Category: Sumo

Stereotyped Martial Arts: Sumo

8/2/2016

There are many misconceptions and stereotyping in the Martial Arts community.

I recently went out to get groceries and was wearing one of my Dojo’s karate t-shirts. A man commented about my shirt and asked where I got it? I said it was my Dojo’s t-shirt. He was perplexed that it was my shirt AND that I do karate. When I asked why it was so hard to believe he said, in his exact words…

“Well… you—um— don’t look like you work out often.”

I’m not going to lie, I got my feelings hurt.
I’ve run into many misconceptions concerning Martial Arts but none are as prevalent as the stereotyping of body image. The two largest forms of exposure for Martial Arts is movies and Mixed Martial Arts such as UFC. It’s natural that the general public would automatically assume all female practitioners would look like Ronda Rousey.

Ronda Rousey former Olympian and UFC Champion...

Kenpo Girl: mother and karate instructor that likes cake.... and ice cream.

The truth is stereotyping can be found in every system.

Kenpoists are stereotyped as large middle aged men who love Elvis and Kung Fu practitioners are viewed as tiny Oriental people that wear pajamas. The only way to break stereotyping is educating yourself and not judging a book by its cover.

When I attended the 2016 Dragonfest in California I was introduced to the US Sumo Federation which demolished all misconceptions and stereotyping I had of Sumo. I had the honor of meeting Trustee Bill Gossett and Treasurer Americus Abesamis whom is also an actor and amateur Sumo competitor.

I learned the United States sent a team to the 1st World Championships in 1992 and created the US Sumo Federation, a non-profit organization serving as the governing body for amateur Sumo in the United States.

I was completely shocked to find out that Sumo was so popular in the United States that it would warrant an Organization such as the USSF. The USSF might be considered a small organization compared to other Martial Arts but they currently have over 600 members which includes approximately 100 active adult athletes and with about 100 active youth in competitions. There are numerous active sumo clubs in 15 states. They even have active students or Rikishi in states that do not have an established club yet.

I had a hard time wrapping my head around those numbers.
Whenever I thought about Sumo with my naïve mind; I pictured huge, obese, scantily clad Japanese men wrestling each other. I was blinded by one of the oldest stereotype of Sumo…

Size

The image I had in my mind had been painted by the Professional Sumo in Japan. In professional Sumo there are no weight divisions. Hence the theory—the bigger you are the better you will do. The amateur Sumo has different weight divisions for the Rikishi.

Tom Zabel, President of the USSF further explained,

“During our competitions and demonstrations we show people that our athletes come from a variety of ethnic, cultural, and sporting backgrounds. Many athletes come to the sport with a background in judo, freestyle wrestling, other grappling sports, bodybuilding, football, and mixed martial arts.

Sumo is a contact sport and can be very rough. That roughness keeps some people away and attracts others. An average match lasts just a matter of seconds. It’s amazingly explosive –that’s the reason people love to watch it. The burst of energy and adrenaline makes sumo as physically and mentally intense as any sport can be.”

Definitely not a sport or Martial Art for a lazy person. The USSF is trying to break all stereotypes of Sumo, especially to achieve their ultimate goal…

GOLD

Yes the ultimate goal of the International Sumo Federation (IFS) is to make Sumo an Olympic sport. The IFS has had to make some adjustments, which are changing the face of Sumo.

Any new sport admitted into the Olympics has to be open to both male and female. Thus, women are now invited to compete. The first female World Sumo Championships were in 2001. The USSF sent a full ladies team to the 2015 World Championships for the first time.

Mr. Zabel says,

“The biggest obstacle is the stereotype that sumo is for men and especially for the “big” men. It is slowly becoming more popular with the ladies, mainly due to the fact that they see that there are weight divisions and that there are some very athletic women that do sumo. It’s not just for “big” people.”

These are the battles of stereotypes the USSF and the IFS has had to battle.

The reason they are winning is because they have found the best way to reach out to people is through education. The USSF does demonstrations to help educate the public of their sport and culture.

To some it will always be some that will want to judge a book by its cover.

It’s easier in their mind set to draw up conclusions rather than to take time to educate themselves. You can’t fix stupid and it will drive you nuts trying too.

I study karate to level the playing field in the event I must defend myself and my son. Remember, it takes 25 pounds of pressure to break a smaller bone, it takes even less to break the nose, to pop out an eye ball or to simply crush the groin. I don’t plan on over powering an attacker. I plan on breaking them.

My Sifu always says, “Karate was made for women. It’s an equalizer.”

Don’t let anyone discourage you because you aren’t what they expected. Do what is best for you. Hold your head up with pride because you are one of the few making the attempt to better yourself.

