A Conversation with Female Martial Arts Instructor, Yevette Huchinson

Yevette, thanks for taking the time to talk to us. First things first, what got you in to martial arts? 

My son received the diagnosis of “ADHD” at age 6 or 7. His Doctor had terrible office management and he himself had no bed side manners at all. Funny how that sticks with you after 20+ years. However, he gave me one outstanding piece of advice. “Put your son in martial arts, I hear it really helps with focus”.  While that was our last visit to this Doctor, I followed his advice and starting looking for a school. I watched his classes for about a month and knew I should be out there too.  My back ground was figure skating and gymnastics so I liked the independent work as well as a setting with fellow students.

What arts do you train in?    

My foundation is Taekwondo and Hapkido, but when there is an opportunity to train in anything else I do. There isn’t an art I’ve tried that I didn’t learn something from. I mostly enjoy trying a style that is very different from what I’m comfortable doing. I have great respect for ground technicians for their flow, boxers for their foot work discipline and throwing arts for their use of energy.

In your experience do you find that you must alter your teaching styles between men and women?

I don’t think I alter my style of teaching depending on the gender of my student.  My style is more of a coach rather than that of a traditional instructor.  I do teach to each student individually.  Every student comes to you for a different reason.  Some examples may be increased self-protection skills, or to build strength, some train to build their confidence.  Sometimes a student (male and female) trains to help restore themselves from emotional battering. A lot of times they don’t immediately share their real reason for stepping on the mat, so I study them to learn about their physical and emotional benchmarks. Then I can work on challenging each student on their level.  We all know that skeletal structures are different between men and women. Learning those differences and teaching techniques based on their body structure is key to producing their best.  In my experience, the better instructors recognize these differences and train their students with this approach.

I find in my training that often men want to be gentle when training with women instead of doing us a service and going full on.  Do you find that in your training?  And if so, how do you get them to overcome it?

Typically, men, good men, are wired to care for women and be protectors.  (And I have a huge respect for that).  It’s hard to get a man to just let that go and swing on you.  It’s trust on both sides and you have to build up to it.  We start at a lower force and move up gradually.  You can’t train in this approach if you don’t allow both to slowly build their trust in their training and their training partner.

Have you encountered any hurdles as a female martial arts trainer?

Where we started: Martial arts training was provided by men to men for combat.  Fast forward a few hundred years and the answer is yes, there are some hurdles. When you walk in a new place or introduce yourself to someone you’re making opinions based on the information you have so far.  Now picture a 6’2 210lb gentleman looking for classes and being introduced to the chief instructor and owner, a 5’3, 130lb me.  I often have to work hard with my words and skills demonstration to prove that he has stopped at the right place.  However, if this same gentleman came looking for classes for their child, I unfortunately may have an advantage.  In today’s society, (and I hate this assumption because it lowers the guard) men are losing trust among parents with their children and as a result, someone seeing a combination of male and female instructors is positive selling point.  In other areas I have been honored with opportunities to teach at major corporations, federal law enforcement agencies and local organizations in my area. Most recently, I taught at a martial arts summit among 20 or so other instructors. I was the only female instructor in attendance. I was thrilled to “make the stage” as I worked hard to show this group my capabilities, but sad that more females were not alongside me. Of course, this has only fueled my desire to push more women to grow in their art and be an example of what we bring to the table. Yes, there are hurdles, but we will clear them.

What's your most embarrassing moment while training?

Ripped pants, being knocked silly by a 16 year old boy just drilling some punches, being asked why I’m crying by your husband, sparing a 60+ year old student and bring a great sidekick which doesn’t even move him (yes, I made him an instructor), the list could go for a while. Probably, my most embarrassing moment I never shared with my students. I was to the breaking demonstrations of a rank test and I failed to break some of my stations with my most reliable techniques. As a result, I had to drop from 2 one inch boards to 1. I was first embarrassed that I failed to complete the breaks, but later was more embarrassed at my ego.  I was presumptuous and it came back to bite me in the ass.      

Have you had any big injuries that left you cool battle scars?

Black eyes, broken toe, jammed this and that, but nothing visible to start a good conversation over. Still working on it.

In talking with some of your students, you've had some pretty interesting testing for your belt levels.  Tell us about a few of those.

I create each black belt test to the student. I showcase their unique abilities and push them to their limits. I like to be creative with the test so we usually leave the comfort of the school to do so. Most recently, I took a few students to my favorite park on a Friday night, in 38 degree temperatures. On my favorite hill, we did sprints, lunges, and front kicks. As a team they carried a two inch battle rope around their course. If any part of the rope hit the ground, there of course was a burpee penalty. With this rope, they ran, figured out how to each cross the monkey bars, step ups, and yes lots of burpees because the rope did hit the ground. They saw challenges and worked together to respond which was the theme of the night. Respond. Saturday morning we spent a few more hours at the school continuing their test in a more traditional manner but it is the Friday night they always talk about.

Who do you admire in fighting/training?

Just speaking of the folks I’ve worked with, about 6 individuals make my short list. I choose these folks for these reasons: 1^st They are immersed in their craft and it is evident in their skills. 2^nd They share it for the right reasons without a self-serving attitude and ego. 3^rd there is no BS and no fluff.  No need for names. I pay my respect by continuing to show up for their classes, camps and clinics as often as I can.


Is there a martial art or aspect of martial arts that you currently do not do, but if there were enough hours in the day you would totally do?

If there were enough time in the day, I would immediately add stick fighting, Jiu Jitsu and Yoga to my schedule. I know, polar opposites of one another and yet I see how they work perfectly together.

Do you have any other unusual hobbies or interests outside of martial arts?

It’s not really a hobby, but I’ve recently taken on the role as a school teacher. I home school our middle school daughter and love it. It’s not easy and YouTube has been my best friend to refresh on math but totally worth it.  I love to fish. I love to battle the big ones and then cook them for dinner. Kayaking is one of my favorite things to do to relax on the water and camp fires is a favorite pass time at night.

We always like to offer our readers/followers something they can do right now, to taste a little of what it is you do. What's one thing you would tell our readers they can do to get started in martial arts right now, from home?

If your readers are interested in starting martial arts I would offer this as a starting point. Write down all the reasons you want to do this. Interview schools, take free classes and after you find your fit, get on that mat and go for it. You will be amazed at what you are capable of.  


Thank you so much for taking the time!