A lot of push-ups, crunches, and core exercises and stretching were followed by basic kicks kata. Later we were shown juroku. We were shown this kata once before, but we had to relearn it in yesterday’s class. It is another woman’s kata. It was designed for women. This kata allows for defense against much larger and stronger adversaries, which is why this kata was ideal for women. The other woman’s kata we learned was aoyagi. Woman samurai were not allowed to carry swords and this one allowed the dagger women samurai carried to be concealed during the strike. I’ve not gone into very precise detailed description here so don’t quote me on anything.
It is not a sexist thing, really. It is a practical thing. If I were to say, “It’s a girly kata”, that would be sexist. Historically, such kata were preferred for women because you did not have to be a powerful brute to defend yourself.
You might say that there was a lot of sexism in those days. Or you might not. I’m not here to judge.
