Why Competitive Catfighting is a Sport -- Exhibit A

One of the burning questions that has engrossed philosophers through the ages is whether competive catfighting is true sport. Perhaps the question is on a low simmer or just defrosting next to the cheeze blintzes on the counter, but in any event, it seems one worthy of addressing in this blog.

To begin with, we need to establish the critical criteria that makes an activity a sport. I would submit that a sport requires:

• Athletic Ability
• Strength
• Endurance
• Strategy
• Competition - hence, "scripted" wrestling or catfighting cannot be a sport
• Defense - (i.e., another team or individual can prevent you from accomplishing your goal)

(These criteria were honestly lifted from http://www.babblog.com/Oct_05/103005_Voices.htm).

It would seem obvious that a competitive catfight satisfies each of these criteria. I submit that the photos from one fall in the fantastic topless beach catfight between Gaia and Maia makes any further attempt to answer the question in the negative a waste of time. Gaia, on the left, is a 19-year-old from Germany weighing in at 141 pounds and standing 5'7". Her opponent from Ukraine, Maia, is also 19, but is significantly undersized for this tussle at 5'4" at 117 pounds. There is no question but that Maia will have to develop, and execute, a good strategy to overcome Gaia's substantial advantage in strength and weight.
Gaia, an experienced catfighter, knows that her best bet is to try and overwhelm Maia with the force of her slaps from the standing position. If she can get her Ukranian opponent to turn away, it should be an easy matter to just barge into Maia, force Maia to the ground and use her greater weight against her opponent.
Maia stands tall, withstanding Gaia's initial attempt to overwhelm her with a flurry of slaps. Since Gaia has a noticeable reach advatange, Maia uses her hands to block Gaia's hands as opposed to going for a face slap of her own. Although Maia is undersized, you can see that she has plenty of strength as evidenced by her well-formed figure.
Maia closes the gap, negating Gaia's reach advantage, and deftly blocks Gaia's roundhouse right slap with her left forearm. The bigger catfighter turns her head, a natural reflex in anticipation of getting slapped hard across the face. But Gaia has made the mistake of assuming that Maia had the same strategy -- standing up and trading slaps until one catfighter imposed her will on the other. Instead, Maia uses her speed and agility to get behind the bigger catfighter. By the way that the German teen is standing stock still, it is apparent that she has been taken totally by surprise. And since this is a catfight, Maia deftly grabs onto Gaia's hair.
In a stunning display of strength and athletic ability, Maia leaps off of the sand to wrap her legs around Gaia's torso. The fact that the ladies are wrestling on sand, as opposed to a hard mat, only adds to the degree of difficulty of executing this move. Note how Maia immediately locks her ankles, making it almost impossible for Gaia to force her legs apart.
Maia brings the German teen catfighter down to the sand, and hits her with a combination body scissors and headlock. Maia must have known that Gaia is susceptible to the body scissors (for a prior example of Gaia submitting to this hold, see http://cpcommentary.blogspot.com/2007/10/anatomy-of-body-scissors.html).
Gaia is not without resources, however, and manages to stand up -- but Maia is determined to retain her head lock and body scissors no matter what. She must know that she is forcing her larger opponent to expend alot of energy, thus sapping her endurance. Gaia pounds Maia back down to the sand, but the Ukranian teen just won't be denied. Again, note the way Maia keeps her ankles locked. By the way, do you think that her ankle wrap provided a bit more friction and hold than if she weren't wearing it?
One of the hallmarks of a good fighter, man or woman, is that they remain calm and collected during the match. Here, you can see that Maia is calmly dealing with the situation even as Gaia has broken the headlock. Maia just holds onto the back of the Gaia's neck with her right hand and continues to punish the German catfighter's sides with the body scissors.
Gaia finally manages to break out of the body scissors, but can't get free as Maia still has managed to re-establish her headlock. Maia just uses the force to Gaia's turning to finally get Gaia on her back. Smartly, the Ukranian teen puts all of her weight on the German's upper body, staying away from her opponent's undeniably strong legs. And since it's a catfight, a breast smother is allowed. Having gotten squeezed for much of the round, Gaia doesn't have much in the tank and finally submits.
In conclusion, I hope that this photo essay and the commentary has finally established, once and for all, that Competitive Catfighting is a sport. Discuss amongst yourselves, or better yet, post a comment with your thoughts.
P.S. Just a shot of Gaia adjusting her bikini after losing the first round. I'm trying to put together a collection of photos of ladies adjusting their wrestling and catfighting outfits (and then to do a posting on my thoughts), so please feel free to pass any good photos you may have along to thejobberking@yahoo.com. Thanks in advance.