I'm Jesalyn.
I’m a single mother.
I’m an artist and writer.
I fall into the Bantamweight division and like to eat cake.
I am one of the many faces of Martial Arts…

And proud of it.

2 Comments

Dragonfest 2016

7/10/2016

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I attended my first ever Martial Arts convention called Dragonfest.

Dragonfest is an annual fundraiser for the Martial Arts History Museum. The convention hosts a variety of booths. For $25 guests can meet local instructors to discuss their systems and styles, shop various items ranging from Japanese style art to knives and even Gi’s and of course meet various celebrities.

When I first arrived it was a bit of a culture shock. The mixture of the variety of booths, the Taiko drums and lion dancers were an adrenaline rush and slightly overwhelming. There was a stage available for demonstrations, performances and a live auction. There was a large diversity of systems, some I hadn’t even thought about seeing at a Martial Arts convention such as the United States Sumo Federation and Michelle Manu a Hawaiian Weaponry specialist. It was while I was first walking around that I met Robin Hart.

Robin Hart is the Owner of Muay Thai School USA and is the only female professional promoter in the USA that has brought some of the best Muay Thai fighters from around the world to the USA. Robin found out about Dragonfest after her and her Summer Junior Muay Thai Camp students visited the Martial Arts History Museum. She told me, “The networking here is amazing. It’s awesome to be a part of the Martial Arts Community.”

And what a community it is ranging from Muay Thai, Kenpo to Kung Fu and even Sumo. Robin reassured,
“Even though there’s not a traditional belt system (in Muay Thai) we still have advancements like any other system. When people are deeply involved with Martial Arts they have a deep respect for each other regardless of the system.”

As I walked and talked I found that I could have a thorough conversation with anyone about Martial Arts. I sat down and spoke with Carrie Ogawa-Wong, 2005 inductee into the Martial Arts History Museum Hall of Fame, White Lotus Kung Fu Master and instructor at the White Lotus Kung Fu Studio. Her and her husband Doug Wong (Founder of White Lotus Kung Fu and Author) were selling his books, t-shirts and handing out information on their Dojo.

Carrie has attended every Dragonfest, minus the very first one. As a veteran to the convention she said, “It’s great that once a year we get to see our olds friends in the different systems that we have in a way grown up with.”

She insists,
“Anyone can attend, there’s a little bit of everything in the Martial Arts culture here. People can be so limited on the culture of Marital Arts so it’s good to attend.”

I ran into fellow Kenpoists Marissa and Minh Mach at Ed Parker Jr.’s booth and asked them what they thought about their first visit to Dragonfest?

Marissa had thought it would be smaller, “I didn’t expect it to be this big and with all the notable Martial Artists here. It’s awesome and we appreciate the varieties (systems/styles).”

There were many notable Martial Artists present for the event; from Ed Parker Jr., Don “The Dragon” Wilson and Cynthia Rothrock. One of the celebrities I had the opportunity to speak with is Al Leong, actor from Die Hard and Big Trouble in Little China Town. He had attended last year as well and told me, “This is a better location, it keeps getting bigger. This brings a lot of different people together and different styles together.”

Yet these meetings are not just limited to a photo op and autographs. I spoke with Mr. Leong about his book “The Eight Lives of Al “Ka-Bong” Leong,” which tells the story in vivid detail of his career in film and stunt work. At each celebrity booth, guests can purchase memorabilia, have the celebrity sign and then discuss and talk with them and this is all possible because everyone here is approachable.

Towards the end of the day I was able to meet up with the one and only Cynthia Rothrock. Cynthia is a Martial Arts Film actress that is heavily involved with the Martial Arts History museum. She has attended every Dragonfest.
She explained,
“The Martial Arts History Museum is sponsoring this where you can meet actors and other Martial Artists, there’s entertainment and knowledge for everyone. Everyone here is so friendly and it gets bigger and bigger each year.”

Cynthia explained that anyone can enjoy Dragonfest. She studies 5 different forms of Martial Arts: 3 Chinese systems and 2 Korean systems. She says anyone interested in starting Martial Arts could attend and see the various demonstrations and speak to the different practitioners to determine what system is best for them.

The truth is I was slightly skeptical about attending Dragonfest.

I had envisioned a group of mainstream pretend Martial Artists running around in some costume and swinging fake Samurai swords at each other…

It wasn’t that way at all. Everyone had pride in their system and style and where excited to be at an event where they could discuss their passion for the art. The Martial Arts History Museum might have hosted the event, but it is the passion we all share for the study and art of Martial Arts that brought us there and kept us captivated.

Though this event may be overwhelming for some, I would greatly encourage anyone to attend. This event was an eye opener to the idea of having support not just in your dojo and your own system but to reach out to other various systems.

The physical training may vary but the spiritual journey is all the same.

