WOMEN

Women in Martial Arts

What would you do if you were attacked by a 200 pound man?

I can tell you what my instructor would do because it happened to her. And the 200 pound man was ME!

It happened long before I became "Master Jeff." My instructor was Katherine Wieczerza, now GRAND MASTER Katherine Wieczerza. I had been in her Taekwondo class for about 6 months and wore a green belt. I was progressing well but getting a little cocky. I was young, at the peak of my physical strength and trained in several martial arts, though I had not yet earned a black belt in any of them. One night, I felt the need to express my size and strength, to "test" my new instructor on her abilities to fight "for real" against an opponent as large as myself (I stand a good foot taller than her). My plan was to kind of "mess with her," dominating her with size and strength - allowing her "win" - at least by the rules - but at the same time asserting my ultimate male superiority. I could not conceive of a woman REALLY defeating a man in anything physical, least of all a fight.

The operation did NOT go according to plan. It quickly became apparent that this would not be nearly as easy as I thought - though it still seemed doable. I could throw hard techniques, but I couldn't seem to LAND any of them. I became more and more frustrated and attacked more and more aggressively. This, as I know now, was a mistake. She not only didn't respond in kind, she became even more RELAXED, which frustrated me even MORE and I went even HARDER and the fight snowballed in this direction until I became hopelessly winded. At this point, my lips a pale blue, she began teaching me a valuable lesson about underestimating the power of a woman. She did this lovingly - yet very firmly - by proceeding to perform surgery on my ribs and head with her lightening fast hands and powerful legs and feet. I was seeing stars and sucking wind. I couldn't keep from thinking that if this were on the street, I'd probably be as good as dead. I even felt panic setting in, though I managed to contain myself. She could have killed me quite easily had she chosen, but that was not her purpose. Thank God she was and is the benevolent, understanding, forgiving teacher who's purpose was to teach from and about the heart. In other words, fortunately for me, she relented before I died... JUST before I died.

Since that day, I have been an avid teacher of women's self-defense. I have felt the wrath and power of a wise and well-trained woman and I know first hand that it is entirely possible for a woman to defend herself against a much larger opponent.

Martial Arts classes for women? YOU BET! Since that day, I have been an avid believer in women's self-defense classes. I have felt the wrath and power of a wise and well-trained woman and I know first hand that it is entirely possible for a woman to defend herself against a much larger opponent.

But that's not the best part of martial arts training. As a woman begins to shed the subconscious fear so common in this violent, competitive culture, she discovers something infinitely more valuable than fighting off an attacker:

THE REAL FIGHT IS WITHIN OURSELVES!

When you realize that the outside "demons" are not really so undefeatable as they once seemed, it soon becomes obvious that we also have the power to fight the much more dangerous demons within ourselves: Self-doubt - fear - greed - jealousy. Caught up in the battle of defeating these monsters, you will eventually laugh at the idea of a fight with a human attacker.

Martial Arts are less about learning to fight others, and more about fighting one's self - overcoming our own self-imposed limitations.

In Zen terms, this is called "enlightenment." If you even get a taste of it, the volume gets turned down - WAY down - on everything else around you. Add this to a more physically fit body inside and out, and you'll discover you're more aware, more relaxed, more tolerant, more loving, and stronger than you ever imagined possible - and all you came in for was to protect yourself from a street thug...

But don't just take my word for it. I personally invite you to our academy to visit class free of charge with no strings attached. I guarantee that if you can make it through the training program, you will be a new woman inside and out!

Grand Master Jeff Wade

---