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 Women train in a gym program combining boxing and aerobics. (Jiji) |
WOMEN MUSCLE UP:
Martial Arts Attracting More Female Participants
March 26, 2002
Martial arts are enjoying rising popularity among women. An increasing number of women are not only spectating but also participating in martial arts. One reason cited for this trend has been that more and more women want to be strong, both physically and mentally. Martial arts schools and boxing gyms are taking in more and more female students, and a boxing gym exclusively for women has also been established.
In addition to martial arts themselves, "martial arts fitness" - which is not itself a martial art but which combines movements from boxing, karate, and other martial arts with aerobic and dance moves - is also capturing women's interest.
Women Only
In Bunkyo Ward, an area in central Tokyo that retains much of the flavor of traditional Japan, there is a serious martial arts studio that trains students in a style of martial arts combining kansetu waza (joint locks) and dageki (body blows). The studio accepts female students, and every day four or five women show up. Women get no special treatment here; in the words of an instructor, "We put women through the same program as men, including strength training and practice with floor techniques."
One of those women, a 22-year-old student, explains why martial arts appeals to her: "Besides this place, I also go to a boxing gym, so between the two I train almost every day, and I get a sense of satisfaction from my daily progress."
Meanwhile, at a sports gym in the more modern Shinjuku area, all the people seen sparring with each other or slamming sandbags are women. The director of this gym, formerly a trainer at another boxing gym, opened this facility exclusively for women three years ago. By way of explaining her motivation for doing so, the director says, "At regular gyms, the training is inevitably oriented toward men, and I wanted to create an environment that makes it easier for women to train."
One 30-year-old member who joined in spring 2001 says, "I used to go to another gym, but there were no other women, and I couldn't train the way I wanted to." There were only about 10 members when the all-female gym first opened, but the facility has since attracted attention, and its membership has swelled to over 90.
While many women join with the motivation of slimming down, in the course of training many get the urge to try their skills in the competitive arena. According to one woman who joined the Shinjuku facility when it opened and became the first female featherweight champion in Japan, "As I logged more and more training time, I gradually got the urge to beat strong competitors, to try out this punch or that punch, and so on."
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Martial arts are also finding popularity in the form of fitness classes that combine the arts with aerobic and dance moves. One after another, the big fitness clubs are getting into the act by starting martial arts fitness classes. Inside one major Tokyo fitness club that has been offering exercise classes incorporating martial arts elements since September 2001, stylishly slim women move to up-tempo music, making left and right jabs and strong kicks in response to the instructor's voice: "Right hook! Left dodge! Right kick!"
Fitness classes incorporating self-defense moves are also getting a favorable response. A studio in Tokyo's fashionable Shibuya Ward offers goshin bics ("self-defense-robics") classes incorporating real karate and aikido moves. Though the studio began offering these classes four years ago, it has seen a sharp increase in enrollment, mainly by women, since last year, and these classes now encompass a total of 500 students - 100 times the initial number. One student, a 31-year-old office worker from Tokyo's Setagaya Ward, praises the effects of the classes: "I felt the need to learn self-defense, so when I found out about this class I came running. As I've continued the training, I've not only slimmed down but also gained a more positive outlook."
In the past, most young women were discouraged from taking up martial arts because of their image as sweaty sports. But in recent years K-1, a spectacle sport based on such martial arts as karate, kickboxing, kung fu, and tae kwon do that claims to determine the world's strongest martial artist, has captured the attention of younger generations - including women - with its dramatic presentation and no-holds-barred combat between herculean men (and owing also to its being shown on prime-time TV). This has led to a growing number of women who feel a sense of familiarity with martial arts. It appears likely that even more women will take the plunge into the world of martial arts in the future.
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Copyright (c) 2002 Japan Information Network. Edited by Japan Echo Inc. based on domestic Japanese news sources. Articles presented here are offered for reference purposes and do not necessarily represent the policy or views of the Japanese Government. |