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IS ALL FAIR IN LOVE & WAR?

5/12/2016

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Is it fair to assume if martial artists spend so much time contemplating war, then love is going to come up eventually.

It’s natural to find ourselves attempting to merge our lives with mat time. Yet, it always seems to become a tedious balancing act when it comes to mat time and matters of the heart.
My Sifu once advised,
“Date someone in martial arts.”

I’ve contemplated that statement, wondering if that really is the secret to a successful relationship. As marital artists our equilibrium is naturally set to balance life and mat, but what happens when a third party becomes involved? Haven’t we all heard the phrase,

“You’re going to the dojo again?”

Let's be honest, we've all been there and done that...

Dating someone in martial arts is an alluring concept. I know multiple married couples that study together and have always viewed them as gold miners—the ones that struck it big. But the grass is not always greener on the other side.

I was visiting two of my married Kenpo friends; discussing sparring with them when I found out they never sparred together. They practice techniques and forms together… but they didn’t spar. They worried it would cause bad feelings and resentment between the two of them if one was either hit too hard or just right.

As a person that loves to spar, the idea of working techniques/forms and eliminating sparring sounded like hell to me; like building a relationship with someone and removing sex from the equation.

This entire time I had been day dreaming what it would be like to date a fellow martial artist—thinking how wonderful it would be to work out together and for someone to finally understand my passion for the art.

Relationship goals... Or Urban Myth?

In reality it’s a naive concept.

No relationship is perfect and we tend to lose sight of what is important. Finding a partner that supports us and respects us for who we are. Every relationship is different and will have different needs. If someone loves you for who you are (and you are a martial artist) then they should respect and love that part of you because it’s who you are.

I’m no relationship expert but I am a martial artist and I hope my future partner recognizes from the sparring to Kenpo kisses (bruises) and the long mat hours are not only what I enjoy but they are making me a better person every day.

2 Comments

KENPO GIRL

Stereotyped Martial Arts: Sumo

There are many misconceptions and stereotyping in the Martial Arts community.

“Well… you—um— don’t look like you work out often.”

The truth is stereotyping can be found in every system.

Size

Definitely not a sport or Martial Art for a lazy person. The USSF is trying to break all stereotypes of Sumo, especially to achieve their ultimate goal…

GOLD

These are the battles of stereotypes the USSF and the IFS has had to battle.

To some it will always be some that will want to judge a book by its cover.

My Sifu always says, “Karate was made for women. It’s an equalizer.”

And proud of it.

Dragonfest 2016

I attended my first ever Martial Arts convention called Dragonfest.

The truth is I was slightly skeptical about attending Dragonfest.

The physical training may vary but the spiritual journey is all the same.

IS ALL FAIR IN LOVE & WAR?

Is it fair to assume if martial artists spend so much time contemplating war, then love is going to come up eventually.

“You’re going to the dojo again?”

Let's be honest, we've all been there and done that...

Relationship goals... Or Urban Myth?

In reality it’s a naive concept.

Jesalyn Mae Harper

Archives

Categories

KENPO GIRL

Stereotyped Martial Arts: Sumo

​There are many misconceptions and stereotyping in the Martial Arts community.

​“Well… you—um— don’t look like you work out often.”

The truth is stereotyping can be found in every system. ​

Size

Definitely not a sport or Martial Art for a lazy person. The USSF is trying to break all stereotypes of Sumo, especially to achieve their ultimate goal…​

GOLD

These are the battles of stereotypes the USSF and the IFS has had to battle.

To some it will always be some that will want to judge a book by its cover.

​My Sifu always says, “Karate was made for women. It’s an equalizer.”

And proud of it.

Dragonfest 2016﻿

I attended my first ever Martial Arts convention called Dragonfest.

The truth is I was slightly skeptical about attending Dragonfest.

The physical training may vary but the spiritual journey is all the same.

IS ALL FAIR IN LOVE & WAR?

Is it fair to assume if martial artists spend so much time contemplating war, then love is going to come up eventually. ​

“You’re going to the dojo again?” ​

Let's be honest, we've all been there and done that...

Relationship goals... Or Urban Myth?

In reality it’s a naive concept.

Jesalyn Mae Harper

Archives

Categories

There are many misconceptions and stereotyping in the Martial Arts community.

“Well… you—um— don’t look like you work out often.”

The truth is stereotyping can be found in every system.

Definitely not a sport or Martial Art for a lazy person. The USSF is trying to break all stereotypes of Sumo, especially to achieve their ultimate goal…

My Sifu always says, “Karate was made for women. It’s an equalizer.”

Dragonfest 2016

Is it fair to assume if martial artists spend so much time contemplating war, then love is going to come up eventually.

“You’re going to the dojo again?”