The Crazy Wisdom Community Journal • May - August 2016 • Page 69
Breaking Boards, Breaking the Cycle — Instructors Work to Keep Girls in Martial Arts Longer, Citing Physical and Mental Benefits By Diane Majeske Photos by Tobi Hollander Eleven-year-old Melanie Kwierant moves to the center of the studio, a little reluctant to show off her black belt karate skills. But as she begins, her pre-teen shyness fades away.
Not only are they nervous about getting hurt, they’re nervous about injuring someone else. “Women and girls tend to be more afraid of hurting another person,” Gronlund said. “It tends to be more upsetting to them.”
She kicks. Punches. Maneuvers a graceful turn. She’s calm and confident. When finished, she’s slightly out of breath. She bows to the small crowd that has gathered and sits down.
Conversely, over time, she’s seen the classes build up confidence and bolster selfimage in her female students. “Part of martial arts is about self-discipline, about pushing yourself when things get difficult,” she said. “And I think these girls are able to push themselves when things get difficult — when anything gets difficult in their lives. That is a super valuable lesson.” She hopes more girls get to learn it.
Her mother Christine, also the holder of a black belt degree, pats her knee. Melanie leans in. “That’s fun,” she whispers. Martial arts is fun — it’s good for you, mentally and physically, and more importantly, it’s an activity for everyone. That refrain echoes throughout Ann Arbor, from instructors and devotees alike, no matter what form of the art they teach or practice. But the fact remains: Men still outnumber women in adult martial art classes and competitions, and, as one might expect, moving down the line in age, boys still outnumber girls. The situation is improving, but it could get better, instructors agree. Why? Those reasons are as complex as today’s society, and as individual as the girls who enter today’s modern dojos. Mixed Messages? “We do see a lot of girls in our classes, but not as many as you might think,” said Lynda Gronlund, owner of PKSA Karate school, and a 3rd degree black belt in the traditional Korean art of Tang Soo Do. She added: We have a supportive atmosphere here, but we get kids pretty young. We have a program called Kids Power and we go into the schools, ages 6 through 12, and that’s our most popular draw, so I don’t think there’s much prejudice, you know, boys against girls, at that age. Now, I do notice when the girls get older — like, in middle school — there’s more of a struggle with self-esteem. But it seems like everything gets harder at that age. At that point, she said, many girls find themselves besieged by societal messages that confuse them. It isn’t everyone, of course. But, for many girls, it does affect their martial arts. They stop trying as hard. They stop being as enthusiastic, and some of them stop altogether. I think there are very subtle messages in society to girls when they get into middle school. They stop being less ‘generic child’ and more ‘girl child’ and they start to step into societal roles as girls and eventually women. Peer pressure becomes huge.
Not only are they nervous about getting hurt, they’re nervous about injuring someone else. She added: “You have to be thin, you have to be feminine, and you have to be pretty — maybe it’s not even on a conscious level. And maybe this [martial arts] isn’t something that fits into that feminine role.” Of course, girls don’t necessarily specify why they’ve decided to stop taking classes, she said. But as an instructor, she’s learned to observe. Boys and men have grown up roughhousing and physically being active, whereas girls are often less prone, or others would say ‘discouraged’ from that — I don’t know which it is. I do know that women or girls who spar, it’s harder for them at first. They’re not used to the physical proximity and they’re not used to being hit. We pad up, and you’re not in physical danger, but it’s rough. You’re getting thrown around a little bit. And girls aren’t used to that if they haven’t been in martial arts before. So, it’s strange and it can be a little scary at first.
“Our classes, we’re holding our own, our numbers are pretty steady,” Gronlund said in terms of female enrollment. “At a red belt level, we have 30 to 40 percent girls. But it’s so awesome for building their confidence, I really wish we could get more.”
“Part of martial arts is about self-discipline, about pushing yourself when things get difficult.” –Lynda Gronlund, PKSA Karate Staying Strong, Changing Your Life Stephanie Schaldenbrand, a youth instructor with Quest Martial Arts, agrees wholeheartedly with that sentiment. Schaldenbrand is a 3rd degree black belt in ninjutsu — and she didn’t even begin studying the art until her 40th birthday, as a gift to herself. She’s seen the changes that martial arts has made in her, and she is sure it can change the lives of any girl — of any person — who studies it.
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Lynda Gronlund, owner of PKSA Karate School