OLDMANSTILLCAN-S&C

There’s a lot of internet chatter about women being able to defend themselves against men. Here are a few things to keep in mind. 1) Generally speaking men have a large physical advantage over women. That’s one reason why MTF trans playing in women’s sports is unfair, and if we are talking about a combat sport—dangerous. 2) That does not mean women shouldn’t attempt to defend themselves against a violent criminal actor. Every day around the world women fend off scum bag predators. It can be done, and in many cases fighting back is the best option. Telling women that’s hopeless is equal parts ignorant and irresponsible. 3) Having done this job (teaching people of all kinds to fight) for more than 30 years I can tell you that in general, both men and women are delusional when it comes to violence. The difference between the two is women don’t usually pretend they have skill in that area, and a lot of immature men/boys do. The term I use for that bravado is “boy speak,” and it’s pervasive on the internet. If you place your average out of shape male against a solid, female MMA fighter or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu athlete of equivalent size, most men will get their ass kicked. We see them come in the gym everyday. They are the ones who tap-out to a woman, and then never come back. Note I’m talking about functional martial arts: Wrestling; BJJ; Muay Thai; Boxing; Judo; .etc—not fantasy based arts, which is what the vast majority of non-combat sports traditional martial arts really are—fantasy. And also note I’m talking about relatively close in size. Size and strength do matter, and to the degree there is a disparity there, that difference needs to be made up for with superior skill in a functional delivery system. All that said, training in a combat sport is good for everyone, and the more good people who do it, the better our society will be. @mysteriouskat @HelenPluckrose

“Mercy to the guilty, is cruelty to the innocent.” - Adam Smith