GIRL FIGHT!

Angry women, pounding each other with pillows. The Canadian craze has hit New York, and it ain't pretty

By ABBY LUBY

Two women are lunging and slamming pillows at one another. One gets whacked in the head, stumbles - then is rammed in the stomach and falls to her knees.

"Get her down!" a man yells from the audience.

It was the pillow fight of a lifetime, part of the first foray into New York by the Toronto-based Pillow Fighters League. The Canadian craze showcased 22 women at the gritty Galapagos Art Space in Williamsburg last Saturday to a sold-out crowd of men and women in their 20s and 30s.

Don't mistake this new sport for something out of those innocent high-school slumber parties. The fledgling league is for serious women only. Getting in requires auditions and interviews, and for those accepted, the routine is rigorous training and martial arts practice.

"Training keeps the combats real and competitive," said Matt Harsant, associate producer of PFL. "When folks hear 'pillow fight,' they think childhood sleepovers or dancing girls in negligees. Our fights are a sport with rules, real fights and real women. But it's still fun, and that's part of the appeal."

Ranging in age from 22 to 39, PFL ladies have ring names like Vic Payback, Boozy Suzy, Polly Esther, Betty Clock'er, Sister Resister and Eiffel Power - she's 6-feet-2.

Ursula Anvil, 22 and a full-time seamstress, wears a gold lamé muscle body suit.

"My character is molded after old circus performers. It's fun to play the bad guy," she said.

Not your usual pillow talk

Exorcising rage is common in the ring. Take angry waitress Polly Esther. "She's a waitress in real life," said Harsant, "and she can channel that anger in the ring, saying what she wants to say at work. It's a crazy, cathartic experience."

Sister Resister, whose real name is Zoe, came to the league because of newfound self-confidence after she lost 100 pounds. "When I'm fighting, I think about all the snobby girls from high school I used to hate," she said. "They call me a dirty fighter."

Rules for the five-minute bouts are enforced by two referees, said Harsant: "You can execute any defensive move, punch, kick, smother or use a submission hold as long as the pillow is at the point of contact." If no one is pinned after five minutes, the three judges choose a winner based on style and stamina.

"You can be creative," said Kat, a tough PFL fighter known as Sailor Gerri. "One woman once did a cartwheel and swung her pillow. That impressed the judges."

And if the pillow-brandishing ladies inspire a gal in the audience?

Amateurs wanting their moment of fame can fight for three minutes during intermission in Karaoke Pillow Fighting. On Saturday, a red-headed newbie named Orange Crush got walloped by a blond dubbed Jersey Girl.

"I need to work out more," said Orange Crush after her defeat.

"You could be swinging so hard a lip gets split and pillows are torn in half," said Gerri. "But we put on a good show for the audience, and at the end there are no hard feelings. Some of us hug after each match."

Originally published on January 25, 2007

http://www.nydailynews.co...4037c.html

I'm gonna have to spice up this thread with pics or somethin'.

sextonseven said:

want me to take dance with a pole or sumpthin?

cborgman said:

That would definitely make the thread more popular, but I was thinking of something more on topic.

sextonseven said:

wanna pillow fight me then?

cborgman said:

Do I have to dress in drag? I believe the league is for women only.

sextonseven said:

let's get girlied up!

cborgman said:

Is that you? OMG, I so can't fight you. You look too good. No one would be cheering for me.

What an awesome way to relieve stress...I'd do it.

applekisses said:

You would have to choose a different name. I don't think 'applekisses' inspires enough fear.

sextonseven said:

how about... appleDEATHkisses?

cborgman said:

How do you make an apple mean? Crabapplekisses? apples-with-the-hidden-razorblade-inside-kisses?

sextonseven said:

poisonapplekisses?
applekissesofdoom?

OMG...you guys...

My special Halloween name can be "apples-with-the-hidden-razorblade-inside-kisses"

I heard about this.....this is so not gonna last. You can't do any damage with a pillow. These girls are soft. I say bring back the real roller derby girls who really pummeled their opponents over the railings.

I like Trashley.



I could totally do this though. Maybe it's my calling.

Try out for the pillow fight league

Are you located in the Greater Toronto Area? Are you smart? Cool? Fun? And more importantly, do you have a mean streak?

If you answered yes to all of the above questions, the PFL may be for you!

We are always on the look out for committed team players to join our amazing group of fearless, dedicated, and amazing women. We train twice a week in the downtown area, and all you have to do is show up ready to fight!

For more information, please email the PFL Head Offices (thepfl@gmail.com) and tell us a bit about yourself.

Please use the subject line: PFL Try-Outs


What the PFL Expects from You:

1. YOUR TIME: Interviews, TV shoots, live events, meetings, emails, phone calls, weekly training... It adds up fast.

2. A LONG-TERM COMMITTMENT: The PFL is a business. Our fighters are independent contractors. Compensation is a combination of Live Event, New Media, and TV revenue sharing, and royalties on branded merchandise sales. The more money our Pillow Fighters help make, the more they make. The foundation of our planned long-term growth and popularity is our new and emerging talent base, from which we create compelling storylines that are based on real women and real fights.

3. FUN: It's Pillow Fighting!

http://www.gopfl.com/

minneapolisgenius said:

I went ahead and did some research for you:



You have to be based in Toronto.

sextonseven said:

Damn. Thanks though.