I’m being sarcastic, of course.
I know I’m late to the party, but I was reading Georgette‘s post on a reporter who was shocked at women competing in judo and thought it was violent and brutish, and overall gave the impression that he was under the impression that women’s judo was something more akin to weave pulling and slap fighting than an actual legit competition. I’ll reiterate what I’m sure what many others have said: this guy’s a tool.
It’s also however a pretty apt indicator as to why you don’t see women in full contact sports: because some woman somewhere is listening to this jackass and saying “yeesh, I don’t want to be involved in that”. Or worse, agreeing with him.
It’s a shame, being unable to explain to those same women that yes there is ferocity, and aggression, but that’s competition. That’s wanting something so bad that you give your all, and if it doesn’t work out, you know you did absolutely everything you could. Also, grappling arts such as Judo are called art for a reason and can also be a beautiful thing to behold, such as a gorgeous throw or the fantastic execution of a technique.
I didn’t get a chance to watch Kayla Harrison, but I’m sure they were some fantastic matches. And I imagine many others didn’t watch it either, but read this reporter’s account and now have some terribly skewed perception regarding women’s judo.
Jerk.
Kayla’s matches weren’t absolutely brilliant, but she’s really, really good at getting people over her hip and thus primed for the throw. Harder than it sounds, but it’s a skill that’s gotten her to be top 3 in the world and a multiple time world medalist (2010 gold) on top of the Olympic gold.
I’m all about hip throws so I know what you mean.
I’d love to take a fieldtrip to the UK and meet that craptastic “journalist” in person. Dressed in a tasteful outfit with a nice pair of heels and a classy handbag, I’d show him and his ladyfriends that female combat artists are ladies, not barroom brawlers.