The Female Warrior
The training and techniques for women are equal to those for men because Krav Maga was designed not to discriminate against students based on their sex, size, ability, or strength. Women will generally not have the same kind of upper body strength as men. They will, however, have a lower center of gravity, which means that women have a more stable foundation to maintain their balance. The unscientific observations of certain Krav Maga instructors say that women also tend to have an easier time than men when it comes to building up their physical endurance. Also, women will not (naturally) develop those massive, bulky, vein-sporting muscles that you see on some men.
Some women are concerned or worried about bulking up or getting too muscular when they workout. If a woman is feeling like she is getting bulky, it is usually because of dietary issues. Basically, there is too much food going in and you may begin to gain a few pounds with consistent exercise. The idea is to put on muscle while at the same time decreasing body fat percentage. Most women seek to lengthen and strengthen muscles, which is covered in Chapters 7 and 9. For more information on the dietary aspects of your training, please refer to Chapter 3.
You can start slow, but it's not okay for you to stay at that pace for long. As your Krav Maga skills and fitness level improve, you will need to start picking up the pace. A somewhat experienced Krav Maga student (someone who has completed thirty to ninety days of regular training) should be able to increase his or her frequency and intensity of training.
Muscle tissue is highly metabolic (it uses a lot of energy and energy burns up calories) as opposed to fat, which is not metabolic at all (it is just stored energy). If you increase lean mass muscle, your body will utilize more calories all day long. This can result in the decrease of body fat as long as there are fewer or the same amount of calories coming into the body as there are going out of it.
It is a simple fact that women have less testosterone in their systems than men. As a result of this, women's muscles simply will not (in most cases) develop in the same way that men's muscles do. This is not to say that women do not have the same potential for strength, but simply that this strength is found in different areas (such as endurance). Generally speaking, women are considered better equipped (physiologically) for endurance activities, while men are considered to have more immediate strength. The Krav Maga self-defense system is designed so that any person, male or female, can learn to perform the techniques safely and effectively no matter what his or her size or strength might be.
