Strike a Woman, Strike a Rock

August 9 is National Women's Day in South Africa. It is a day to celebrate the contribution to the struggle against apartheid made by many selfless women both in South Africa and in exile. It is also a day to remember the current struggle of women in this country to be accepted as equal to their male counterparts.

On the tatami, men and women train together. In aikido we are constantly reminded to consider the capacity of our partner – regardless of whether they are male or female. Our practice is really learning to accept uke for what he or she brings to the technique. We block our own learning when we train differently depending on whether uke is a man or a woman, and make assumptions about their capacity based on our own firmly held stereotypes and projections.

Valerie A Pinto, a Yoshukai karate teacher talks of how she, as a woman "coming up though the ranks as the only woman in our school, I had to work twice as hard as the men to be accepted by them. To actually earn their respect was even harder. I didn't have the power and strength most of them had, so I depended more on speed, agility and striking with precision. "

After years of training women survivors of rape and assault self-defence (a combination of karate, aikido and hapkido) she is still amazed by the reaction of her women students who say "you are not what I expected....". She maintains that "First I am a woman; as a very close second I am a martial artist.... I feel as women we need to be proud of who and what we are, and to let other women know that we are not different or special and that they can join us and, as women, help us share the power...."

Finally, a poem by Valerie Pinto, inspired by her students:

Are we Women

frail and afraid
protected from this cruel world
by the men we love

What happens to us
when the love is gone
when our father dies, our brother rapes us
our lover would rather hit than hug
who will protect us now?

We are Women
in our women's bodies
never educated in the aggressive and physical
world of men

But we are not frail
we are not weak
we have a great inner spirit
and we will not be afraid

If we learn to use our strengths
against the weaknesses of our oppressors
as David slew Goliath
we can change the balance of power
internally and in the world around us

We must become one
with our body, mind and spirit
We must learn to defend ourselves
and love ourselves

We're our only protection
against this angry world
and as sisters we must spread
the word and skills
we must spread the power

We walk together or alone
aware and unafraid

--Valerie A Pinto

(taken from "The Joy of Sharing the Power" by Valerie A Pinto in Martial Arts Teachers on Teaching by Carol A Wiley)