How come it seems martial arts dont help women in self defense?

[Annie]

I've been taking martial arts for years- namely Kyokushin and am a very fit woman. When I was sparring full contact against another male who was smaller than me and also a little bit less experienced, I still was taken down very easily. When I tried kicking him or punching him , it had little effect.
That got me thinking how is it any useful if a woman can't even fight off a smaller male?

 

[AnnaBean]

It's not about size or strength. My brother threw my aunt in a Judo class when he was 5 years old.

Through there are many types of martial arts, most external styles are based on form, balance, center of gravity and precision.

You can move your body to imitate the techniques and build up your muscle strength, but it won't do you any good until you understand what type of force to put behind it all.

And though Kyokushin is about full contact and strength, remember that it is based on traditional martial arts. If you just wanna punch people with brute force to knock them down, train in boxing. If you want to take someone down with strength and precision, read up on martial arts theory.

Edit: It is true about the difference between men and women physiology. Men have a more solid, broad frame with larger muscles. Woman have a more agile body with lean muscles. It doesn't mean that one is weaker than the other in general. It just means that men and women have different capabilities.