How many women could or have defended themselves against and/or beaten up larger men? My girlfriend and I have decided to take a self defense class together and she claims that a trained woman would have the advantage over an untrained man no matter what the size. I find that hard to believe. She claims she’s seen it happen back in college.
With that said, she is coming along faster in the class than I am and we both have a pretty significant size difference. She has better stamina, quickness and technical accuracy where I have more power and can take more punishment.
Obviously we joined together and I want her to learn to defend herself, I just think it’s unrealistic to expect to be able to take down a large man in a fight. I think it’s more realistic to defend yourself and create an opportunity to flee a bad situation.
Undoubtedly she could. There is such a thing as effective defense. If she had any of that there would be no problem. A small trained fighter can knock the crap out of a bigger opponent that doesn’t know how to fight (and sometimes on that has some knowledge). Go to a boxing gym and watch some of the skilled small guys spar. It will give you an appreciation of the speed and footwork that that have. Pure bulk is no defense to that.
Avoid the looping roundhouse and just chop them down. Most untrained big guys will tire within 30 seconds so if they can’t get a knockdown with the first three punches thrown they will be toast against a trained fighter.
There is a reason the best small professional fighters hardly ever fight even the worst big professional fighters. Size is very important. Of course it’s not the only important factor in a fight, but what your wife is telling you is just something that small people say.
I’d certainly hope the OP’s scenario isn’t the case. Since our laws still protect women as a weaker sex. Hit a woman and you’re going to jail. Period. Doesn’t really matter if she hits you first.
That may need to change as women have become stronger and more athletic. Many woman study martial arts and boxing. There’s women boxers.
But, those draconian laws are still on the books. A guy can’t defend himself against a woman. It always looks bad and the guy comes off looking like a monster.
It’s true size difference is a key. But I know from first hand experience some of the meanest bar fighters are the smaller stature men. Some of those 5 foot 7 inch guys will kick anybodys ass. They call it short man syndrome or the Napoleon Complex, and it’s all too true. Smaller individuals can fight, and many of them actually are the ones picking the fight.
Size is an advantage in a fight. But so is knowing how to fight. I think a small woman can overcome her size disadvantage if she is trained and is fighting an untrained larger man.
But even the worst big professional fighter has some training. To get a payday you have to have some skill or it will be noticed immediately. Most men don’t have any training. They may be verbose but that doesn’t mean much when the combat starts. In the gym there is rarely sparring between a big and small guy because neither has much to learn from such a match-up. I’ve seen guys much smaller than me that I wouldn’t want any part of due to their skill. They won’t let themselves be hit by a big, slower guy and will just cut him to pieces at will.
Here’s one example of a smaller lady beating the crap out of a guy.
Sugar and spice: And everything nice - she ain’t. 
I didn’t see anywhere in that video where the man made any attempt at an offensive move. And he was shrugging off everything that was thrown at him.
Not saying that a smaller woman couldn’t defeat a larger man, I just don’t see it happening without her having combat training or kicking his nads into his kidneys.
Yes, women can defeat larger men. This doesn’t seem to be just a question of women, but can a tiny fighter beat a bigger one, and if you look on youtube you’ll find this many times over. Girls might be at an advantage to guys because they don’t have to worry about the dreaded ball strike, sometimes referred to as the nutcracker. :eek:
There is actually a (very rough) equivalent: the ovary strike. Give a woman a hand-spear jab in just the right spot on the abdomen, and, holy hell, it isn’t all that much different from a testicle strike against a man.
(I first learned of this from an old girlfriend who told of bumping into the corner of a table once, and actually blacking out from the pain. I’ve read more on the subject since. It isn’t exactly the same, of course: the ovaries are somewhat better protected. But they are a vulnerability.)
Training seems to be whats most important. Any of the women MMA fighters could easily win a bar fight. Trained kicks have devastating power no matter what gender you are.
Equal training? The woman would lose every time. Match up the best women’s champion MMA fighter against any of the male MMA guys. It wouldn’t take long for her to get badly hurt.
That and he looks pretty trashed to me
Depends what you call “trained.” A female pro MMA fighter? Sure. A housewife who takes a one hour a week self defense class at the Y? She should scream and run.
I think we have beat this to death in several past threads. My opinion is that a smaller highly trained woman can quite possibly beat a larger, stronger man if she can strike repeatedly while staying out of reach, however, if he gets his hands on her and it turns into a wrestling match she’s likely to be in a lot of trouble. In a crowded, cramped situation like a bar or similar scenario where there is little room to maneuver the danger to the women increases substantially re the man getting his hands on her.
Are there any real life, verified, examples of a one-on-one street fight between a man and a woman where the woman won? I know it happens all the time in the movies and on TV. Also, you occasionally hear feminists who claim to have fought off male attackers.
Part of the issue is that the difference between male and female is more than just size. Men are stronger and faster.
Of course there probably are not a lot of women out there with significant training in how to fight.
But on balance I would say it’s most likely a Hollywood fantasy.
Trained fighter beats untrained almost always, regardless of size.
A big guy fights like a big guy, you know exactly what he’s going to do. don’t get grabbed and you’re golden.
This isn’t true, but I don’t think it’s worth hijacking this thread to discuss.
If nothing else, I think the “I’m going to beat up this guy that’s attacking me” is probably a bad mindset to have. Hurt him enough to run away? Sure.
And sure, a smaller woman could beat up a larger man. Ronda Rousey would kick my ass. Then again, I haven’t worked out in a while and have never been in a fight. She’d definitely lose to a guy with a similar level of training to her. Being a more skilled fighter is an advantage, but the difference in skill better be fucking huge to make up for 60 or 70 lbs, and there’s pretty much no way you’re going to know that going into the fight.
The ‘White mouse’ comes to mind:
“Henri Tardivat, praised her fighting spirit, amply demonstrated when she killed an SS sentry with her bare hands to prevent him from raising the alarm during a raid”
Does seem to be based on self report though.
Otara
Depends on the situation too- in a street fight with no rules, goal being to get away, a woman can attack a man in ways that would not be allowed in a rules-fight.