Karate - the Ultimate Self-Defense for Women

Remember those lovely wiccans on Charmed. When witchcraft failed, Phoebe's karate saved the day. Why bother with super-powers, when karate works better? 

In many episodes, it took precious seconds to cast a spell by the witches; whereas, karate was automatic and activated by muscle memory. Instead of searching for a wand in a purse, or a spell in a book, karate is ready to go. 

This is one thing  women, seniors or anyone else needs to realize. When  attacked, you usually have at most, one to two seconds to get to your .38 special, pepper spray, ninja key chain or bazooka, particularly when someone attacks without warning or provocation. It happens every day! 

Some years ago, I worked for a couple of gold companies in the middle of nowhere Alaska, and those pesky bears periodically came to camp looking for a geologist, or driller, for a bed time snack. Our small crew was composed of a couple of geologists from Wyoming, a couple of geologists and drillers from Alaska, and a camp cook from Alaska. Living in these regions, we understood bear dangers, so we all carried the biggest guns money could buy. No one bothered with bear repellant because rumor had it,  repellant was only good for spicing up the bear's dinner. 

Check it out for yourself! Put a small cylinder of pretend bear spray in your pocket and stand by a paved road. Try to be ready for the next car driving in your direction at 35 mph from a distance of 50 feet. This means, the car (bear) can travel at 3,080 feet in a minute, or about 51 feet in a single second! Can you imagine getting bear repellant out of your pocket, removing the cap, aiming it in the proper direction before it has its meal smothered with the bear's favorite spices? 

You might have a chance with a human? Well, maybe not. The fastest human on earth broke the world's record in 2009 running as fast as 27.8 mph according to the tree hugger. Both, 35 mph and 27.8 mph are a lot faster than I can run, and usually faster than I drive (I know, I'm like Captain Slow, but I feel more in control driving slow). Now imagine some scumbag plans to attack you - he/she/it (using woke terminology) doesn't need 50 feet. They can reach out and grab you when they walk by. So, if you have that pepper spray you purchased from a local gun shop in your pocket, purse, or like many people who jog in the evenings, in your pants pocket back at the house, you have a weapon! Well, probably not! Hopefully, you can see why karate training is beneficial (except against a hungry grizzly). With karate, you only need a fraction of a second to react. Depending on how you train, your defensive technique may act instantly to aggression.

And, with constant training in karate, your health is improved and your weapons are always attached to your body. Don't get me wrong, I like weapons (such as in kobudo), but, sometimes you don't have the time to grab your car keys, key chain, knife, or samurai sword.  

Traditional Karate is excellent for personal self-defense, whether you are wiccan or just another Kara Zor-El searching for a phone booth. When you learn traditional karate, you take it with you everywhere: on a plane, bus, through TSA at the airport, and even Target's restrooms. With karate, you have a weapon 24 hours/day and don't need a conceal and carry permit!

Anyone can be targeted by a politician or some other bum; so, when things get out of hand, a self-defense clinic at a local martial arts school, police station, or community center is NOT a solution. These make you aware of surroundings, teach you a few tricks, but fade after a few days. And striking a punching bag, or a officer while wearing gloves for an evening, is unrealistic. It may build a little confidence and provide things to think about, but you must learn to react without thinking and learn to strike efficiently with force. This happens through muscle memory - which is part of the genius of traditional Okinawa karate. And, as a woman, you should learn martial arts to protect yourself, your family, and even your date. But search around to find a good, qualified instructor.

Learning to develop a one-punch knockout.

Gun ranges in the Phoenix area (as well in other cities and states) typically offer special Women's days, such as Caswells in Mesa. After you learn to use a gun; remember, each state has laws on carrying guns that apply to honest citizens (not criminals). Politicians are under the erroneous impression that the Second Amendment was written only to guarantee politicians a right to carry guns - its sort of like all of their other special perks.

Not into guns? Try a taser or pepper spray - and be cautious of martial arts instructors claiming to be human stun guns. You can find pepper spray at some Sporting Goods. But keep in mind, you are not going to get many dates wearing a sidearm or carrying a bottle of pepper spray on your belt to the movies. And think of all of the places you can't easily carry a gun (jogging, shower, dancing, movies, gym, library, school, airport, Chicago, California, New York)! You can be assaulted anywhere at any time of day - take Congress for an example! 

