BTW: this fact has a major relation to weapons, in more ways than one
This is an indicator that strength alone isnt the answer to our question
Although weapons are superb equalizers (indeed, more equalizers than unarmed martial arts), and although women can defeat men in swordfights and in other weapons (HEMA tournaments payday loans New Hampshire are a HUGE (repeat: HUGE) testimony to that fact), at the end of the day, who is going to generally have the more powerful sword strike? Whos going to, generally speaking, have the more powerful club strike? Whos more likely to have the more powerful, more penetrating spear thrust? Whos going to generally be able to pull a bow back further? Keep in mind, though some bows can be equally utilized by both men and women, others, like the longbow and Mongol bow, require significant elbow grease to pull, with draw weights well over a hundred pounds (in some cases 200 pounds). Plus, the more you pull back on a bow, the farther you can send an arrow. There is a reason why the average draw weight for a modern bow is 35-45 pounds for men and 20-35 pounds for women.
True, some weapons are better equalizers than others. Crossbows, for example, dont require a lot of strength to use. The Atlatl spear thrower, a weapon that predated the bow and arrow in most regions of earth (and which could fire spears both farther and with more punch than a spear thrown by hand), likewise could be well utilized by women and even kids!
Indeed, its thought by some that the arrival of the bow and arrow (which requires more brawn to properly use) basically kicked women out of the hunting business, forcing them into the far less exciting career of gathering. However, there are caveats to these weapons: when it comes to crossbows, we have to remember that bows and arrows have been around for 64,000 years (up until recently, they were thought to go back 39,000 years), while crossbows have been around for only as far back as the 6 th century BC (keep in mind, males comprised the vast majority of warriors throughout history, including LONG before and LONG after the invention of the crossbow). Continue reading “BTW: this fact has a major relation to weapons, in more ways than one”