Last night I stayed late after class working with two women on their ground grappling skills. After a little submission technique review, we took turns grappling with each other. One of my students thanked me after class, saying that she found it really educational to grapple with me because it helps her to learn because I move in a way that makes sense to her. This is an important thing to remember when it comes to martial arts training and teaching.

Being a self-defense oriented instructor, we often emphasize the merits of training with people who are bigger than us. After all, we are much more likely to be attacked by someone bigger than ourselves on the streets, especially if you’re a woman. That being said, there are a number of benefits to training with people that are the same size as us too. Here are a few I came up with: (more…)

Tags: training with people your own size