It's going to be a year since we started training in Taekwondo. I convinced my partner of 12 years that he and I should practice martial arts. We both have always had an immense respect for the art, but never fufilled our goal of practicing it until now.
We both practice at the dojo three times a week and we both help our Master teach children once or twice a week and practice daily at home.
Though we practice the same amount of times a week there are key differences between us. He is more inclined to want to work on the punching bag. His punches are more powerful and more accurate than mine. I am more inclined to want to practice my flexbility by stretching in ways he cannot, and I work on small details in form, like the exact placement of hands and feet.
Other key differences are:
Nikita
I am naturally more flexible than he is.
I am better at forms (chorographed movements)
I can kick higher.
I have better balance.
Boyfriend
He has powerful punches and kicks.
He can do more push-ups.
He has better snap.
He is better at sparring than I am.
These are just a few quick things I have noticed and my Master has noted to us too. My partner needs to practice my positive attributes and I need to practice his. If I were to combine his skills with mine I would be a much better martial artist.
I often wonder why his punches are stronger than mine.
On a poll on Debate.org readers were asked "Are men stronger than women?" and 69% of responders said "Yes". Many responders felt that it was "obvious" and "known" that men were naturally stronger than women.
There was a study from the US National Strength and Conditioning Foundation that indicated that "although women and men have the same muscle strength, the reason many men appear stronger is that they have more muscle mass and have a higher lean body mass-to-fat ratio, and have different fat distribution in the body than women do. Women’s muscles have the exact same strength as men do, and it is in fat distribution and lean body mass where they are different."
"From 1970 to the late 1990s, the Military and Army conducted numerous tests to determine whether the physiological differences between men and women in upper-body strength, stamina, endurance, speed, and coordination were genetically determined or the product of a less active culture among women and, therefore, subject to change through proper conditioning programs,” a 2004 Army study said. “Test results varied widely except in the case of upper-body strength, which, it was generally agreed, seldom reached the male level among females.” ( Thompson, 2013)
I found many articles with differing opinions and studies, some showing how women are just as strong as men and some proving that women were not as strong as men.
Men appear stronger because they have more muscle mass than women do. I know of a woman bodybuilder who weighs 240 pounds and can bench press 625 lbs. Let's say she competed against a man who weighs 350 pounds and bench presses 800 lbs.
Is he stronger than she is?
Many people would say yes and that's a misconception. You might think he is stronger than she is, but that is incorrect. You need to look at weight of the person and the percentage of weight being lifted.
And she actually is lifting more weight based on her body weight lifted.
What do you think? Are men stronger than women?
Sources
Ferro, Shaunacy. February 6 2013. Science COnfirms Obvious: Men And Women Aren't That Different. http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-02/science-confirms-obvious-men-and-women-arent-different
Thomspon, Mark. January 25 2013. Women in Combat: Vive a Difference. http://nation.time.com/2013/01/25/women-in-combat-vive-a-difference/#ixzz2ieiDY6or
Are Men Stronger Than Women. http://www.debate.org/opinions/are-men-stronger-than-women
No comments :
Post a Comment