Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[crane2]

10/24/04

This spring, I attended one of Hock's seminars and I was the only female there.  All instructors and fellow participants were very welcoming and I had a wonderful experience and learned a lot.  The techniques I learned were good stuff.  It made me wonder why there weren't many women there... I still don't have the answer... The martial arts are still pretty much male dominated which is threatening to many women-I guess.  I have had male martials arts instructors ask me how they can attract and retain female students in their classes...

Here is what I have told them...
to attrack them...
Even though I'm a woman, I've been in the martial arts for many years so classes being mostly men doesn't stop me from attending---though I still feel somewhat ackward at times.   However, it is a legimate question and one I really don't have the answer to either...
But I can take a stab at it...
Many women probably feel out of place and women are still pretty much socialized to be "nice".  We aren't encouraged to "fight"(this is a generalization).  To attract women it may be helpful to have an open house and have some women demonstrating techniques, go to local colleges and teach a self defense course, start a beginner class with females only but after that have them go to mixed (male/female classes).
To retain them   
Have a friendly but professional atmosphere.  Encourage your students to make all new students welcome by greeting them, introducing themselves and talking to them before class.  It's hard to be in a new situation male or female.  Expect all students to respect each other and take the lead in treating the women equally.  Women may at first balk at the violence if you are teaching reality-based self defense but they need to learn that reality isn't always pretty.  To defend yourself it may take doing "ugly" things...to fend off someone who is physically attacking you that's what it's going to take...Teaching anything less is a dissservice..
Don't talk about your ex-wife, don't water down techniques (women need the whole spectrum of defensive tactics...then they can make moral, ethical, legal and realistic choices), don't tell or allow off color jokes to be told in the school, don't "let" women do the techniques but give a some realistic feedback because "going easy" is doing her a disservice and may be hazardous to her safety.   
If anyone has any other ideas I'd welcome them.  We have mostly men...2 women in our classes.  We both have many years experience in other martail arts so...We have had many more men than women come to our classes...

[szorn]

Good Points!

There are some other things to consider as well. For the most part, people are so overwhelmed with with family, work, and life in general that even if they choose to pursue training they would like to find something that doesn't require years to master. They also look for material that relates to them, their needs, and/or their physical abilities. Some systems teach techniques and tactics that some women can't relate to very well. As an example, the majority of women I have worked with have found little need fo or interest in some of the locks, throws, and takedowns taught in CQC. The key to retaining women, or any student for that matter, is to find out what it is they are actually seeking and tailor the material for their particular needs. Also, as was pointed out in another post, sometimes women just prefer to train with other women. if that happens to be the only way a woman will train then arrangements would have to be made accordingly in order to retain such students.


Steve

[plouffeka]

I've mentioned in other postings and I'll say it again (and this will be in keeping with what has already been said above) - what you call your course may have an effect on who attends.  I teach Hock's materail, but it is advertised as a "Self-Defense" class.  Most of my students have been women.  In fact I got an email from a prospective student (male) the other day asking if this was a women's class.

In any of the  martial arts systems I've studied in there have been few women who attended or at least stuck out past the beginning belts.  I walk by the Kok So Won (spelling?) class that is taught on alternate nights from mine and it is almost all men.  But walk by my class and it is almost all women.

I realize this is more of an observation and not really an answer.  And it can't just be the type of material presented (i.e. women just want what they need and are not interested in the art and katas of traditional systems), because lots of men flock to Hock semeniars, but few women (as crane2 has noted).  It may just be in how you advertise (to get them in) and what you teach (to keep them). (As szorn notes - people want to learn useful things that don't take years)

I advertise "self-defense" which sounds different to new people than "Scientific Fighting Congress" or "Close Quarter Combat", which sounds more like being on offense than defense and may turn women off (I'm just guessing).  Even though the material is the same, how it is preceived is different.  It's just like what Hock says about selecting a knife to carry and reducing your chance with law problems (paraphrased)  "If your knife says Throat Slasher 3000 and you say you train at John's Institute of Street Death, then you will be looked at differently by police and the courts than if you have a utility knife and studied knife/counter knife or knife self defense.  What's in a name? Could be everything.

I recently gave a talk on self-defense to a women's group on base where I spoke about basic security and alertness and so forth - did not demostrate any techniques.  They were very receptive and several women asked about signing up for my classes.  I think the message that there is a resaon to learn how to defend yourself and your family, you can learn how to do it better (with out promising total security, just increasing your probability of sucess) AND you don't have to train like you were Rocky getting ready for a heavy weight fight made them more receptive to training.

Keith

[Kentbob]

I don't know to much about this subject, but it seems to me, that, as an instructor, if you maintain a professional atmosphere at all times, and make sure that your students are always respectful, that not only should you be able to attract more women, but you should be able to attract and retain more students in general.  Also, I think that if you are going to try to sell your class specifically to women, it helps to include combat scenarios which may be more common for women, not just your run of the mill mugging, but assaults, attempted rapes, drunken idiots at the bars, that kind of thing.  Also, Mrs. Gold talks about empowerment, and getting the woman to understand that she has a right to defend herself, things in that vein.  While I don't pretend to completely understand exactly what empowerment means, I have an inkling of an idea.  I like to discuss a little of the warrior ethos, as we call it in my line of work.  While these students may not be warriors, and my not want to be warriors, a little bit of discussion along those lines kind of helps the student focus on what needs to be done, and may be especially important for women, who, as we have stated, are traditionally supposed to be meek and mild.  By warrior ethos, I mean getting to the heart of what it means to fight for your life, to perhaps one day lay it on the line.  Discussing the things that you have to live for, and fight for.  I feel all this is important in self-defense, but perhaps more so when dealing with a women's self-defense class, because a lot of them need to be re-wired in the area of self-defense.  Although, all of this has probably been said before, I just wanted to throw my two cents in, if its worth that much.  I hope what I have said has made sense, 'cause I wonder sometimes.

Kent

[kamagong]

I agree with many of the things said.  First, I agree with Crane2 and Kentbob in that a professional atmosphere should be maintained.  Women don't want to come to your class and hear the instructor or students going on about their wife or how good looking the new secretary at work is.  This goes for before, during, and after class.  As instructors we are to set the example for our students.  Being professional at all times will also help with liability in case someone gets hurt.  Usually people get hurt in class because someone zigged when they should of zagged, or they are horsing around.
Also, how you bring things across  has quite a bit in how to relate to your class.  If you are addressing a class of 200+ lb. guys, chances are many of them have played football so the football analogy is good and will work.  If you are addressing a group of women, or men for that matter, who weigh 120 lbs, then the majority of them have probably never played football and as such gives them no frame of reference.

Plus, do you really want a 120 lb person "ramming" or going force to force with the 200+ guys?  Nope.  So, you give alternatives instead of watering down the curriculum, or changing what you are teaching.  I think this is what Mr. Zorn meant.  Hock gives the example of the + or - 20 lbs principal  that you will have to change your techniques depending on whether your opponent is + or - 20 lbs.

I agree that women can and some probably should start off in a womens only Self Defense course.  It is good to run one for 4-6 weeks, have a graduation ceremony.  It makes them feel empowered, and gives a good idea as to basics, and makes many feel less self conscious.  Men also feel self conscious in classes, but are less vocal and show it less (we are not to show "weakness").  But, women need to begin attending classes with men as soon as possible.  They need to get used to dealing with the strength difference.