Monday, March 31, 2008

"You Go Girl!"


While reading Glenn Sack's blog today, I came across the following entry that was Glenn's take on an article Feminism may go too far in girls vs. boys. The author of the article writes about her experiences of watching a girls soccer team playing a boys soccer team, and how the girls used every physical tactic - including illegal and unsportsmanlike punching - possible while the boys appeared to hold back and not retaliate or play as physical as they would normally.

Glenn relates his own experiences with the following:

I had a vaguely similar experience playing against a girls' team when I was a kid. It was a soccer game between my team, probably consisting of 12 and 13-year-olds, against a girls' team from the next level up, probably 14 and 15-year-olds. I played goalkeeper, and with a few minutes left in the game their team broke through and a girl had the ball maybe about 20 feet in front of our goal.

I certainly wasn't the most athletic of goalkeepers. However, I was sure-handed and I knew how to position myself and break up plays from having played fullback/defense for many years. Normally in this situation I would charge and slide-tackle the opposing forward and knock the ball away. This time I rushed out to do it and, as I was about to slide into her, my guy programming kicked in and instead I slid off to the side, allowing her to score.

We lost the game by a goal and had to endure a bunch of "girl power/we beat the boys"-type celebrating. I've always been a pretty good sport about losing, but I remember watching this and thinking "Are you kidding me? Didn't you see me give away that goal?" I thought about saying something but realized that it would immediately be seen as boy-as-sore-loser-to-girls type sour grapes.


I experienced the exact same thing when I was a new student in my Kenpo self-defense class...

My first experience was learning a judo throw, the tomoe-nage. While serving as the "throwee" for a female student (who was higher ranked than I, I was a white belt that had just started training for only a month or so), and given that I had learned gymnastics when I was a young boy, I followed my natural instinct and "went" along with her attempt to apply the throw, and I literally used my own push off to somersault myself as she made her attempt to throw me. The result was I did a dramatic mid-air flip that made it look like she had thrown me with spectacular ease.

It looked even more dramatic when the other students training at the time did not have the advantage of such a willing (and capable) partner. Everyone else in the class, men and women alike, struggled with attempting this new technique. Had I simply relaxed and played the role of "dead weight" as the other partners did, her technique would not have looked anywhere near the results that happened when I "helped."

Yet the entire class and my instructor all gasped in amazement, and everyone began to congratulate her on her proficiency, and she literally basked in her false sense of achievement. And looking at her in the eyes, I know she knew I helped her...yet she ate up the praise and took all the credit.

A few months later, we had sparring training, where we would engage in "restrained-contact" kick boxing in full padded gear. This same girl asked if she could fight me. At that time, she was a green belt, which in our system, is a full 3 grades of skill level higher than a white belt...but when I stepped into the ring with her all geared up and we began to spar, I was tentative and psychologically inhibited by my misguided sense of chivalry....and I basically held back and half-heartedly engaged her.

She, on the other hand, opened up her entire arsenal of attacks and was easily declared the "winner" by my instructor afterwards.

A few months later, while our class was having an after-training party where we were all having drinks and socializing, she made some kind of comment about how she would beat me up again if I wised off to her. At THAT point, I made up my mind that the next time I was her partner, I would NOT make it easy for her, and if we were to ever spar again, I would forget the fact that she was a female and just let it go.

A short while later, my instructor set us up for another sparring session...except this time I went all out and unloaded on her at will. I absolutely outclassed her, despite the fact that she had been training for years while I was still a comparative newbie...the only difference was that I no longer held back. Her arrogant pride and condescension over having "beat" me previously overrode my chivalrous programming, and I beat her to tears...literally. She began crying after a few minutes in which I blocked and countered all of her attacks with ease. Now, it was "restrained" contact, so I never struck her with even 50% of my potential power, so I didn't physically hurt her. She was crying I think because here I was, a white belt newbie for which she had received her share of "YOU GO GIRL!" from our classmates and instructor because I had held back in our training and made her look far more effective than she really was. The thing is, she began to believe her own bullshit.

But when she faced me again, and I no longer felt obligated to be chivalrous, I quite simply destroyed her delusions with my naturally superior athletic ability and physical power.

The funny thing is, here I am, 10 years later, and I now teach my own class, and I have women of all ages as students...and more than a few of them are indeed "feminist" minded. Yet, when I teach my class, I make it a distinct point to disabuse these women of any and all notions that they can go toe-to-toe with a physically stronger and/or larger man and prevail simply because they've trained in my school. Some will argue with me...at first. But I've found that a first hand demonstration is the fastest way to open these ladies eyes to the difference between reality and feminist-inspired fantasy.

