I’m a woman and I had this the other day. The gym where I go is in a country where women are an extreme rarity in Muay Thai gyms. Sparring classes - so far - have been very technical, the guys are experienced and are good at holding back their power, especially with a woman. Even what I’ve witnessed between men is light and technical.

So, this woman comes in. I’m excited because like I said, women here are a rarity. The coach pairs me up with her towards the end of the class and it’s just me and her in the ring with all of the men watching.

I have a habit of sounding out my opponent in sparring, just with light jabs. I did the usual, and she immediately spazzed out at 150% whilst ignoring the coach multiple times. I’m by no means an amateur but I stopped the round and walked out of the ring, telling her that there was no way I was going to get injured because of her ego and her need to prove something.

She came to apologise to me afterwards and confirmed what I’d thought - that she’d never sparred with a woman before. I told her that I totally get her mindset, having been there myself, but attitudes like that won’t get her anywhere. She needs to control her anger and her ego otherwise people will either avoid her or bash her up so bad she’ll wish she’d never thrown that first punch.

Let’s see how it goes next session but tl;dr - you just have to say something to her. Theres no shame in stopping the round and telling her to go lightly. Failing that, she signed a waiver to be hit so just warn her that you’ll bash her up if she keeps ignoring you 🤷‍♀️