Tough Girls: Martial Artists

Hey ladies.. any martial artists on board? I've been doing aiki jujitsu for about 8 months now and am about to test for my next rank (orange belt) this weekend.

I really enjoy this art because it teaches you so many things: history, Japanese (lol), endurance, pain tolerance, breathing, and so much more. You learn to see attacks coming and how to react and defend yourself. This isn't so much of a kicking-striking art, more of a throwing-grappling-joint locking art. I love it.. but then I've always been a tomboy at heart. I'm the only female in my class. Other women have joined in for a few classes but they never last..

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I've dappled with various martial arts during my college years. Finally landed on Muay Thai for a while. I absolutely love the competitiveness and focus it gave me--not to mention work capacity (oh how I loathe conditioning).

I moved to the Louisville area about two years ago, and there's no real kickboxing interest. I took up MMA instead, but I'm horrible with ground moves lol. I stopped going for now because it's currently a bit expensive on the pockets.

I do miss being the only girl though--the look on a new guy's face when he realizes he should not have gone easy on me is always priceless!

Oh cool Tamyllia.. even though you're not in a dojo/gym right now, maybe there's some things you can practice on your own at home.

Muay Thai is no joke.. good for you for even attempting that art. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Yeah, I can still keep up at home, I have a lot of bags and sparring partners to play with.

I've tried Brazilian Jujitsu when I was training in MMA but I got impatient, lol. Too much thinking of several moves ahead for me, I was totally horrid in it. How did you first get into Aiki Jujitsu? My interest in martial arts started when I was little and my parents told me I couldn't take karate like my brothers just because I'm a girl. Haha!

Lucky you Tam.. I would love to have a punching bag at home, but I have no room for one where I live right now.

As for how I got into Aiki Jujitsu, it was by accident or by providence..lol. I wanted to learn a self defense method because of reports about a rapist attacking women in my neighborhood last summer, and then shortly after hearing that, my gym started to offer a free AJ class to members. I've been with them ever since.. Also we have two new female members so I'm not alone anymore.

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The crew having our first annual OOO-RAH WORKOUT & BBQ on the beach.. tons of fun. One of the guys almost passed out an puked in the sand because of a little heat exhaustion, but in the end some ice water and pork chops fixed him right up. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] I shouldn't really laugh, but since he was okay it's funnier now. I also wasn't able to keep up during our warm up run because I kept getting my legs caught in my hakama. I also got a WICKED sunburn that day.. still stings today, three days later. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]