Martial Arts Styles for Women

Frailty, thy name is woman! ~ Brad.

This quote from Shakespeare's 'Hamlet', that alludes the alleged inherent weakness of character of women. But this quote does not hold true in today's world. Women are no longer the frail and weaker sex and have proven themselves better than their male counterparts in many fields professionally and in personal areas. But, alas! Women still face many forms of harassment, even though they are liberated and successful in all walks of life. Let me explain my point with the following examples:

• Sara, a successful law graduate was molested by her colleague, whom she considered to be her friend. They were working late in the office gearing up for the next day's court proceedings and her colleague thought, he could take undue advantage of meek and delicate looking Sara. He grabbed her from behind and tried to forcefully kiss her. Luckily, Sara could reach for the paperweight on the table and struck on his head. He began to bleed and let go of her, who ran out of the office straight to the police.
• Anna, a 16-year-old student travels by bus to her ballet classes, during the evening rush hour. Many times, perverts pinch her bottom or try to grab her taking advantage of the crowded bus. This has really shaken her up and she fears similar incidents every time she hops onto any bus.
• Mrs. Witterspoon, a housewife and mother of two grown children, was forced into a dark alley and robbed at gun point. She was also robbed off her wedding ring that had never slipped off her finger since her wedding day.
• Kelly loved her boyfriend and trusted him over her life. She was in for a rude shock, when he came knocking at her door drunk as skunk and forced himself on her. Kelly was hospitalized for over 3 weeks as she suffered from heavy internal bleeding.

Note: Names have been changed to protect the identity of the victims.

Shocking, isn't it? These are women just like you and me who would not have thought in their wildest dream that something so dreadful can ever occur to them. Women have been able to reach the moon, but they still have not been able to overcome the fear of mental, emotional, physical and sexual abuse that perverts and the so-called macho men dish out to them. It has been found that in 29% of all violence against women by a lone offender, the perpetrator was an intimate person like husband, ex-husband, boyfriend or ex-boyfriend. There were annual reports of about 500,000 reported rapes and sexual assaults, almost 500,000 robberies, and about 3.8 million assaults on women and girls aged 12 and up. These hard-hitting figures are not just numbers, but a jolt to bring women to reality and make them understand that harassment is standing just outside the door.

In such a case, it is very important for women to know some form of martial arts styles for women. Martial arts, help them take up self-defense and get them out of dangerous situations. There are many martial styles for women and in this article we shall learn more about the best type of martial arts for women. The following martial arts style list will cover the different martial arts styles.

Martial Arts Styles List

The following martial arts styles and descriptions will help you understand more about the art of self-defense and help you choose the martial arts styles that suit your personality.

Karate
One of the oldest form of Oriental martial arts form, is a self-defense technique that is popular among the women folk. It helps improving body contours and builds a strong personality. Karate does not involve use of weapons and uses strikes and kicks that are inflicted upon the pressure points of opponents. Karate is one of the good martial arts for women that helps in making an individual practicing it, become alert mentally and physically. That's something all women need to be alert and to watch out for possible evil advances and intentions. Karate also strengthens the body and builds hand and eye coordination.

Muay Thai
Muay Thai is a form of martial art practiced by Thai people, also known as kick boxing. Muay means boxing and was a self-defense technique taught to the soldiers to, fight without weapons when they lose their weapons or have to undergo a hand to hand combat. Traditionally, women were not allowed to enter the Muay Thai ring. It was thought women would distract the fighter's concentration and thus result in their injury. Also, it was said that Muay Thai was a very difficult form of martial art that could not be learned by women. But, times have changed and so has the Muay Thai tradition. Women are being accepted as Muay Thai Boxers. But there are separate arenas for women and men boxers. Women boxers and are not supposed to enter their ring by jumping over the rope. This is because it will represent that they are over the men boxers and their amulets. They are thus, supposed to duck under the rope and enter the ring.

Coming back to our martial arts styles and description, Muay Thai involves using the head, fists, elbows, knees and feet as weapons. This self-defense art is considered to be the most powerful and deadliest style of martial art. There are many training camps in Thailand that train women to become profession Muay Thai boxers and take it up as a career. If you are looking for some martial arts to take up as a profession, then Muay Thai is the answer. The benefits of martial arts for women practicing kick boxing not only includes self-defense, but is great for toning legs and butt. It is also a great cardio exercise and helps in weight loss compared to other exercises or techniques

Boxing
Boxing is mostly thought as a man's world, but there are many women boxing champions who have earned world recognition for their boxing prowess. Boxing involves punching the opponents with your knuckles covered in gloves. Boxing can be considered one of the good martial arts styles for women, as it provides great physical benefits. It helps get rid of stress and helps in keeping ulcers away. The most important benefit of boxing for women is that it is one of the best martial arts for women, as it helps them knock out cold their attacker in self-defense.

