Background

The last thing I want to do is to stir up controversy or be accused of being a sexist, so let me explain the reasoning behind this article.

With 'Martial Arts for Women', I'm not trying to imply that women aren't able to or shouldn't do certain types of martial art - of course they can! If it's for a hobby, then I fully encourage anyone to take up a martial art based on their own personal preferences - whether they like the style of movement, if it's semi- or full-contact, or even how close the dojo is to their house :-)

What I want to focus on here is choosing the very best martial arts for women who want to know how to defend themselves. Not necessarily with beautiful flowing forms (although that'd be a bonus!), not with awkward spinning back kicks, but with proven, effective self-defence.

The Battle of the Sexes

Why do different martial arts make a difference? Well, I would say that in general women have a smaller physique and less muscle power than men, so some of the arts that rely heavily on brute force would be disastrous for a woman to try and employ against a bigger man (assuming everything else is equal).

That's not to say that women are less equal than men - not at all! If you've ever played a fighting game on a games console (c'mon, you must've done...Streetfighter? Mortal Komabat?) you'll have noticed that the characters are roughly equal in ability overall, but have varying attributes - the men tend to be bigger and slower (but more powerful) whereas the women are generally smaller and less powerful (but much faster).

Therein lies the key to choosing your martial art.

There's no need to go head to head with a huge brute and trade hammer blows. If you want to train effectively with the aim of defending yourself, you need to choose an art that emphasises your strengths.

Criteria

OK, now we've got that out the way, I'd also throw a couple of other criteria into the mix as well.

1. It has to be realistic. Self-defence has to be applicable in today's world at the drop of a hat; we can't have you wandering around with a huge great katana or a pair of nunchukus, can we?
2. It has to be relatively easy and quick to learn. While I believe Tai Chi Chuan to be one of the deadliest martial arts on the planet when taught correctly (and it so seldom is!), to attain the level where you can use it effectively, you're looking at a minimum of ten years hard training.

Let me start narrowing the field a little.

Firstly I'm going to dismiss all of the purely internal martial arts. Those are the martial arts that don't work as effectively if you can't apply your 'qi' or internal energy into the movements. Examples would be Tai Chi, Bagua and Xing Yi. If you wish to learn one of these arts, I would recommend doing so alongside the recommended arts later, as they will give you more immediate practical training.

(Personal note: I love training Tai Chi Chuan alongside other martial arts, because I know that it will be a fulfilling lifelong practice, but I also have the impatience of wanting to become kick-ass at something right now!)

Secondly all the weapons based martial arts such as Kendo, Escrima / Arnis have to leave, for the simple fact that you'd be extremely lucky to be carrying your chosen weapon with you, and somewhere accessible, when you were attacked.

Third I'm going to rule out all the 'unrealistic' martial arts, the ones that whilst they're great in the dojo, don't always make the transition to the street. Karate, Judo, Tae Kwon Do, I'm looking at you. Out.

While these arts do teach you great principles and toughen you up, some of their techniques aren't appropriate for a dark, slippery alleyway. Try doing a spinning back kick or kicking someone in the head and you'll be over on your butt pretty quick. And when you're under extreme pressure, you fall back on what you know.

The next cut I make very reluctantly. Boxing, Kickboxing / Muay Thai, MMA, Brazilian Jujitsu, off you go. It's not that I think they wouldn't be useful, they would - but they wouldn't be the best, for two reasons:

1. They all have weight classes, indicative that size matters more than technique (or rather someone who's bigger has an disproportionate advantage), something we're trying to avoid.
2. They're sports. They have rules, regulations, their 'clean' techniques are drilled into students, and as I've mentioned, when a student is in a real-life situation under pressure, they usually fall to the level of their training, rather than start improvising.

Now we're getting somewhere. There are three arts left that I believe fit the bill. Two because of their 'scientific' street-fighting tactics and dirty moves, and one more traditional art that doesn't pit force against force, but rather redirects it, and is still brutally efficient at dispatching opponents.

So here we are, my Top Three Martial Arts for Women (in reverse order) are:

3. Jeet Kune Do. Put together by none other than Bruce Lee, it combines the footwork and punches of boxing with lots of dirty tricks pulled from other martial arts, to form a fluid whole. The philosophy is to use 'whatever works' and is all about simplicity, speed and precision, it'll also teach you some basic grappling so you can still cause havoc if you get taken down to the floor in a fight.

2. Krav Maga. Krav Maga is defined a 'military hand to hand combat system' rather than a traditional martial art. It's gained popularity over the last few years since it's become known that some of the Israeli Secret Service use it rather effectively. It aims to win the fight as quickly as possible using potentially crippling techniques and making use of any everyday objects you may have on you and nearby.

1. Wing Chun. The Winner! Actually invented by a woman only a few hundred years ago, Wing Chun is a principle based system, and a rather scientific one at that. A kind of 'scientific street-fighting', Wing Chun lends Jeet Kune Do lot of its principles (i.e. the simultaneous block and attack, the centre-line theory). This is probably not surprising as Bruce Lee started off learning Wing Chun and drew from its strengths.

Strength and size isn't an issue in Wing Chun, as the way the techniques are set up are to allow you to negate the attackers strength, flow round it and unleash your own attack. It's often said that if you can't make a technique work in Wing Chun without using your strength, then you're not doing it right. It's a very short-range system, allowing you to do some serious damage if a guy gets to close to you, before you run away. It has lots of nasty surprises for attackers; eye and throat jabs, knee stamps, neck breaks... that's why it isn't a sport, but a last resort for when you genuinely believe your life is in danger.

But hey, it's your life you're saving, right? Seriously though, as with all these arts the best form of defence will probably always be a quick, vicious knee to the unmentionables, and then run as fast as you can :-)

I hope this has been of some help, and good luck with your training!

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