Martial Arts Of The World - Webs

About 1794 According to sociologist Jennifer Hargreaves, a boxing
match between two Englishwomen was described: “Great intensity between
them was maintained for about two hours, whereupon the elder fell
into great difficulty through the closure of her left eye from the extent of
swelling above and below it which rendered her blind. . . . Their bosoms
were much enlarged but yet they each continued to rain blows upon this
most feeling of tissue without regard to the pitiful cries issuing forth at each
success which was evidently to the delight of the spectators” (1996, 125).
About 1805 British newspapers start reporting the faction fights that
had been occurring at Irish fairs and horse races since the 1730s. Irishmen
fought using sticks and brick-sized stones while Irishwomen struck using
razors or stones sewn inside knitted socks. Although it was acceptable for
a male faction fighter to use his stick to parry a blow from a woman, it was
considered bad form for him to hit her with the stick. Fists and feet were
another matter; 2.5 percent of deaths associated with the faction fights
were the results of kicks administered once the other fellow was down, and
5 percent of deaths were due to infected bites.
1807 After learning that the Polish hussar Aleksandr Sokolov is actually
a Russian woman named Nadezha Durova, Czar Alexander I awards
Durova a medal for bravery and a commission as an officer in the Mariupol
Hussars. Durova continued serving with the Russian army throughout
the Napoleonic Wars and retired as a captain in 1816.
1817 The British fencing master Henry Angelo describes a mulatto
fencer known as Chevalier de Sainte Georges as the finest fencer in the
world. Other noted Afro-European fencers of the period included Soubise,
who taught aristocratic women (including the duchess of Queensberry) to
fence at Angelo’s London salle.
About 1820 According to Richard Kim, the wife of the Okinawan
karate master Matsumura Sôkon becomes known as one of the finest karate
practitioners in the Ryûkyûs. As Mrs. Matsumura could reportedly lift a 60kilo
bag of rice with one hand, the reputation may have been deserved. On
the other hand, it could be modern myth. For one thing, Matsumura Sôkon
was born in 1805. Since Asian men typically marry younger women, this
means Mrs. Matsumura was likely no more than 10 years old. For another,
Okinawans usually associate female wrestling with prostitutes rather than
the wives and daughters of aristocrats. Furthermore, left to their own devices,
most Okinawan women take up dancing rather than karate or sumô.
Finally, Nagamine Shôshin did not publish the stories upon which Kim
based his accounts until June 1952, which was more than a half century after
Matsumura’s death. So perhaps some exaggeration crept in over time.
1821–1829 With significant outside assistance, the Greeks free themselves
from Ottoman Turkish rule; a heroine of the war is a Spetsiot woman
Women in the Martial Arts 675