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This is how I feel sometimes about Aikido

I do lots of sports I’m pretty okay at. After all, being good at something makes it more fun. That’s part of what attracts us to the physical activities we choose. I’m a reasonably decent cyclist and I...

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In praise of rest days

Fridays are my new rest days and I’m liking it. I’m a bit of a weekend warrior (running, cycling, rowing, soccer, AikIdo!) and it’s nice to start out Saturday fresh. Traditionally I’ve rested on...

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Heaven and Earth Throws: My Favourite

In Aikido, as with all things, there’s bits we love and bits we hate. I’ve blogged a bit about that here. We all love the strategies and techniques that play to your strengths. My favorite throw in...

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On being a Jill of all sports

Or here’s another way to put it, I’m a polyamorous athlete. There are lots of different sports and physical activities I love. I spent a lot of time with people who really only love one sport–Aikido,...

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Your Kid is Not in the Wrong Weight Class (Guest Post)

I was inspired to write this post based on this article about why parents shouldn’t worry so much about their kids’ weight. I’m not a parent, but I do teach taekwondo to kids and have done so for a...

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Weight training only?

I’ve written before about mono exercisers, advocating instead for an account of fitness that includes multiple components. See Is there life after running? and Fitness, yes but fit for what? It used to...

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Edith Garrud: The suffaragette who knew jiu-jitsu

News to me until a friend re-tweeted this photo but there was a suffragette who trained in jiu-jitsu.  Wikipedia tells me that “Edith Margaret Garrud (1872–1971) was among the first female...

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Can the UFC handle a female Roy Nelson? Or is it all Rouseys? (Guest Post)

While plenty of other Canadians were obsessing over hockey this week, I was looking forward to UFC 170, in which as-yet-undefeated bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey would take on former Olympic wrestler...

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Fail again, fail better?

“All of old. Nothing else ever. Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” ― Samuel Beckett, Worstward Ho It’s been a very rough winter. I won’t go into all the horrible...

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Self Defense and Sexual Assault (Guest Post)

It probably goes without saying that this blog post contains potentially triggering discussions of sexual assault. I was recently sent this article by my friend Tom. It has to do with Miss USA 2014,...

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Why I Love Aikido (Guest Post)

I was standing watching the children’s class, waiting for my adult aikido class to begin, when I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was my aikido sensei (teacher). “I saw your name in the paper.” I...

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Broken: How a serious sports injury damaged more than my body (Guest Post)

  It happened, as most accidents do, in an instant. One moment I was aiming a punch at my aikido partner, preparing to take his subsequent throw, and the next moment, instead of executing a neat...

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“Don’t ask me to twirl.” (Guest post)

by Sylvia Burrow I am done with people saying to me “Better watch out for you!’ when they find out that I am a black belt in karate. I usually don’t say anything about doing karate to people in...

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Fighting Violence Against Women in India With Self-Defence (Guest Post)

Today we are probably living in one the most women conscious decade in Indian women’s history because of the all-time high number of cases of domestic violence against women. From domestic violence to...

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Miss Piggy: “Feminism’s future must be proud, positive, powerful,...

It’s been a big week for Miss Piggy with the publication of Why I am a Feminist Pig in Time Magazine. I believe that any woman who refuses to accept society’s preconceived notions of who or what they...

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Study shows self defense makes a difference but the issues are still complicated

This post discusses personal experiences of sexual assault. We’ve had lots to say on this blog about self defense as a feminist issue. See Audrey’s guest post Self Defense and Sexual Assault and my...

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What (Feminist) Self-Defense Courses Can Do (Guest Post)

(Note: many of the points I make here are developed more fully – and in acadamese – in “In Defense of Self-Defense,” Philosophical Papers Vol. 38, No. 3 (November 2009): 363-380) As Sam B. mentioned in...

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Ronda Rousey is Not Your Feminist Hero (and that’s ok) (Guest Post)

Let’s be clear on a few things. Ronda Rousey is a fighter. And one of the best fighters at that. She just knocked out the very skilled and tough Bethe Correia in a 34 second slugfest. But she is not a...

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Aikido: Touch me (without consent) and your first lesson is free

One of the most important lessons you learn in martial arts has nothing to do with protecting yourself from strangers. It’s about the importance of consent, ongoing consent, and your right to start...

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What martial arts taught me about fighting breast cancer (Guest post),...

“You’re the happiest cancer patient I’ve ever seen.” I was having coffee with a psychotherapist friend, and her words caught me off-guard. I thought I was handling my breast cancer diagnosis well, but...

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