women as instructors

[M'ragon]

Welcome!!

Wel I somewhat agree and diagree regarding respect for the belt. I do feel ppl should have respect for a BB and dojo etiquette. But, the person wearing the belt may not be diserving of such respect. I have had female instructors and for the most part I have not had a problem, but some are fluffy (weak blocks, strikes, etc) and as a result cause themselves to loose full respect.

I do agree that both men/women need to earn respect. And it is a MA, while there are many aspects to training, fighting is the main goal. I don't believe in the silent wall of the BB-anyone can be beat. If I sparr with you and you talk the talk and can't walk the walk of course I loose respect. The women (and men) that I have had respect for clearly understood fighting, hard work and took training very serious (that is not an attack on Wado Ryu I know very little about it). I know one of the forum members Toudiyama(NL) is a Wado RYU instructor he may have some insights as well


So the question may be what image are you projecting to the students. The reality is that thes students are your customers since ppl are not "accepted"as students anymore. The burden of proof is on teh instructor to prove themselves which may be mo0re than just teaching the techniques.

As an aside there is a female instructor that is about 70 yrs teaching hapkido she is about 5'4" and tough as nails and nice as an angel. Her workouts are brutal and captures everyones respect (not becuase of her age) she works hard and she will sparr (I mean you have to keep it in context no full) but the fact she will do that is amazing and there are definately ppl she would take out if it were a street situation.

just my 2 cents

Thanks for the welcome and your "2 cents" Ipon. You make some good points. Overall, I'm hearing from you and other posters that there are respected women instructors - and that's a very good thing. As far as the black or high rank belt goes, I guess I believed that no decent school awards one unless a certain high standard of ability and knowledge has been reached. (And that includes the ability to strike and block hard.) Perhaps some clubs only require a particular number of classes or period of training? That's unfortunate because it undermines the value of the belt the rest of us have worked hard to earn. The hapkido instructor sounds amazing.

[M'ragon]

LOL, I guess it does.

How often does your dojo spar? What does the chief instructor say about the problem?

We spar a lot, both continuous and point, almost but not quite every class. The head instructor would tell the students off if I ever complained, he's all about respect for his black belts (it would be an insult to him if someone disrespected his bb students). The problem is certainly not big enough to go that route - don't think it would help me in the long run any way. I was just hoping to gain some insight from talking to others on the forum. The "disrespect" I encounter is more like subtle attitude, dogging it in workouts, responding a little slowly to directions, etc., those kinds of annoying passive-aggressive, childish behaviours that are sensed but hard to prove. Not a big worry for me, more of a challenge! I'm having fun

[kengar]

This is out of BB Mag. (i hope i don't get sued for this)

article

[M'ragon]

This is out of BB Mag. (i hope i don't get sued for this)

article

Thanks so much, it's very helpful! (Don't worry I won't distribute or otherwise copy it - personal use only )

[brokenelbow]

I wouldn't go to a school with an 18 year old female forms champ for an instructor. But that's because I don't think she'd emphasize what I'm taking karate for.

don't think it would help me in the long run any way.

Smart girl!

The "disrespect" I encounter is more like subtle attitude, dogging it in workouts, responding a little slowly to directions, etc., those kinds of annoying passive-aggressive, childish behaviours that are sensed but hard to prove.

Can you explain a little more?

[M'ragon]

Can you explain a little more?[/QUOTE]
Hmm. Well, it's like this. Another person watching wouldn't necessarily see the "behaviour", but neither would they see outstanding effort. I'm not the only one teaching adult or teen classes, so of course the other instructors and I discuss student progress. So, one will say " that kid's got great skills", and meanwhile I'm thinking yeah, he's got skill but he's lazy, doesn't give me any effort, or acts like the "class clown". Now, don't misunderstand, I have very strong leadership skills and the rest of class (men, women) is attentive and interested and we have a good time and a good work-out. I get very good feedback from my students. It's just the sexism and attitudes of some of those young guys makes me roll my eyes. They just take a while to "buy into" the classes and I have to work three times harder than the male instructors even though I have just as much knowledge and skill (more in some cases!). Not fair. And kind of sad in this day and age. Does that explain it better?

[guy incognito]

women insructors

Whats the problem if Young male want to laern martial arts form a male.Women have women only gyms and women only martial arts classes.Also it hard to train properly with women if your a male because your only a slip away from a sexual harrasment complaint.Im not Trying to be sexist its just a sad fact of modern life and it does happen.I have had a lot of good instructors mostly comes down to how much students r comfortable with their teacher.Also you should earn students respect not demand it.

[kengar]

Also you should earn students respect not demand it.

If a student is going to participate within a school they need to and should show respect for the school, other students and instructors. They don't have to like everyone, but respect is a must and if you don't then find another place to train.