How is this possible? It would take a considerable amount of force to knock a 250 pound weight through a classroom into a bunch of chairs. I don’t see how that could be acomplished by barely touching someone. Unless you just charged her and she somehow tripped you.
And for all those women who kicked the asses of all those tough guys. One if they’re drunk it doesn’t really count. Two I wonder how many of them wouldn’t hit a girl in public even if she was beating the snot out of him.
If women are so adept at kicking ass why don’t we see them competeting against men in boxing or wrestling?
MGibson: The OP was just asking about “full-grown, reasonably athletic guys”, i.e. the average shmoe that’s in decent shape. There are a number of women that can win on those terms, through both strength and skill. And I have no doubt surprise and aggresiveness would play a factor as well, because most men wouldn’t be prepared for such an attack ( and would likely be very unnerved ).
But that’s a long way from an equally well-trained, professionally conditioned athlete, who is prepared ( mentally and physically ) for a fight. Men, all other factors being equal, simply are larger and have more muscle mass. It’s one of the very few true dichotomies between men and women ( at least IMHO, I don’t hold with most of “inherent mental differences” supposedly separating the sexes, again IMHO they’re mostly cultural conditioning ), and it’s an unfortunate one in some respects. But there it is. Women can potentially compete on a reasonable level field with men in a number of skill-based sports. And quite possibly, eventually, in endurance sports like long-distance running. But very few ( there may always be exceptions ) will be able to do so in more strength-orientated sports.
Nonetheless, I bet dollars to doughnuts that there are women out their capable of kicking your ass . And mine, while we’re at it . Assuming you’re not some sort of professional fighter yourself, of course.
Scylla described how his wife, the judo master, kicked his butt.
Takes 8 pounds of pressure to snap a knee cap if you do it correctly. Done less efficiently, rookies can still bust someones kneecap easily. A GIRL in my Kenpo club, less than a 100 pounds, broke both kneecaps of some big dumb senior high football player (a single circular whip kick that moved both of his kneecaps over about half and inch).
So, a 100 pound woman, who is much quicker than a 250 pound guy, knows what she is doing and has no qualms about crippling someone would take you out in a heartbeat.
Women usually have a surprise factor since men don’t really expect to be hit by them.
Men have a ‘don’t hit girls’ factor that usually makes them hold back.
Because of the first two, I’ve noticed that when confronted by a girl who knows how to fight (usually when just playing around) men usually get confused and run away.
Women tend to be willing to aim for the gonads, at which point the fight is over.
Shoving a guy in a mosh pit is not kicking his ass.
I should have mentioned that kicking a guys ass in jr high shouldn’t count since most girls and guys are still around the same size.
I think it could be reasonable for a girl to knock around a 250 lb guy if he was massively uncoordinated. We had a guy who was about 250 lbs in Karate class and he was a slow and awkward goober.
I know enough martial arts to realize that they are not superpowers.
MGibson: I was thinking along the lines of compeititive shooting or Pool, where raw muscle isn’t a great advantage . Didn’t mean to imply that physical sports were lacking in skill .
And yeah, I don’t think, objectively speaking, that Sarah Michelle Gellar is very convincing as a bad-ass ( much as I love that show ). But I wouldn’t want to get in a fight with Angela Basset .
My friend Dina Riccardo could incapacitate most trained martial artists and experienced fighters, and would have no problem with untrained and/or unarmed opponents. Extremely good with knife and stick.
Diana Inosanto, whom I have only met once and primarily know by reputation, I believe could also handle herself against most if not all men. And if she has a weapon, few men would have any chance.
Note, both of these women are trained in diverse arts. Therefore, they would not try to outbox a boxer. Also, they are both extremely dedicated, and are getting better all the time. Moreover, it doesn’t hurt to have training partners like their husbands - Dion Riccardo and Ron Balicki.
Ginger - if the shit were really on the line, I can’t imagine why you would restrain yourself from “hitting below the belt.” Alternatively, if you felt restrained from using any particular techniques, why exactly were you fighting?
So, you ask if anyone knows of women who could beat men in a fight, and then you come back and say that none of these cases count because men aren’t used to fighting women? Doesn’t seem like a very fair question under those terms, msmith537.
I didn’t want to hurt someone so badly that they would not be able to reproduce; I figured he would get enough of that in jail. Besides which, I don’t like to hit others, not at all; but you know, when ‘shit’ is on the line, it has to be done. I didn’t feel like being raped.
Let’s perform some sort of scientific test. At the next Straight Dope Get Together we should have the guys and gals fight one another in one on one unarmed combat. No holds barred, the winner gets the admiration of all the blood thirsty dopers.
Ryoko Tamura has won the last 5 World Judo Championships and now does almost all of her sparring against men. Typically men in higher weight classes. Why? She’s kicked everyone else’s butts.
