Question for the ladies

[aseepish]

I'm writing some (probably bad) fiction about MT training, and I want to give my female characters some depth. You all could help me out by answering:

What motivated you to start training?
What motivates you to continue training?
Why Muay Thai?

Thanks,
Anthony

For the guys, if you could ask your female friends/training partners, I'd appreciate it!

[danfaggella]

I know a girl who trains MT at the gig I go to. Shes like 16 but she was taking gymnastics in the same building and then saw MT and thought it was a lot more interesting. Shes not all crazy and busted up, but I imagine shes from a pretty troubled childhood, which is common in the crappy area where the studio is. She lives a few houses away from the building we train in and its pretty rough over there. However she likes training and is pretty decent with her skills. I think a lot of her reasoning and self-defence, and the fact that its a lot cooler than the other "girly" activities she might otherwise be doing (IE gymnastics).

I hope that helps, good luck writing, bro.

[tantrum]

I imagine women train muay thai for pretty much the same reasons as men.
I started in high school because i wanted to try a martial art and muay thai just happened to be the most imediately accessible and instantly gratifying.
I stayed with it because my teacher was a great guy and everyone at the gym was like family. I've been training off and on for 8 years and several moves, because i love it, it makes me feel good and strong and because it kicks ass.

[aseepish]

A lot of people who responded to the same question on another forum did indeed list the usual reasons - self-defense, great workout, competition, great people. But how many men train because their girlfriend told them "Boys can't do Muay Thai/BJJ."? One of my favourite answers and honestly something I didn't think of myself was a woman who told me she trains because she wants to be a positive role-model for her daughter.

[treelizard]

I'm interested in Muay Thai/BJJ, but I want to get really grounded in my primary art first. My reason is just because I think it's very important for women to move on the ground effectively and to do so they need to know techniques that don't rely solely on strength.

[Little Apple]

Well for me personally, I started training martial art at all because of the principles behind it: Honor, discipline, self-control, etc. When I came to College, I started Muay Thai and some other stuff mostly because my big brother was here and that's what he taught. I continue taking it because, especially mixed with Grappling, it's really stinkin' effective. I personally enjoy the science of body motion, and while I do ballet and things too, martial arts are a deeper art to me. This is because it allows, not just the opportunity for precise technique, but also the ability to take information from your partner and insert the most perfect response. Also, understanding the destruction involved is essential to understanding compassion.

For other women, I've seen it massively boost their confidence, though sometimes they pass through a phase of having something to prove, where they feel they have to defend their right to be strong. Right now I can be pretty girly at times, but I know I'm a decent martial artist, so who cares? I even reserve pink as my color of choice in training cloths, if nowhere else in my life

Another point to consider is that martial arts are great for self defense. This is NOT because it turns women who suck at fighting into women who kick ass. It's because it turns women who don't fight back at all into women who aren't afraid to use force. Go to a self defense seminar on campus sometime. If there's an activity like kneeing a pad, the guys will be all over it, and if you get the women to participate at all, they rarely put any force behind it. I didn't believe it until I saw it repeatedly, I mean, we had a women's revolution, right? Because of what we do with our free time, we're used to the women who're in martial arts, and have been there a while. But an interview of sexual predators and muggers showed that they chose women as targets who looked like victims, and when they attacked, the women froze. They usually didn't even scream, though when they did make a fuss, the attacker gave them up as too much of a risk, and left.

I guess I got off topic there, but I hope this was useful anyway. So here you go, a little brain pick of some female possibilities. Hope it helped, heh.