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Old 06-14-2008, 10:44 PM   #38
Jennifer Yabut
 
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Location: Philadelphia, PA
Join Date: Dec 2006
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Re: Hell Hath No Fury Like A Woman Scorned: Threads About Women In Aikido

Quote:
Anne Marie Giri wrote: View Post
I think it would be better to say that we, more often than men need a personal connection with the people we train with rather than having a personal issue. I have noticed that not all women are like this and men need a personal connection, too.
Speaking just for myself, that was one of the reasons why I took up Aikido. The primary reason was to supplement my Iaido training (i.e., to learn empty-hand techniques to complement the sword work). I'm one of the three women in my Iaido group - and often the only female on the mat. I took an Aikido college course back in my undergrad days, so I was *vaguely* familiar with it (though I remembered squat in terms of actual technique). I also knew that it attracts more women than most other martial arts, which was another reason why I joined. The personal connection (which I was *not* getting from the guys in Iaido) was also important to me.

So, no...I wasn't motivated by anger, or some other personal issue. I wasn't even motivated by the self-defense factor; I had previous training in TKD and was fairly confident in my abilities to reasonably defend myself. And I was NOT - and still NOT - looking for a boyfriend, soulmate, etc. Making friends along the way (both male and female) was an added bonus, but my motivation from Day One was to simply TRAIN.

"Impossible" is a word that humans use far too often.
- Seven of Nine
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