Ving tsun is a system designed to use intelligence, sensitivity, and redirection to defeat larger stronger opponents. When you go into a ving tsun school, you may see many people using redirection of force to defeat those who try to defeat somebody using strength.

When I ask a woman if she is interested in attending class, she will often ask how many other women there are in the class. I tell her that about 10% of the class is women. She will often then extrapolate to believe that because there are not many women that it will not be a comfortable environment for her.

It got me thinking - only 10%? How come that number is so low. Ving tsun is well aligned with women, could it be that women are not well aligned to ving tsun?

I did a bit of research in the hopes of figuring this puzzle out. Here are the big pieces of the puzzle, organized by wittily-named topic area.

The Biker Bar

In the minds of many people (especially women) "A martial arts class" often translates to "biker bar" (and has about the same appeal). They envision a place packed full of sweaty, aggressive, testosterone-filled, loud, over-muscled men using their strength to punch and kick each other in order to fulfill their fragile egos - oh ya, while smoking cigars and drinking beer.

Women naturally would not be receptive to this environment. Let me paint a picture of an environment with small classes where the instructor gives personalized attention to your progress. The people in this class are seeking the attributes that women and children have naturally. They are trying to relax and shed the tendency to use strength. The classroom is full of people that realize using strength will ultimately result in defeat, and it must be replaced by skill and redirection of force. In this environment the training is as much mental as it is physical. The training is cooperative, not competitive. People enjoy their training as they work through realistic problems that would be encountered in a street incident. They have found that using the mind to solve self-defence situations, and then re-enforcing it with safe and proven drills is more effective than sparring.

Unfeminine Qualities

Some women feel that if they practice martial arts, they will become an Amazon Warrior woman, with arms like tree trunks and callused knuckles that can punch through cement blocks. This may be the body type one would get from performing a strength based martial art, but once again, ving tsun is different. By focusing on redirection of force and mobility the core becomes very strong. The arms and legs become toned from repetition of precise movement instead of strong from hitting hard. This style of martial art will actually tone the body and make it smaller instead of adding bulkiness, in addition to improving the gracefulness with which one moves.

Standards & motivation

"Hey everybody, meet Mary - she's our best female martial artist.". What kind of an endorsement is that? It implies Mary (a fictional name by the way) is somehow measured to a lower standard. In ving tsun we have exactly the opposite perspective. Hey, here's John (another fictional name) - he's pretty good for a man. In ving tsun people strive to get skill by NOT using their strength. A man who has become very good at not using strength will rarely be as good as a woman who does not even have the strength to begin with. She must rely on skill and not "cheat" by using strength. This is our ultimate goal. Men want to train with women in our school so they can learn how to use skill and not strength.

Getting Hit

Some martial arts school try to toughen the body of the student by continuously hitting it. The school is rough and punching or kicking people is a common occurrence, and along with that comes injuries. In ving tsun, we believe that one should train to avoid a punch, instead of training to absorb a punch. There is no need to be hit in order to practice avoiding being hit. The practice is therefore kept real and practical without the need for physical trauma (like bruising or bleeding). Now there is a real benefit to knowing what it is like to be hit - just so it does not cause a mental freeze. However this need must be addressed when the time is right, using the proven method that allows progress while maintaining control by the student. This ensures the training maintains within the student's comfort zone.

Goals

At home I have a piano keyboard. Why is it that I go to the kung fu class and practice stepping instead of doing the scales. They are both the same degree of boringness (if that's a word). And, except for the drive, they take about the same amount of effort. The answer boils down to a person's goals and objectives. I am training with a goal of mental and physical self-improvement, and I use kung fu as the vehicle to take me there. Also, I have some degree of accomplishment in kung fu and friends at the school. The accomplishment is something I want to hold onto and grow - same with the friends. It's a familiar and comfortable environment. This makes training enjoyable to me. Even when I'm not at the school I would prefer to practice my kung fu over many other activities (even video games). A person has to believe in advance that the environment is going to be comfortable, enjoyable (through the removal of uncomfortable situations), and meets their goals. Some of the more common goals for people thinking about martial arts include:

