By Kris Carre
When asked what I do for a living, the answer isn't exactly "the norm" nor is it simple to explain. Some find it very intriguing while others admit it sounds just plain strange. However, no matter what views are taken upon this occupation, one thing is definite - I certainly love what I do! I get paid to fight men.
How does a typical girl like me land such a career? Obviously it certainly isn't something a lot of females dream about doing when they're younger. Therefore, I shall provide you a brief rundown of both my training background as well as my work history.
Searching for a way to get in shape and learn something at the same time, I opted to study martial arts. After sampling several schools and styles, I became addicted to Shidokan Karate which I devoted myself to training in beginning in 1995. Shidokan is a martial art that combines Karate, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Judo and wrestling/grappling/submission techniques. As I progressed, the training became harder and much more intense. A one hour beginner's class changed into a three hour intermediate class. After nearly two years of nonstop hard-core training, I was up to advance training that consisted of an average of four hours of training per day, six days per week. My passion for the art truly helped me as I double promoted on two different occasions during belt promotion tests. During the week, I participated in both group classes as well as one on one private lessons with my Sensei. Eventually, I began teaching children's classes at the dojo where I trained as well. As I progressed to 3rd Degree Brown Belt, I was receiving invitations to participate in several tournaments around the country. In 1999, I did "retire" undefeated from tournament fighting.
One of the main reasons I became addicted to Shidokan was the pure enjoyment I got from sparring against men. Although more and more women are studying self-defense nowadays, martial arts still seems to be most popular among men. Intermediate and advanced classes included full contact sparring, takedowns, ground fighting and other technique practicing. Each student would rotate sparring partners. The idea behind this is to gain more experience by defending yourself against people of all shapes and sizes as well as various fighting backgrounds. To say the least, I simply loved sparring against men the most!
In 1999, as I was extremely curious about learning even more, I started taking Hapkido. Hapkido is more of a "street defense" style of fighting and not a sport whatsoever (no tournament competitions in this style, etc). Hapkido is also what's known as a "soft art" and focuses mainly on defending yourself against weapons and street attackers. I also studied a little in both Jeet Kune Do and Tae Kwon Do in 1999. To this day, I still believe that having a background in gymnastics and dance (classes my mother forced me to take as soon as I was able to walk) helped me maintain my natural strength and flexibility which is a definite advantage in any martial art.
In 2001 I was hired to do female wrestling videos. I enjoyed all aspects of the business, from the acting to the physical involvement. Over the next two years, I regularly participated in the filming of these videos and also worked with several other companies which produced female wrestling videos. Being involved in making female wrestling videos was always enjoying for me as it involved two of my biggest loves - acting and fighting. In 2003 I was contacted by someone in my local area (Chicago) about doing "mixed wrestling sessions" against men. This person saw me and/or the female wrestling videos I was in advertised online and thought I would be interested in trying the mixed wrestling business. The thought of making money by beating up men intrigued me but I was very skeptical at first. Was this some sort of scheme? Was it a front for some type of sex-related business? Or perhaps it was just extremely dangerous if the men I would be fighting were skilled athletes - these are a few of the concerns that crossed my mind beforehand. Needless to say, I decided to check into it. After meeting with the owners of the company and participating in tryout sessions and training sessions, I was started having matches booked and was getting paid to (mainly) wrestle men. About one year later, I began to branch out on my own. I hired a business partner who later became my agent/manager and webmaster/videographer/photographer. My partner designed my official website, www.KrisCarre.com, and did the photo and video shoots to help get me where I am today. I now schedule and book sessions against men as well as produce my own female versus male videos (obviously starring myself!)
There are three basic types of sessions. One is considered "Fantasy" or "Roleplay." This is mainly a very light session where the male doesn't do much to defend himself and gets humiliated throughout the entire match. Some type of scenario or plot is usually setup beforehand to add to the drama. Some of the more popular holds used in this type of session includes facesitting, smothering, forced foot worship, foot trample and usually a lot of verbal taunting.
"Semi-competitive" is another type of session. This is when the male will fight back but usually not as hard as he possibly could. It can include all the basic wrestling holds such as headlocks, Camel Clutch, Boston Crab, Indian Deathlock, Grapevine, Scissors, etc. A semi-competitive session is usually ideal for men with less endurance or those who want to participate in a wrestling match but have little to no wrestling experience. It also usually includes more breaks. Communication is always the key during any type of session to make sure it stays fun and safe. It's possible for a semi-competitive session to accidentally get a bit rougher and turn more "competitive," therefore, the male can simply request the female wrestler to "lighten up" or go easier on him should he start to be taking a bit more pain than he would like.
The definition of a "competitive" session is probably pretty self-explanatory. It can include all the basic holds as well, however, the male usually tries as hard as he can to win (by pin or submission or both). Besides wrestling holds, some men opt to have additional challenges (and pain!) in a competitive session. Some examples can include body strikes (punches, slaps, kicks, knees, elbows), ballbusting (kneeing, grabbing, squeezing, kicking and punching the groin area), catfighting (hair pulling) and so forth. In some cases, men like to include other forms of fighting besides wrestling during a competitive session such as martial arts, boxing or kickboxing. This does not mean the male necessarily has experience in any of these forms of fighting - he simply likes to be at the receiving end of it to experience the ultimate beatdown.
