The Brute Strength Difference between Men and Women (and Why it's Important to Understand it)
Okay...today's post may feel a bit controversial. In fact, it may make some of my female readers a little angry. As much as I don't like to anger people (or hurt their feelings), I'm not afraid to do so so long as...
What I have to say (or write) is true.
My attitude in sharing it is saturated with my deep love and respect for people.
Okay, so here goes...
Physically (in terms of brute strength), men are stronger than women. Empirically, the average woman has 1/3 to 2/3 the brute strength of the average man. Written the opposite way, the average man is 1.5 to 3 times stronger than the average woman. This is FACT, and it's not really something that can be argued against factually. The above distinction does not relate to aerobic strength, or emotional strength, or pain/temperature tolerance, or any other measure of strength, fortitude, aptitude, or tenacity. It refers only to brute strength: the energetic ability of one human being to pick up and move something very heavy and then set it back down.
While the reasons I'm delving into this issue may be multiple, the most important one is to convey the following truth: when attacked by a man, a woman will not be able to over power him. If you're a woman (and NOT Ronda Rousey, Lara Croft, Wonder Woman, or Black Widow [see Note 1]), engaging a man in a life-or-death scenario is going to be difficult. Most likely, you're not going to be able to match him strength for strength.
Given this deficit, what is the average woman to do?
Simple.
Train over and over in the throwing of a few simple (e.g., brutish) strikes at vulnerable targets on the male anatomy: the eyes, ears, temples, nose/chin, throat/neck, solar plexus, kidneys, groin, inner and outer thighs, knees, shins, insteps/feet. All these targets are vulnerable on humans. I don't care if your The Rock, Arnold Schwarzenegger, or some other Hollywood tough guy, you can't train the groin to take a knee strike better with practice. Similarly, you can't train your eyes to handle eye gouges better over time. So, while the average man may be stronger than you in terms of his ability to pick up heavy things and then set them back down again, there's nothing he can do to train the vulnerable parts of his body to become less vulnerable. Sure, he can wear steel-toed shoes, a cup, and a football helmet, but when was the last time you heard of a man wearing steel-toed shoes, a cup, and a football helmet, who preys on women? I'm not saying it's never happened (because, I suppose, just about anything is possible); what I am saying is that because the likelihood is so small, it will probably never happen to you. So, with that pretty much settled, train to go after vulnerable targets.
For those female readers who may still be a little ticked at me, I'm sorry. I just felt the need to tell you the truth...even if it means you stay so angry with me you try to prove me wrong by training like a mad-woman for the rest of your life.
Before I go, I'll leave you with something I adopted into my own meditative thought-practice many years ago...
I'd rather be broken over the hardest of truths than lulled to sleep by the most cherished of illusions.
Happy Friday, and God's peace to all of you...
Notes:
1. As much as I like Lara Croft, Wonder Woman, and Black Widow, please remember, they're super heroes and NOT real. I know you know this, but it's good to remind yourself of it from time to time. Even Ronda Rousey, who's real, will have difficulty engaging with a man who's intent on harming her. Again, this is just the truth. If you shoot the messenger, well, if I survive, you'll just have to come visit me in the hospital.
IKIGAI Weekly Blog Schedule (per The Training Trinity):
Mondays: Meditative Prayer
Wednesdays: Holistic Discipline
Fridays: Martial Arts Practice
www.templemartialartstraining.com