Get some exercise in a recreational environment. Some people prefer to run, jog, bike, or other form of exercise to training in kung fu. This is normally due to an already existing level of accomplishment at this form of exercise. There are many types of exercise, with a few of them even based on martial arts techniques. Typically these "box-ercize" type programs offer more "ersize" than "box", and the repetitions give a false sense that the techniques can actually be used in a situation. Ving tsun techniques are practical, effective, and can be applied by anybody; whether they are big or small.

Have fun and enjoy the atmosphere. Ving tsun can provide this type of atmosphere. Go to the school, talk with the teacher, and see how they treat their students. This will be a good guide as to whether or not the teacher can provide the type of atmosphere you would like to be part of.

Proper Fundamentals

Not every student will enjoy ving tsun enough to make it a part of their life, but I would recommend women spend enough time at a school to internalize realistic and effective methods of self-defence. Easy and effective are normally mutually exclusive. To be effective, some degree of practice and training is required. Correct technique has to be practiced until it is powerful and natural - and powerful does not come from using muscles (look at the skinny golfer who can hit the ball a mile). Power comes from well practiced solid fundamentals and proper technique. Women must spend enough time training to internalize the methods needed to even out the odds or turn the odds in her favour.

	The Female Founders of Kung Fu Lesley Jackson studies the feminine foundations of two widely practiced kung fu styles, looking into the history of Wing Chun, created by nuns Ng Mui and Yim Wing Chun, and also the background to Southern White Crane, founded by Fang Chi Niang.

Insurance

Spending a year training in ving tsun can be considered a form of insurance or risk response strategy. The less time spent building skill, the lower your skill and therefore the higher the probability that the low skill can be defeated by strength. It may also be worth saying that a little training (false confidence) can actually decrease the chances of successfully navigating through a situation. There is no magic pill here. At any point the average woman will have half the strength of the average man, putting her at a major disadvantage. No one-hour or one-week session is going to increase her skill enough that she could defeat somebody with double her strength. It's best to invest in some insurance.

Transferable skills

Aside from technique, the training will also give mental toughness, which is just as important as technique. Basically, psychology plays the most important part in any adverse situation, followed by strength/technique, and common sense. We teach all the skills necessary.

Image

Every person has an image of their self. People will see themselves as violent or non-violent. A person may see themselves as either capable or incapable of self-defence. A person will see themselves as introverted or extroverted. Often women see themselves as non-violent and incapable of self-defence. Changing these perceptions takes time, and a one-week seminar is just not long enough. After a minimum of six months of training, perceptions will start to change. Confidence will grow from truly knowing they have techniques that work. If a person has a self-definition that they cannot defend themselves, they will not be able to defend themselves - whether they are capable or not. The battle was lost before it began. With ving tsun, people can gain the self-defence while still maintaining a non-violent self-image.

Logical principles

Ving tsun challenges the mind as well. We start the training by telling new students to question everything. If the technique does not seem like it would work against a larger stronger opponent, ask. Our goal is to be able to explain all techniques to a degree that you understand how and why it will defeat strength. Then just practice until the body memorizes it. If you're considering a martial art, talk to the teacher and ask to have them explain how their techniques work and determine if those methods make sense and would work for you. The movements have to make sense to your brain and be aligned with your goals.

Closing

Every student has different requirements for learning a martial art. We do not treat everybody the same, but strive to use ving tsun kung fu to meet their goals and train within the limits of each student while still encouraging them to grow.

Evaluate your goals, and decide whether the benefits outweigh the costs. If they do, have another look at the martial arts. Try to find a teacher and classroom that will help you to meet your objectives.

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Keywords : Ving Tsun, women, martial arts, female, martial artist, force, self protection for women, attack, opponents,

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