One book published some years ago, reported 25% of women were sexually assaulted on college campuses (another place where only criminals are allowed to carry guns). So, if you are not a criminal, remember, you still have God-given weapons: your hands, feet, elbows, knees. Learn to use them, because you can't aways get to a gun or pepper spray, and they can not be taken away and used on you! Ask Phoebe!

Women's kobudo

But why train in karate? Karate, if taught correctly, will teach you some interesting Zen philosophy and provide you with good physical fitness that even your local gym can't match. In the right dojo, you can learn as much as you would like and continue learning for the rest of your life, if you have a good, qualified instructor. And make sure you have a qualified instructor. There are not many statistics out there that tell us how many instructors are really instructors and have proper certifications that did not come out of a Cracker Jacks box. One grandmaster of a very large Okinawan-Japanese-American martial arts association told me that at least 85% of the instructors who apply to him for membership, are rejected because they have no valid certification!

So, when you go visit a karate school to sign up - look for certifications on the wall and take note of certifying associations and instructors. Do an internet search to check on the credentials before you spend any money. This will not guarantee you have a good instructor, but it will eliminate many bad ones. 

Traditional karate was created for self-defense on Okinawa hundreds of years ago, and later, in the 19th century, Japanese martial artists attempted to copy Okinawan karate, but made it into sport making it less effective. And, keep in mind that "traditional sport karate" is an oxymoron.

MARTIAL ARTS SCHOOLS. Visit a school you are interested in and watch a class to find out if you can stand the instructor. If his or hers breath is a deadly weapon, and they want you to sign a contract and stick you in a class with 5-year olds, or if the instructor has acne, hold on to your purse. It might be a real ego booster to defend against a 5-year old while wearing angry white pajamas, but how many times do you expect to be mugged by a kid other than at the lemonade stand? Search the internet for a karate school that focuses on self-defense for adults. Try a simple Google search of the school. Do the same for the instructor's name. As a woman, get into a self-defense or karate class with other women and men, because it likely will be a man who attacks you. Martial arts training should be positive, educational, fun, provide good exercise and keep your interest for the rest of your life. This has little to do with the martial art or style, it depends on the instructor. Take your best friend, your daughter, son, or mother to train with you: make it a family night. I also HIGHLY recommend you learn one of the few martial arts that teaches 'One Punch Knockouts'. Anyone can knock out an attacker if they get the opportunity to hit them numerous times, but this doesn't aways work. In many traditional Okinawan styles of karate such as Shorin-Ryu and Goju-Ryu, students have the opportunity to learn how to knock out opponents with one punch by focusing strikes on pressure points. But you have to be motivated and listen to your sensei, and train hard. If you practice like a tai chi practitioners, you will always defend without focus. One must train with focus in a dojo to properly educate muscle memory.

After personally having to defend myself, I can tell you, it is a relief when you take down an attacker with a single focused punch and not have to hit them a half-dozen or dozen times. And if you are attacked by multiple attackers, a one-punch knock out of the first attacker floods the other attackers with fear. 

People are under the impression they can learn to defend in kick-boxing classes: learning to kick to music at Lifetime Fitness or any other gym without focus or blocking will not do anything other than burn some calories. To be successful in self-defense, learn to block and hit with force. Work on affirmations and keep positive and plan to train for life. Kata (forms) in karate are beneficial - they are a form of shadow boxing and look like Asian dances, but are packed full of muscle memory, focus, and self-defense applications (known as bunkai).

Along with karate, you might also learn kobudo. Why? Well, having a weapon (tool) in your hand increases your advantage, and kobudo is a martial art of weapons. Hundreds of years ago, people on Okinawa learned to use farming, gardening and fishing tools such as hoes, rakes, paddles, etc for self-defense. Modern tools such as pens, cell phones, car keys, magazines, books and even vacuum cleaners and curtain rods can be weapons of self-defense.