My girlfriend (kickboxing) is almost to the point of being physically able to beat up an ordinary-sized (well, ordinary Japanese-sized) male, but she doesn’t have the necessary attitude yet. I’ve promised her that if someone starts bothering us, I’ll hold him so she can practice.
I realize that the fact that I am not female may contribute to my inability to understand your logic. But I would imagine that if I felt I needed to resort to physical force to avoid “being raped,” there would be few things I would care less about than my assailant’s ability to reproduce in the future. Or see, or breathe for that matter. Please help me clear up my blind spot.
If someone is trying to physically injure me (viewing sexual assault as intended infliction of violence rather than seeking sexual gratification) I want to stop them from doing so by whatever means necessary. Preferably non-lethal, primarily out of concern for the legal consequences I would potentially face, instead of any concern for my opponent’s continued existence.
In my opinion the groin, if open and you are trained in attacking it without exposing yourself, is one of the targets that give you the biggest bang for the buck as far as incapacitating an opponent. I would certainly not recommend that anyone, let alone a woman going against a larger opponent, try to defend themselves with open or closed hand strikes to the head and body.
Sure, there are situations where you may wish to know how to incapacitate by degree. A drunken uncle grabs your ass at a family picnic for example. But IMO, in the vast majority of situations where you need to resort to physical violence, if you are adhering to any “rules of engagement”, you are doing something other than defending yourself.
Of course, I guess the OP did refer to “kicking the crap out of someone.” If that means something other than defending yourself when absolutely necessary, I know (and care) little about it.
My sister. She’s a shrink(actually the victoms assitance coordinator for a police dept), but she used to work in psych hospitals, and has done a few takedowns. She also has takne martial arts(akido,at present). I have seen her throw a grwon man to the ground with no problem(she used to practice on my friends).
msmith537 mentions that most men have a social taboo against hitting women.
That’s quite correct, many men do. However, some men only have a stricture against hitting a woman who isn’t “theirs”…i.e. it’s perfectly okay for them to slap around their wife or girlfriend…and some men seem to think that a woman is “theirs” because she stopped to talk to them.
Most women that I know haven’t taken martial arts so they can “kick guys’ butts” and look cool. They take them so that they can save their own lives and protect themselves. Yes, it’s quite true, a woman in the middle of protecting her life or her freedom is considerably more vicious than a guy who’s just trying to slap her around for fun or to get her to submit to being raped. That is quite possibly why a “five foot nothing” woman can not only take down a guy twice her size, but in extreme cases lift a compact car off railroad tracks to save her child inside it.
I’m probably one of those derisively referred to women that “wouldn’t count” for this…being 6’ tall and not a little skinny model type. I personally have never kicked a guy’s butt, and wound up on the losing end of a fist more than once. The last guy I dated (3" taller, 50 pounds heavier) didn’t have anything against hitting me, but I am absolutely unable to hit the person I love. I went crying home to my parents and my mother (5’7", 140 pounds, 51 years old) backed me up when I threw him out of my apartment. My mother has no formal martial arts training but has restrained a non-custodial father from coming into her classroom to pick up his child. I felt better having her there.
If i had to pick a fight with someone to save my life, yeah, I’d pick it with a guy twice my size. Those little women are VICIOUS when threatened.
My old kung fu sifu. She’s 5’2" on a tall day, average build, and can easily clean up men much larger than her (like myself, 5’11" 200 lbs). She fights like a pit bull on PCP, it’s scary. She hits and kicks rib-shatteringly hard. And this ain’t no fantasy world either. That’s the beauty of dedication to martial arts.
By coincidence, I just came across a story tonight on the wire about a woman who used her martial arts training to kick ass. Two guys jumped her and tried to rape her, and she managed to do some damage before she could get away.
He’s fourteen years older than me, a drug-addict, and a paranoid schizophrenic, so he’s fun to live with. He’ll jump on me with little or no provocation, but I’ve never backed down on him.
I’m as tall as he is (once again, half-siblings, his daddy was 5’5, mine was 6’3) but he is solid muscle. I learned quick not to bother with punching and kicking. I go straight for the soft stuff, eyes and throats and ears. If I can get my feet underneath him, I’ll kick his lower belly and crotch, which makes him back off pretty fast. We once got into a knock-down, drag-out rumble that started with him dragging me out of my bed by my leg, and ended with me peeling the skin off his jaw. He walked around for a month afterwards looking like he’d had a run-in with a crazed bobcat. He’s literally launched himself at me before, and I’ve kicked him off me into a closet five feet away.
My brother is a MEAN fucker, too. I’ve seen him beat up on our momma, his little road-lizard girlfriends, and smash his best friend’s head through a windshield. He may lay his hands on me, but I’ve made sure he NEVER walks away without a new scar to add to his collection.
. And mine, while we’re at it 
. Assuming you’re not some sort of professional fighter yourself, of course.
.