I want to take Karate, but I do not want to be the only girl.|||um i would highley suggest that u dont take karate, it is for girls to, but i would advise you to take kick boxing, or just good old fasioned western boxing, or mui thai, those three are much better for self defense, and ten times better to get into shape than karate, no matter what your goal is i suggest stay away from karate|||Your best answer is by someone who took Karate as a child? He has no real experience to discuss this topic with you and Karate is far more valuable than kick boxing or boxing in terms of self defense. Find a good class to take that is with a good instructor. This is why Y/A is not very good. Report Abuse
|||Oh it%26#039;s so cool to see somebody else mention Kyokushinkai! If you ever have a chance to take that form of Karate, do it. It%26#039;s awesome, I have done it and I%26#039;m a female. The kata/forms are brutal and nowhere near as stiff as Okinawa Karate can be. There%26#039;s often a book on it at Borders or Barnes and Noble so check it out.
Wherever you go, probably you will either be the only girl or one of two, so stick close to the other women and smile at them. Be a friend, say kind things, and encourage each other. Don%26#039;t compete with the other women except as class requires. They get enough of that from the men. Keep in mind how hard it is for you to decide to go, and get your courage up. Reflect that it%26#039;s just as hard for her.
OK, so, did you mean karate as in %26quot;japanese punching and kicking karate styles%26quot; or karate as in %26quot;some kind of martial art%26quot;?
Because I%26#039;ve seen more females in Aikido groups than anywhere else. There are certain forms of Aikido that are designed just for women%26#039;s use (not that they aren%26#039;t taught to everyone, but they%26#039;re meant for women to defend themselves when alone).
For a while I saw women in Budo/Ninjitsu groups but I wouldn%26#039;t recommend that unless you live in a big city like NYC and the group is large and well attended. Too many people just love the idea of being ninjas and don%26#039;t really know much beyond what they%26#039;ve read in books. Too many potentially weird side roads there. I%26#039;ve met a lot of odd people on the Budo path. Some people say you shouldn%26#039;t start with Budo, but others have disagreed. I%26#039;ll leave it up to you if you find a good group you like.
The key is to find a team that you fit into. It should be a group no smaller than 5 people plus the teacher, for real female safety. You shouldn%26#039;t feel intimidated by anyone, even if they%26#039;re much better than you. You should be comfortable with them. You%26#039;ll be touching them a lot, and they%26#039;ll be touching you, so the idea of %26quot;toughing out discomfort%26quot; is just silly. You don%26#039;t like them, leave. Martial arts has a way of bringing out the best and worst in people, so don%26#039;t tempt fate.
Eventually you should all feel like brothers and sisters. Even the teacher should seem like a big brother/sister at times. But at first, expect a little more formality and simple shows of respect like bowing and such. After a while you won%26#039;t even notice it because it will be natural to you to show respect at appropriate times. Watch the missteps, they will show you whether a group has accepted you yet or not. If someone ever yells at you just to prove his or her authority, it%26#039;s probably time to leave. Pompousness is just a sign that people don%26#039;t want to work with you really.
You won%26#039;t really feel like you%26#039;re one of %26quot;them%26quot; until someone else new comes along. It will be so weird not being the %26quot;new kid%26quot; but also good to know you%26#039;re no longer %26quot;it.%26quot; Mostly the false starts and too much formality will be because you%26#039;re new. But some people are just mean-spirited. And you should not tolerate that. Either bring it up with the teacher or the student themselves. Sometimes just talking to the person will end it.
Decide a few things:
1. Are you insulted by jokes about women?
2. Are you insulted by other general crudeness?
3. Do you want a serious group (the self-defense types who worry about really defending themselves on the streets), or a more lighthearted group (the sports types who are just there to have fun and self-defense is a great side effect)? If the latter, then stick to Aikido, or judo, or just go watch the group and see if they%26#039;re having any fun, or if they%26#039;re yelling %26quot;kiyai%26quot; or something else loudly, in a frightening manner that kills all thoughts of being lighthearted?
Many men do not like the same things in a martial arts group that women do. Well, most women. Most women I%26#039;ve met do not want an aggressive group that seems to be having an anger catharsis moment during class. We get enough of that in real life.
Many men will not relax around you unless they know whether it%26#039;s safe or not safe to make crude jokes. So make it clear early on whether you%26#039;re a raging feminist, or a laid back computer geek Trekkie (like me). It%26#039;s not that they care so much whether or not you are offended, it%26#039;s that they need to know their boundaries. And be ready to ignore their mistakes at least sometimes, if you choose to be offended.
Keep in mind that you%26#039;re learning to fight, and that%26#039;s not %26quot;civilized.%26quot; Civilized fighting is like pretending that you can be civilized while using an outhouse on one of those mosquito ridden Maine coast islands. You observe rules of respect and rules of conduct only to keep in mind that these people are your friends who are helping you develop your skills - at being brutal. So don%26#039;t expect it to be a pinky raising tea party atmosphere. It%26#039;s more like a raucous party after everybody has succeeded in becoming tipsy and too-honest.|||As a karate girl myself (Tae Kwon Do), let me say that there will not be many girls. It is male dominated.
However, if you%26#039;re athletic enough and have enough determination, it is not hard. But it will push you in ways you never have been before.
I say go for it. Don%26#039;t worry if you%26#039;ll be the only girl (there might be one or two, but don%26#039;t expect a 50/50 mix or even close to that). If you want, try to find a friend to try it with you.
It takes determination and work to be TRULY successful in karate, but I%26#039;m sure you can if you really want to. Good luck!|||This is not the sport kind, I study Kyokushin and of the top 4 students of our school, one of them is a woman. She can/has drop(ped) a college kid who played football.. that%26#039;s like 270 vs her 130 pounds.
Karate for a sport I have no idea, a sport is not a martial art.|||Karate is far from a male dominated sport. The WKF has many great female athletes and in most good schools around the world you will find a mixture of men and women training side by side. Just go for it...I am sure you will enjoy it. Good luck.|||trust me you%26#039;ll love whatever martial art you decide to do... i do tae kwon do judo and ju jitsu and im almost constantly paired up with huge guys and kinda small but its a thrill dont miss out
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