Kung Fu Training: A woman's Perspective

There is a large misconception in people's  minds of martial arts being for men only.  Many women are put off from attending classes as they believe they will be confronted by large aggressive men, all beating each other up to prove who is toughest.

Of course, we all know how long people with a violent or aggressive attitude would last in a Nam Yang hall – but it is still a stereotype that prevents a lot of women from joining our family.

Most women will be motivated to train mostly for self-defence, or to give them more confidence and feel less vulnerable then they might otherwise.  However, if a training hall is filled with aggression, a woman can sometimes leave feeling more scared, nervous or vulnerable then when she went in – and will often leave and never return.

I had such a negative experience in my first three years of training martial arts that I vowed I would never step into another hall again!   I thought I would always keep that vow, until one year later when I attended at the Brighton Branch of the Nam Yang Pugilistic Association..

I now consider myself as part of the global Nam Yang family, and have been training in Brighton for over three years.  I started training solely in the Kung Fu but later, wanting to expand my horizons, took up the White Crane Soft Art and Qi Gong. Although I am by no means Brighton’s most dedicated student, I have earned myself the reputation for being one of the only regular women in a group of over thirty men.

It is sad to think that Tiger Crane history is so dependent on the presence of a woman, the presence women is often  lacking in Brighton, and all Martial Arts classes thought the U.K. – and I often ask myself why?

From my own personal experiences as a woman training as part of this club, I have felt nothing but support and friendship from everyone I have met.  My daily practice of chi kung and the White Crane Soft Art has not only improved my kung fu, but also my confidence, awareness, health and concentration – it has improved me physically and spiritually and is now an essential part of my life.  Kung Fu has given me physical strength and health, which has enabled me to live a happier and more well balanced life – and it is constant challenge.

I tell this to all of the women who I encounter in training, as I believe it is important to inform women of the true benefits of our art – to wipe away their illusions, and most of all, to get them to join in and have fun with what we do.

Most women, when they first join our class, are delighted and surprised to hear of the vital role Tee Eng Choon had to play in our history.  They are usually pleasantly surprised and encouraged to hear of how she was able to take on a martial artist of such great standing as Hung Ee Kan, and how our style was developed from their meeting and their later marriage.

It is also encouraging and vital to pass on Master Tan’s personal views of kung fu practice – as well as his practical ones – when he teaches us all that kung fu is not about developing physical strength, it is about techniques and chi energy and our use of it... and of course, relaxation, relaxation, relaxation…  and through using those techniques one's size doesn't matter!

Fortunately for our family, there are now five other women who are presently training alongside me in Brighton, I hope in the future more will be encouraged to join so in the next 50 years we can hope to become equal in numbers, as well as in skill.

Negative experiences within the training hall for a woman can mean that they will abandon training altogether, and I am grateful to be able to train in such a positive environment.

Written by Vix Darby