Tuesday, July 10, 2012 by C. Michial Jones
Recently, I was met with the accusation that I am “sexist” or somehow against female practitioners in Karate. To anyone who has actually bled and sweated on the floor of the Yushikan, such a claim is laughable. However, it provides a valuable opportunity to discuss the role of the individual in a traditional dojo—regardless of their gender, race, or background.
The Standard is the Standard
In my thirty-five years of training, I have seen some truly exceptional female martial artists. I think of Tracy at the Marion Komakai, who hit as hard as any man and gave 100% in Kumite. I think of Ms. Dunn, a black belt under Eddie Bethea who was an excellent technician, or the senior female students at Rudy Crosswell’s dojo whose form is second to none.
I have also seen some very bad female martial artists. But here is the truth: I have seen just as many bad male martial artists. The dojo does not care about your sex or your race. To date, I have had about a dozen females join the Yushikan. One reached 5th Kyu; one reached 1st Dan. The rest moved on for their own reasons. I suspect many left because I refuse to lower the bar. I hold everyone to the same high standard: you give 100%, and you never quit.
The Responsibility of the Instructor
As a Karate and Kobudo instructor, I believe I have two primary jobs:
- Preservation: To protect the old traditions and pass them to the next generation with their moral attributes intact.
- Reality: To teach you a skill that will keep you alive.
I would be doing a female student a deadly disservice if I “fooled” her into believing she could survive a violent conflict when, in reality, she couldn’t fight her way out of a wet paper sack. A mugger does not care about your trophies, your titles, or your credentials. In a dark alley, your “big girl panties” (or “big boy pants”) need to be pulled up, and you need to get down to business.
The Myth of “Good Enough”
I once asked an Okinawan Sensei why he told me my kata was “good” when I knew I still had mistakes. He replied that it was a nice kata, but there is always room for improvement.
In my dojo, if I give you a correction and make you repeat a movement a hundred times, it isn’t because I’m being mean. It’s because you haven’t built the muscle memory yet. Even my most senior students get corrected every single class.
Statistics and the Human Element
When looking at the broader landscape of martial arts, it is often noted that dropout rates can be high across all demographics. In many traditional systems:
- Approximately 1 in 1,000 students who begin training will ever reach the rank of Shodan (Black Belt).
- While female participation in martial arts has grown significantly—comprising roughly 30% to 40% of practitioners in many modern schools—the percentage often thins in traditional “hard” styles where the physical and mental demands are unyielding.
Conclusion
I do not care if you are man, woman, child, white, black, red, or yellow. Those labels stay at the door with your shoes. What I care about is that you show up, you give your best effort, and you act like a proper person.
There is no whining. There is no crying. There is no quitting. There is only the work. If you can handle that, you have a place on my mat. If you can’t, the door is in the same place you found it.
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