and armed with a variety of techniques to feel like you can defend yourself confidently then those small nuances are a small price to pay.

Attending regular Kung Fu classes and the benefits it derives – self defence and fitness - is an empowering feeling, particularly for women. Being vulnerable may be cute in a romantic movie but in real life it can get you into difficulties. The benefits of being able to go out into the world without fear is important. It doesn’t make you unfeminine but does make you more confident in looking after your own safety and helping you take control of your life. With such improvements to both physical and mental health, Kung Fu should be seriously considered when looking for a sporting activity that provides a vast array of benefits and skills.

Thanks to Rosemary Hermans, Rowville Golden Lion Kung Fu student, for this contribution

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1. If you'd like to read more about how women enjoy their training in kung fu, here's an article about the Strength and Power of the Leopard style (Bao Xing) in KF

© Copyright Richard Tsui-Po 1971-2012. All Rights Reserved.
Golden Lion Kung Fu Dim Mak Pressure Points. Phone: 9796 1066
BERWICK: 29 Intrepid Street, Berwick 3806.
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Melbourne, Australia.