Women Fight Their Way Into Mixed Martial Arts

New America Media, News Feature, Mark Schurmann, Posted: Feb 10, 2007

EDITOR'S NOTE: You may not read about it in papers or see it on newscasts, but Mixed Martial Arts fighting is so popular that you often can't get a ticket for the fights. Women are now making their way into a violent arena previously dominated by men. NAM writer Mark Schurmann follows one woman's path.

SAN FRANCISCO -- As mixed martial arts (MMA) fighting continues to draw capacity crowds to arenas and sports bars from Tokyo to Las Vegas, many commentators see its appeal in its similarity to street fighting. Legal MMA moves such as "take downs," "choke holds" and "ground and pound" techniques (where a fighter pins his opponent down and beats him with his fists and elbows) can come across more like barroom brawl strategies than practiced moves and give MMA a reputation as a male-dominated, testosterone-driven sport.

However, a growing number of women fighters like Katrine (pronounced Katrina) Alendal paint a different picture. "Mixed martial artists are some of the most conditioned athletes in the world," says the 36-year-old fighter who studies muy-thai kick-boxing, jiujitsu, Western boxing and judo. "It takes a lot of skill, a lot of training and a lot of conditioning." She emphatically denies any relationship between MMA and street fighting.

Jake Shields, Alendal's trainer, agrees. A professional fighter with 17 wins and four losses and a top international prospect in MMA fighting, Shields says the sport has evolved since his first professional fight six years ago.

"I came into it as a high school and college-level wrestler and have been playing 'catch-up' ever since. It's a true professional sport now. Guys who don't keep up with it can fall behind really fast," says Shields.

In fact, incorporating and blending techniques from fighting styles around the world, MMA may be the world's first truly "global martial art," a highly complex fighting style that may be best epitomized by women fighters like Alendal.

Alendal is slim and muscular and has the litheness of an athlete. Her blue eyes are wide open and appear unafraid. She's been training in MMA for only a year and a half, though she now fights as a professional with a record of one loss and zero wins.



"The girl I fought had so much more experience than me," says Alendal on a recent morning just before a training session at Fair Tex, a muy thai and mixed martial arts gym in San Francisco.

"There was so much energy when I walked up to the cage. I couldn't believe it was happening to me," she says, referring to the cages used in some MMA venues such as the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) instead of traditional boxing rings.

Though disappointed by the loss, Shields sees unlimited potential in his fighter. "She's really tough and naturally athletic and has tons of potential." Alendal is undeterred and is already slated to fight again in March against an undetermined opponent. "I realized I don't like losing. That gave me a little more fire. I'm really excited to fight again."

A native of Norway, Alendal has lived in the United States for 12 years. She studied photography at the Academy of Art Institute in San Francisco before turning her attention to the martial arts.

"I wanted to get fit," says Alendal, explaining why she originally went into karate. Though she eventually earned a black belt she sounds almost apologetic about it, as if being a black belt in karate is too one-dimensional. "I studied it for a long time but found I couldn't go any further in my school. It kept me fit but it didn't make me a fighter."

In fact Alendal never considered herself a fighter until she discovered FairTex and mixed martial arts through a friend who trained there. Interested in pursuing a ground-fighting style, Alendal admits she checked out the jiujitsu and muy-thai classes at the gym for a week before she was brave enough to join. Once she started she was completely hooked and signed up for everything.

Her trainers, including Shields, quickly encouraged her to start competing. Her first fights in 2006 were "smokers," quickly organized full-contact fights that, according to Alendal, stay off her official record.



The term "smoker" comes from Thailand, where men would smoke cigars and exchange bets while watching informal muy-thai competitions with up-and-coming fighters. Unlike Western boxing, there is no amateur league for mixed martial artists. You either fight informally (sparring sessions, or smokers) or go professional.

Alendal's first "smoker" was also her first full-contact fight, and was strictly muy-thai and featured an all female fight card in San Francisco.

"It was really amazing. There were 30 fighters that competed that night and we packed the house," Alendal says. She had to wait late into the event before stepping into the ring. "I was really nervous but I knew that if my legs could just get me into the ring, I'd be alright."

She was better than alright. The fight was stopped in the third round when Alendal gave her opponent a bloody nose. The unofficial victory gave her a taste for competition and a sense of herself as a warrior. She went on to fight in a few more "smokers" before deciding to turn pro.

Though growing in popularity (especially among the highly coveted 18-to-34-year-old demographic) MMA is still outside the mainstream. MMA fight results are rarely published in sports pages. The lack of exposure for even the biggest fight venues forces lesser-known professional fighters like Alendal to rely on Internet sites such as MySpace and YouTube to promote themselves and their matches. "Not everything is televised, so the Web is really important," Alendal says.

Her own Web site, badkittykats.com, lists Alendal's fight history, stats and workout schedule. A black and white photo shows her posing in a fighting stance next to a heavy bag, her ripped abdominal muscles a testament to the hours and days spent working out in the gym. The site, which she shares with another professional fighter, admits that "we are looking for promoters, sponsors and endorsements."

She trains six days a week, resting only on Sundays. At her current level as a pro and with women's MMA events only beginning to take off (ShowTime is slated to showcase women fighters in an MMA event in the near future) she still bartends four times a week in downtown San Francisco to support herself. Her dream, she says, would be to fight and train full-time, but not for the money. "I want to live an extraordinary life. Money is great but it doesn't compare with passion."



"She can be one of the best women fighters in the world," notes Shields while watching her practice a "triangle choke hold" (a choking technique where legs are scissored around an opponents neck and arm) with her training partner. He admits that one difference between his male and female fighters (he's got 10 fighting professionally, including Gilbert Melendez, a top prospect in Pride Fighting) is how serious the women take the art itself. "Some guys do this just to be able to brag to their friends that they've done it," says Shields. "Women really want to fight."

Alendal's second professional fight is at Kezar Pavilion on March 31, 2007.

Mark Schurmann will follow her progress.


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