Excellent video produced in 1947

NUNS kick the Habit

Karate Classes for Women in Arizona

We live in a violent world. Phoenix is no exception - in fact, Phoenix is a leader in violence. Anyone who has spent a year or more in the valley can tell you many stories about the violence in the city. And parts of the rest of the world is even more violent. The World Organization of Health (WOH) reported in 2013 there were 109 nations that had banned guns in their countries, yet all of these 109 nations had more murders than the US. The WOH also noted Switzerland reported no murders - yet all adults are required by law to own a gun and become proficient in its use. So, this is a form of self-defense that seems to work.

Remember this wonderful scene in the KARATE KID?

Daniel San: So, karate's fighting. You train to fight.

Miyagi: That what you think?

Daniel: No.

Miyagi: Then why train?

Daniel: So I won't have to fight?

By training in martial arts, we build self-confidence allowing most people to avoid many confrontations. But this doesn't always work. There are unstable people on the streets - just take a look at Congress. So by constantly training in martial arts, you not only get in good physical condition and make new friends, but you also learn a valuable art that should help you defend yourself should some crazy drug addict try to attack you.

As a professor of martial arts, referred to in Japanese as 'Kyoju', I tried to get the university administration to option a Freshman class in self-defense. There is just too much crime and abuse in our world and it should be an option for all women (and men for that fact) in Junior High School, High School, College and then in a local gym or martial arts school (dojo) to train in martial arts. When I was teaching martial arts at the University of Wyoming from 1977 to 2007, I tried to include many self-defense techniques for women and offered special classes in self-defense for women. After reading a book about violence on campus, I was shocked to find that statistics showed about 25% of all females would be sexually assaulted sometime during a four year college career. One website reports 1 out of ever 7 women on campus have been raped! Now that didn't even include time before and after college.



Senpai Viva demonstrates Pinan Godan Kata.

When it comes to self-defense classes, all these do is offer some basic self-defense techniques. The problem with self defense classes for a semester or a weekend clinic is they do not provide enough training. Take a look at how long it takes for a person to become a black belt in traditional (non-sport) martial arts. It can take 3 to 4 years, depending on the individual.

The reason has to do with a piece of oriental philosophy known as emptiness, or 'mushin' in Japanese.  In order to be able to react properly in a stressful situation, a person must be able to react to an attack without thinking. They must also learn to strike properly - this is why many women have found traditional Shorin-Ryu Karate helpful, because they learn both. By the way, Shorin-Ryu translates as Pine forest style in Japanese. But in Chinese, it translates as Shaolin Style, indicating a direct link to the Shaolin Chu'an Fa (Kung Fu).



And a few Shorin-Ryu systems also teach student to develop a one-punch knock out, such as the Seiyo Shorin-Ryu systems. The reason for this is that, unlike some systems that teach women to strike numerous times, it is much less stressful to be able to strike an attacker once or twice to end the attack.

Over the years, I found my female martial artists who became yudansha (black belts) were some of the best martial artists by far. For the most part, the women really enjoy karate and other traditional martial arts. They enjoy training with other women, they enjoy working over the guys, they enjoy the exercise and potential weight loss, they enjoy the lifelong friendships they make in karate, and they enjoy learning about weapons.

Just about all of the schools in the Phoenix valley we communicated with, indicated they either did not teach weapons, one had to wait until they reached black belt to train in weapons, or they had to pay a bonus fee to learn weapons.

On Okinawa (the homeland of Karate), weapons (known as kobudo in Japanese) have always been part of the martial arts system and people learn to use weapons along with their karate training from the beginning. One school in the valley teaches weapons the day you sign up for classes (and they do not require contracts): the Arizona Hombu. The traditional curriculum at this martial arts school includes karate, kata (forms), self-defense, samurai arts, kobudo and jujutsu taught by a Grandmaster with nearly 5 decades of experience. Not only do the students learn to defend themselves, they also learn some Japanese, martial arts history, philosophy and lots of traditions.

Dr. Adam with Dr. Nagmeh pose at the Arizona School of Traditional Karate

Lacy trains with Katharina at the Arizona School of
Traditional Karate - A school of Martial Arts

Heather applies nunchuku to nerve at the back of Charles neck.

Watch out Bill! Sensei Paula trains with tonfa at the Arizona School of Traditional Karate at Baseline and MacDonald, Mesa and Gilbert.

Grandmaster Hausel shows Kris how to apply joint lock using the hanbo.