wfs@mgweed.UUCP (10/11/83)
* Martial Artist/Woman(Part 2) * A woman learns to understand the power of action, of physical ability, and of blinding white light. The martial artist gives life to a part of himself that would othherwise remain dormant and useless. Men and woman both know that greater strength and size give an undeniable advantage, and that it is important to develop the potential of muscular power. But to dwell on one single component of the martial way will poison the real foundation of the arts. A woman does not train to become like a man, she trains to become the woman she is! Woman who train learn to take advantage of their natural flexibility. Many have chosen styles that enhance their yinness, stressing efficient movement, internal energy, and mental awareness. All artist work to overcome their weaknesses, and strive to find their own unique balance of power. Men possess strengths that are a woman's weakness, and woman possess strengths that are a man weakness. We learn from each other. Just as a woman's spiritual, mantal, and physical attitude toward the world is distinct from a man's, so too is her martial development. Other abilities that come naturally to woman include a strong sense of balance and powerful abilities to sink roots. They are able to utilize the inexhaustible powers of their enviroment, acting more as a medium through which energy passes, rather than as a finite source of energy that must constantly be renewed by external means.....(cont'd.in Part3)
wfs@mgweed.UUCP (10/12/83)
* Martial Artist/Women(Part 3) *
In the face of confrontation, women will resort to a physical
encounter only after she has exhausted all other means toward
resolution of the conflict. She first tries to outwit her opponent,
perhaps mentally disarming him without even touching him. But when a
physical encounter is necessary, a woman can yield to a great degree
within combat, waiting patiently for the proper moment to strike,while
effectively deflecting her opponent's aggression. She can yield
forever, ultimately exhausting her opponent and rendering him
harmless. A woman is quick to sense weaknesses in her opponent. She
can develop a tremendous sensitivity, such that her opponent is
helpless against her knowledge of where and when to strike. But men
utilize all of these skills as well. Technique does not define the
worth of a martial artist; technique is a tool which allows inner
strength, knowledge, and energy to be revealed. If the tools are used
by a man, then a woman is revealed. Woman in training must explore
their own inner worth, and follow a path of their own, without
becoming distracted by the path of their male peers. Yang and yin are
separate, yet they are together: interrelated and in interdependent.
Man and women share martial tools and learn from each other. As the
human embryo grows in the womb, the outward signs of sexual
differentiation occur late in the development. The essence of male-
ness, or of femaleness, is present from conception, but it is not
until later that the fetus exhibits its gender. So it is with the
martial arts. A man has a great potential to develop physical power. A
women has a great potential to develop a power of subtle intuition and
inherent stability. Training provides these powers with life and
balance. Training does not give power to individuals, it uncovers the
powers that lie dormant in all people, men and women side by side.
- END -wfs@mgweed.UUCP (Walt Scott) (10/20/83)
* Martial Artist/Woman(Part 1) *
Woman in training occasionally encounter skepticism, from within
themselves as well as from calsual observers, concerning their ability
to apply the techniques and methods of their art to a real life
physical confrontation. To raise this question undermines the power of
the martial spirit in both men and woman. To assume that a woman has
an inherent disadvantage because she has weaker muscles, relative to
her size, than a man, is to overlook the real source of power that
human beings posses. Training teaches the martial artist to rely not
only upon strength and speed, but also upon accuracy, flexibility,
discipline, perserverance, and intelligence. To be martial is to use
inner resources constantly, and strive for a balance between quick and
slow, hard and soft, aggressiveness and yielding; ultimately; a
balance between yin, the female, and yang, the male. A woman's
balance, however, is inherently disinct from that of a man.
Unfortunately, the value and significance of the female way toward the
mastery of an art is too often overlooked, because the very nature of
the masculine way-physical, aggressive, hard and visual in all its
yangness-commands attention and appears to be dominant, if not
superior, in the eyes of men and woman alike. But the martial artist
knows that yin must be sought within the yang just as yang must be
sought within the yin. A man learns to understand the power of
yielding, of sinking roots, of strategy, and of mysterious
darkness.......(Cont'd. in part2)
* Martial Artist/Woman(Part 2) *
A woman learns to understand the power of action, of physical
ability, and of blinding white light. The martial artist gives life to
a part of himself that would othherwise remain dormant and useless.
Men and woman both know that greater strength and size give an
undeniable advantage, and that it is important to develop the
potential of muscular power. But to dwell on one single component of
the martial way will poison the real foundation of the arts. A woman
does not train to become like a man, she trains to become the woman
she is! Woman who train learn to take advantage of their natural
flexibility. Many have chosen styles that enhance their yinness,
stressing efficient movement, internal energy, and mental awareness.
All artist work to overcome their weaknesses, and strive to find their
own unique balance of power. Men possess strengths that are a woman's
weakness, and woman possess strengths that are a man weakness. We
learn from each other. Just as a woman's spiritual, mantal, and
physical attitude toward the world is distinct from a man's, so too is
her martial development. Other abilities that come naturally to woman
include a strong sense of balance and powerful abilities to sink
roots. They are able to utilize the inexhaustible powers of their
enviroment, acting more as a medium through which energy passes,
rather than as a finite source of energy that must constantly be
renewed by external means.....(cont'd.in Part3)
* Martial Artist/Women(Part 3) *
In the face of confrontation, women will resort to a physical
encounter only after she has exhausted all other means toward
resolution of the conflict. She first tries to outwit her opponent,
perhaps mentally disarming him without even touching him. But when a
physical encounter is necessary, a woman can yield to a great degree
within combat, waiting patiently for the proper moment to strike,while
effectively deflecting her opponent's aggression. She can yield
forever, ultimately exhausting her opponent and rendering him
harmless. A woman is quick to sense weaknesses in her opponent. She
can develop a tremendous sensitivity, such that her opponent is
helpless against her knowledge of where and when to strike. But men
utilize all of these skills as well. Technique does not define the
worth of a martial artist; technique is a tool which allows inner
strength, knowledge, and energy to be revealed. If the tools are used
by a man, then a woman is revealed. Woman in training must explore
their own inner worth, and follow a path of their own, without
becoming distracted by the path of their male peers. Yang and yin are
separate, yet they are together: interrelated and in interdependent.
Man and women share martial tools and learn from each other. As the
human embryo grows in the womb, the outward signs of sexual
differentiation occur late in the development. The essence of male-
ness, or of femaleness, is present from conception, but it is not
until later that the fetus exhibits its gender. So it is with the
martial arts. A man has a great potential to develop physical power. A
women has a great potential to develop a power of subtle intuition and
inherent stability. Training provides these powers with life and
balance. Training does not give power to individuals, it uncovers the
powers that lie dormant in all people, men and women side by side.
- END -