Association of Women Martial Arts Instructors - AWMAI.org

Hi there

My husband also teaches Wing Chun Kung Fu in Canada and I assist, though I'm still learning the art.

Our Wing Chun program operates out of a mixed martial arts facility which is owned and operated by two females. We essentially rent space for our program from them.

I agree it's generally hard to attract females into any program where males dominate.

We are a young program. It's taken a year, but we have 5 females in the adult program and 3 girls in the children's program out of 30 students total so far. Not a bad ratio considering.

I believe it's becoming more attractive to women for us for a few reasons:

Firstly, two females own the facility - it's a very family-oriented atmosphere. They instruct in other arts, but also are learning Wing Chun with me, so we all set an example of encouragement. We are visible training in the program and it's always easier for women to try something out when there are other women already participating.

Secondly, we foster a fun training environment. We are a little less formal than other arts can be, so are less intimidating overall when you walk thru the door. We do bow, wear uniforms and respect our seniors, but we do so always with a wink and a smile, so to speak.

Thirdly, the female facility owners run a Cardio Kickboxing program. At the end of each class, I teach a 15 minute segment of Wing Chun Kung-Fu "self-defence". So we have built in an introduction to Wing Chun to encourage female participation, and this Cardio class is predominantly female.

Also, my husband is a Monkey in the Chinese calendar, so if you know anything about Monkeys, they are fun-loving by nature. He has a very different approach to teaching, and it works well for all.

It's a very physical art - hopefully that won't deter the women from staying in the program over the long term.

We will keep encouraging them! So far, we've been lucky and hopefully will continue to be.