Well said Hobbit!!! Couldn't agree more. There are things I can do that women can't, and there are other things women can do that I can't. Point for you, sir.
Male ultra-marathon runners also lose their gender advantage once the distance gets long enough. Apparently women generally have a higher threshold for physical fatigue. With more female athletes, we are finding how to better train them, instead of treating them like small men.
As I understand it, women also have a higher threshold for G-forces, letting them perform well in air-to-air combat as well.
In the sparring match I was referring to, yes, the guy probably could have picked up my friend with one arm, something she certainly couldn't have done to him. But...that seems like a good reason for a woman to use her brains and skill in a fight, and not rely on brute strength to win! Nothing at all wrong with using superior agility to make up for being less strong. Fight smarter, as they say.
That's my point exactly. Brawn versus brains, basically. I just get annoyed when filmmakers write a woman beating a man twice her size using brute strength. Even Black Widow, who is augmented, still resorts to agility and outmaneuvering her opponents rather than overpowering them. Her fight scene at the beginning of The Avengers is a great example.