7 comments:

mike savell said...

A male playing against women should play his natural game.In your case you humiliated yourself and your team and gave feminism a boost

Anonymous said...

Haha, I've had a similar experience too..

Anonymous said...

The strongest woman is always weaker than the weakest man.

Uncharted Thoughts said...

I refused to spar against girls in Brazilian Ju-Jitsu. As you found out, if you don't let them win they pout and cry.

Also, you don't learn jackshit sparring with them, its like sparring a skinny nerd, there is no fight.

The class was mostly hardcore Muslims and Afghanies, so they just laughed at the girls, and said "What can sparring you teach me?".

They didn't care that it was a women, but rather there was no benefit to it for them.

Anonymous said...

You know it's funny. Two groups of people largely tout their "superiority" or "equality":
1) Vegans who claim that by not eating meat they will actually become stronger and have more stamina (lollerblade)
2) Women claim they can compete with men

My girlfriend (who introduced me to the reality that women can indeed be abusive) was a vegan chick.

We took a swim class together.

Despite the fact that I smoked, and was overweight, I out swam her- I swam faster, and I swam longer.

We took a boot camp class together.

She would do 10 pushups; with her hands on a chair and her feet on the grond.

I would do 20 pushups; with my feet on a chair and my hands on the ground.

When we did a 2 mile jog, I was talking to her the whole way; she was panting.

And I smoked a cigarette afterwards.

Granted that was a year ago and I smoke more than I did then, so I'm a little out of shape- but I have no doubt that I could easily outperform her again.

For the record, her and I are the same height: I'm 5'4" and she's 5'3".

Men - women
"Canivores" - vegans

I have a friend who's so brainwashed by feminism that he told me one time "If it wasn't for socialization, women would actually be stronger than a man twice their size."

Another example of "victim mentality" and blaming "oppression" for why women aren't superior.

Hah.

I wonder if these women secretly understand in the back of their mind's that men are socially programmed to hold back against them, and that's why they win; not because of their abilities.

And then they cry when you play with your full ability.

Women self defense class. What a joke.

Women need men for defense.

These classes are instilling in them a dangerous concept: that they can compete with men and fend off assailants. Dangerous, dangerous idea.

Raving Dave said...

Women think they can do all sorts of things men usually do and that is a real problem. This is a small example but to me shows just how they think.I had separated from my wife for a while and was living elsewhere - we are a bit masochistic so decided to get together in my original abode. She had been living there for some time.
I noticed a desk had been moved and was full of computer equipment.
This was a large self-assembly desk -so I tested it - I banged against it. It fell apart almost destroying all the equipment. My wife was the chief architect of the desk reconstruction. I was told I was too rough. So what if someone else knocked against it? no answer. Sure enough I got to putting it back together and this time made sure it was as solid as could be. Next I took a look at our tv sitting on its custom stand.
Just for the hell of it I pulled it forward. The WHOLE tv tilted forward and would fall on any small child. Once again I had been too rough. It was the same with everything - it all looked ok until you pushed it..then it just fell apart. I think that is women all over. They THINK they can do things but it's always done weakly and worst of all , they don't recognize what it took to get it right in the first place. Copy what we do,get the hang of it and then tell us how easy it is.
We take these things seriously because we know nature has to be wrestled to the ground. Women think a fairy goddess will dance attendance and bless the potential wreckage. Then if something goes wrong - you were too rough.
I mean even my wife's dentist had to call the assistance of a man to help with a tooth extraction -she was just too weak to do it on her own. Or howe about on these documentaries whre these women are pointing meaningfully at plans and designs and all manner of shit. The assumption is they are in it in a big way. Then came a big slip. The documantary showed the men busy discussing the issues in the backgroung - in font of a lot of drawings. In the meantime - Heidi -or whoever was busy collecting papers together to give to the guys and you could just see she was really nobody. But in a farcical moment the men frantically called the woman over so she should be in shot - it was just such a laugh and SO contrived.
They do what we let them do -they think what we let them think. Its time all that stopped stone cold

Anonymous said...

Dude you are so wrong, women are amazing, they do such amazing things all by their own like a raise 2 kids, work a job and go to school part time and finally fulfill a degree! All on their own!

...

Affirmative Actions (awww it's okay honey, your grades suck but come in anyway)
With Financial Assistance for Students (paid by taxes)
With Food Stamps (paid by taxes)
With Welfare (paid by taxes)

Taxes = mostly paid by men

In essence, women are equal to men- when we give them a huge head start and hold their hands.

Remember that! A woman is only strong when a man is holding her hand!