Terri Green began practicing martial arts as a teenager in the 1970's. She decided to forego the traditional, expected lessons back then of sewing and cooking in exchange for semi-contact street fighting and earning a black belt. Terri was a teenager, about 14 years old, when she started. Her parents signed her brother up for lessons to help toughen him up. After watching him take the classes she asked her parents if she could take the class and they felt it was a waste of time for her. She convinced them that she needed to be able to defend herself and they eventually agreed. She began learning semi-contact and street fighting then and it was the best exercise she ever had. There were not a lot of women in the classes, so every time she worked out with a man, she had to prove herself and show that she was tough. She says, “I had to literally beat them up to make them work out with me.” She also learned weapons, like knives and chains, and guns. She even went on the bus to class with a huge machete knife on her.
Yes, times were different in the 1970’s. I know you will find this podcast well…pretty groovy.
Check out more of Terri's story here: www.themartialartswoman.com
Andrea's motivational books:
The Martial Arts Woman book: https://www.amazon.com/Martial-Arts-Woman.../dp/1544916213
Martial Art Inspirations for Everyone: https://www.amazon.com/Martial-Inspirations.../dp/150297830X