Taekwondo
Teakwondo is a Korean martial art and means 'to strike or break with foot'. This national sport of South Korea is one of the best martial arts for women and one of the most popular martial arts for women. Taekwaondo is a combination of self-defense, exercise, sport, meditation and philosophy. Taekwaondo helps women use their entire body and helps increase natural physical strength. They can develop power in their legs, knees and elbows. This is a good martial arts style for women, as it helps them analyze the dangerous situations and the best way to come out of them.

Jiu Jitsu
Jiu Jitsu is a Brazilian sport that helps women become physically strong and aggressive. It is a perfect defense art for the physically weak. When a woman gets attacked, her attacker mostly wants to pin her to the ground and control her movements. In such cases, when women cannot blow kicks and punches, Jiu Jitsu is the best martial arts. Jiu Jitsu lets women learn the methods of escape, control, hold and get away from the attacker when on the ground. It helps women get away from larger or stronger attackers using principles of leverage and angels. The Jiu Jitsu teaches women what to do if someone is on top of them and how to get away with fast movements.

Akido
Akido is another good martial arts style for women looking for self-defense. It does not rely on physical strength. The basic movements of Akido techniques help in strengthening the core muscles and increased lower body strength. It also helps in increasing stamina and over-all muscle tone.

Wing Chun
This is a Chinese martial arts style for women and designed by women. Wing Chung has explosive short moves and is developed for close range fighting. Thus, people of shorter stature are at an advantage when practicing Wing Chun. It helps teach how to deliver an attack to the opponent and to endure an attack from the attacker. The principle philosophy of this martial arts states, 'You may hit me, but my punch is going to hurt more."It is one of the best martial arts for women, who have smaller bodies and a bony structure.

Krav Maga
This is an Israeli martial arts style for women and helps women gear up for self-defense and hand-to-hand combat. Krav Maga helps women defend themselves in case of attempt to rape, fighting with one arm held behind your back and fighting someone with a weapon. It is designed to suit any street or combat situation and this highly aerobic style helps women continue fighting, till they are safe or have totally incapacitated their opponent.

Mixed Martial Arts for Women
Mixed martial arts is a highly male dominated martial art form, but can also be taken up by women. This is a combat sport and includes variety of martial arts styles. Mixed martial arts for women involves strikes, kicks, throws, elbows, knees, grappling and submissions. There are many techniques involved in mixed martial arts for women like kick boxing, Jiu-Jistsu, Judo, wrestling, etc. Mixed martial arts for women helps women understand each martial arts style and strengthens their skill in the different elements of each style they fell comfortable with. It helps women strengthen themselves physically and benefit them throughout their lives.

Benefits of Martial Arts for Women

You can reap a number of benefits from martial arts for women that not only involves art of self-defense, but the following positive factors:

• Martial arts help you maintain weight and lose weight. It also helps you develop a well toned body.
• Benefits of martial arts for women also include the development of a strong cardiovascular system. It helps in improve your health, as it will teach you to breathe better, sleep better and become more active in your daily life.
• Good martial arts for women act as stress busters and relieves tensions.
• It instills a positive attitude in women and helps them face the world in a more confident and determined way.
• It helps them avoid risky situations and helps them think of a solution to get out of a dangerous situation.

These are just a few benefits of martial arts for women. One cannot point out any one form of martial art and answer the question, what is the best martial arts for women. You can do your own martial arts styles comparison and come up with an answer that will suit your personality and needs better. This is just a short martial arts styles list and you can ask experts about more styles that suit your needs.

It is always better to be well prepared than being sorry later. Today, women are facing more forms of harassment and abuse than before. You can avoid the above mentioned situations, if you are ready to defend yourself. Never think you are physically weaker than any man. Women are equally powerful as men and can emerge victorious in any combat situation with any Tom, Dick and Harry. The only requirement is to know any one of the martial arts styles for women. If you are thinking of taking up or never thought to do so, then do not waste time and register yourself to learn a martial arts style. Learning martial arts is not only for your safety, but can also help you save others in need.