SMACK GIRL!!

Taken from Asahi Shimbun

A no-holds-barred, all-discipline event, SMACK GIRL featured elements of all martial arts, from kickboxing and wrestling to judo and karate. Despite some serious aggression and not much in the way of rules, all the gladiators survived to battle another day and the crowd went home happy.

The afternoon's big winner was Yasuko Mogi, an office worker who started kakutogi, or combat sports, seven years ago. Selected as the event's MVP, the 35-year-old woman won a teddy bear wearing boxing gloves.

SMACK GIRL is considered the pioneering event in the world of women's kakutogi. It began as ReMix in December 2000 and acquired its current name in May 2002.

After watching the women for the first time, Natsuko Inada, a 24-year-old shop clerk, said: ``I thought the fighters would be more sturdy and muscular. But most of them are so slender and small, just like ordinary girls. I'm impressed.''

Heh. I really want to see one of these SMACK GIRL matches... Japan is truly a country of contradictions. Traditional at times yet shocking at others.