Awhile back, a friend told me that she’d be getting away from firearms training and that she would no longer be attending her martial arts school. “I just feel like it’s time to nurture the feminine side of myself,” she said, “and guns just don’t play into that.” For her, self-defense felt like a masculine concern, and she was tired of being treated like one of the guys all the time.
Although that’s not the way I roll, I understood what my friend meant. There have certainly been days I walked off the range hot, tired and sweaty, wearing grimy clothes, covered with range dust and feeling anything but feminine. Ugh.
And yet… There have been far more days when I’ve walked off the range hot, tired and sweaty, wearing grimy clothes, covered with range dust and wearing a great big smile because I’d had a blast and did what I set out to do.
There have been many days when I’ve worked with students who struggled all morning, who sagged through the afternoon, and who couldn’t thank me enough at the end of the day—because they felt good, almost euphoric, when they realized what they had learned and when they looked at how far they’d come in a single day of hard work. It’s an amazing feeling, and it lasts for a lifetime.
Isn’t that wonderful feeling worth a little discomfort, a little sweat, a little effort? I think it is!
I think so too. I also have trouble with the idea that guns are a masculine concern, given what I know about violence against women, but to each their own. As for me, I enjoy the feeling you describe immensely and wouldn’t give it up for anything!
I’m of the “learn to shoot like a girl, if you’re good enough” persuasion.
Hot and righteously sweaty is not a turn-off.
I have found that my interest in guns and shooting has brought out my more feminine side. I have never been a very “girly” girl but having a passion for something that is considered “masculine” to some has changed that. I am not into pink guns but I do have some purple kydex that my husband is making me a holster out of. And I like to go to the range with painted nails (even if they get ruined). I like to bring that side of me to the range.
And as stated about a hot and righteous sweat is well deserved and enjoyed!
I tend to feel more feminine after a day on the range. I feel stronger, more sure of myself, more confident and that makes me “feel” prettier and happier. Plus, I get a lot of you look hot from my husband so that probably helps:)
Although, wanting to maintain my femininity is one reason I do not get all tact’ed out when I go to the range or even a class. I wear, for the most part, what I wear everyday. The main exception would be footwear and I almost never walk around town with my ear pro on.