It’s not often that you see a contact sport that so expressly pits the sexes against one another. Mixed wrestling can be literally described as a battle of the sexes as it puts one man and one woman in the middle of a wrestling ring and tries to see which one is the better wrestler. The sport of wrestling has been around pretty much since the dawn of civilization but only after the influence feminist movement in the 1970’s and a little comic actor named Andy Kaufman was it acceptable to have mixed gender matches.
In the 1980’s, a controversial comedian named Andy Kaufman stepped into the ring during some matches hosted by the WWF and challenged any woman to a wrestling match. His plan was to become a villain by issuing such a challenge and it worked. After months of controversy and a played out feud with wrestler Jerry Lawler, Andy Kaufman’s wrestling days ended but the idea behind pro mixed wrestling stayed on. As the 1990’s came on and mixed martial arts and other contact sports became increasingly popular with the female demographic, mixed pro wrestling began to take a more prominent role in the ring.
It may seem at first that male vs female wrestling is angled more towards the “fake” wrestling and entertainment crowds of the WWF but more and more women are getting involved with the sport through mixed martial arts. There are no sparring restrictions in most martial arts these days and women have realized that they can be just as strong and cunning as their male counter parts.
If you’re interested in becoming a wrestler or you just want to see a woman pinning a man down on the wrestling mat in a mixed wrestling match, there are a few ways to get involved. A few martial arts styles, like Judo and USA Goju, feature a variety of wrestling techniques that can help train your body for the mixed wrestling competitions. You can get involved in mixed wrestling by taking classes in those styles and by becoming an avid member of the martial arts community. If you’re looking for a more direct route to mixed wrestling you might try contacting all of the local wrestling clubs and wrestling leagues in your area to see if they do mixed wrestling matches on a regular basis.