Getting Beat by a Woman

Women's UFC Champion Ronda Rousey (Source: http://www.cagereligion.com/2012/12/rousey-vs-carmouche-henderson-vs.html)

There’s nothing more damaging to a man’s ego than to be beaten by a woman in anything, especially in feats of strength or skill.  With society playing its part in implementing gender roles, it’s no wonder that men today are more concerned about their masculinity than chivalry.  This is not to say that all men are raucous wild men who have to flip a table and a few chairs over every time they walk into a classroom, just generally speaking that most men are focused on keeping their manly image as the alphas in society.  So how does this apply to sports?  In any sport that is played in the world, the men’s division gets much more attention than the women’s division, and in my particular topic, the world of martial arts is a male dominated sport.  Any time you hear about a martial artist, the first thing you think of is probably Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, or some other famous Asian martial artists.  Apart from the fact that 99% of people will think of the martial artists as stereotypically Asian, they also will stereotypically classify the martial artist as a male.  Why is that?  Why is it that we cannot picture a woman as a martial artist and a damned good one at that?  Society has painted males and females to fit a certain category of traits, personalities, and physical abilities and anything that goes against these socially constructed norms are considered foreign, out of place, and unacceptable.  This is a non-inclusive blanket mentality that completely idealizes what a man and what a woman should be.  On one hand we have the dominating male who is physically superior and obviously more skilled while on the other hand we have the submissive, significantly more fragile woman who must have a man take care of most things.  If you thought that idea of what a man and a woman is was ridiculous, don’t worry I was with you on that as well.  I for one know firsthand that a woman can be just as vicious as a man is in martial arts, possibly even more so.  Martial arts’ philosophy was to understand the human physical capabilities as well as gain physical prowess and defense against all worldly obstacles (full article on the history and philosophy of martial arts can be seen here: http://www.philosophos.com/philosophy_article_80.html).  Through this idea, humans can learn about themselves and about the world around them.  So who had the idea that men were the only ones capable of performing such a feat?  Women are just as capable of breaking wood as men.  Women are just as capable of pushing their physical limits and understanding their own bodies as men.  Women are fully capable of exercising, staying in shape, and conditioning in the same ways just as men (questions and answers to the physicality, roughness, and attractiveness of women can be seen here: http://futuriztik.com/sports-and-recreation/fragile-no-more-women-taking-martial-arts-training/).  So why do we automatically assume that women are not able to handle the physicality and discipline of martial arts?  Some strides have been made to publicize the women of martial arts, but the bulk of society view these women as entertainment value and not to be taken seriously.  I feel this can be a mistake, especially if I was on the wrong end of a beating by say, UFC Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey from the bantamweight class.  UFC 157 will be showcasing their first ever women’s fight on pay-per-view and if you’ve watched any of the preview footage leading up to this fight, these women can fight just as viciously as men!  Being a martial artist myself, I’ve been on the receiving end of a beating by a female martial artist and they hit just as hard as men.  Do I have hurt pride?  Of course I don’t.  Do others think I’m weak for being beat in a sparring match against a woman?  They most likely do.  In the end it doesn’t matter about gender, especially when it comes to sports.  That’s the beauty of sports: gender roles were never written into the rules.  So the fact that women in martial arts are finally getting some spotlight is a step in the right direction, but it took long enough don’t you think? Below are some links to some videos that might put into perspective what I mean.