Mixed sessions can include strictly wrestling (pin and/or submission), strictly boxing or kickboxing, strictly martial arts or a combination of a few or all of these forms of fighting. Men with a foot fetish tend to opt for a foot trample session where he is used like a "trampoline" and gets trampled on, kicked and smothered by the female's feet. Other men enjoy including other "fun stuff" in a session such as arm wrestling, muscle posing/worship, pushing/shoving, lift and carry, takedowns/throwing, etc.
My personal favorite type of session is either submission wrestling or martial arts, or a session that includes both. I've participated in sessions against men who were much smaller than men as well as those who outweighed me by hundreds of pounds. I love the feeling of overpowering a man to the point he must submit to me as he cannot get out of one of my holds. I also love to show how easily I can slip out of a lot of holds placed on me. A lot of men have been in disbelief by the amount of pain I can tolerate should I get trapped in a hold. Several men are very impressed by my martial arts background and since I have such a passion for it, I love to administer various types of martial arts strikes to men who are willing to take them. Some men prefer to take strikes to only the body while brave ones will take strikes to the head/face area as well. The power I feel when I knock a man out is extremely intense and I simply cannot describe that feeling. I also enjoy the look on a man's face when he realizes how high I can kick. Martial arts strikes do not have to be limited to punches and kicks. They can also include elbows, knees, backfists, thrusts, open hand strikes and pressure points. My fighting techniques differ and I tend to go back and forth in hand styles. For example, I'll start off with closed fist punches and quickly switch to open hand strikes. Open hand striking allows you to grab and pull your opponent unexpectedly. However, should the male not want or like a certain method of fighting, I have no problem adapting. More intense sessions can seem pretty much like a sparring session. Both people have a lot of fun while getting a great workout as well as sometimes exchanging knowledge of what they know from their background.
I almost always prefer to fight bare knuckle and with bare feet, no matter what type of session it is. Although I do love to box and kickbox, wearing gloves is one thing I dislike. Of course I DO wear gloves during these types of sessions but if I am asked to wear gloves during a combination session or martial arts session, I'll wear "grappling gloves" or those that contain fingers in the gloves. This allows for a lot more freedom of movement and, again, gives you the chance to grab and pull for takedowns and throwing techniques. It can be quite amazing when you realize just how important your fingers can be during a fight!
Although the way I have described various types of fighting might seem as though I'm pretty much "into" just plain fighting, this is not exactly the case. My client (the male in the session) comes first and foremost. He will let me know ahead of time what he is looking for in a session and I'll do my best to accommodate. There is absolutely NO "street fighting" or "brawling." Sessions are intended to be SAFE and FUN. If a male wants to participate in a "beatdown" session and actually suffer knockouts, that is because he actually likes that and finds it fun. Those types of actions are ONLY taken when the request is given beforehand. If a male wants a competitive submission wrestling match, he may ask for a lot of specific holds such as scissors ahead of time. Again, this is because this is what he personally likes and this is what is FUN to him in a session. Although I'm a fighter at heart, it IS possible to have a "fun and fair fight." I try my best to give what I like to call my "male victims" what they're looking for in a match/session and keep them coming back for more. I do all this while focusing on fun and safety. I have bonded with (so to speak) several clients during our "fight." We may start off as strangers but by the end of the session we can consider ourselves "close sparring buddies" after a sweaty and physical session! This goes for male clients who opt for a lot of competition as well as those who prefer something on the lighter side.
I've been asked quite a bit why I prefer to go up against males rather than females. Although I still do female wrestling videos, I simply just enjoy overpowering a man much more. I love to incorporate the humiliation factor (which a lot of the men DO want to receive). The majority of the men do not expect to win (even those who request a competitive session) but they'll still try their hardest. They want me to EARN my victory. They want the satisfaction of knowing they did all they could but were still unable to beat me. I enjoy beating a man for pretty much the same reasons they'll give as to why they enjoy getting beaten. I'll do all I can to earn my victory. I love to watch for myself as a man fights as hard as possible but is still forced to submit to me. I love the look of disbelief I'll get from the man when he realizes how strong I am. I enjoy the fact that they are usually exhausted when I'm just getting warmed up. I thoroughly love to administer pain and watch a man suffer. Again, I only give what I'm asked for! If someone requests pain, he is going to receive it. When I'm told to lighten up or go easier, I know I'm doing my job well. Not to insult men, but I do believe that women are much tougher - both physically as well as mentally. I believe that a female fighter can give me much more of a challenge than a man can. Female fighters are usually far more capable of tolerating pain. I know this because I am one! I know of some tough female fighters who prefer to go against only men because they feel females aren't much of a challenge for them and they prefer a more intense and physical match against a man instead. This is understandable but for me personally this isn't the reason why I myself prefer matches against men. I just simply enjoy it much more. Mixed sessions can be extraordinarily fun as well as challenging. Overpowering, capturing and inflicting pain on the opposite sex and seeing the look of astonishment on their face as I do it is one of my favorite part of the job.
The nickname "a sweetheart with a mean streak" was something I've been referred to as and it eventually just kind of stuck. I couldn't agree with this description of myself more. I consider myself very professional as I do run my own business and, as in any business, being professional is key. I've also been told I'm very friendly to people (clients and people in general) and come off as having an adorably sweet personality. Whether I'm responding to an e-mail or a phone inquiry, I always conduct myself in an extremely polite, friendly and professional manner. In person I'm usually complimented on my sweet nature before and after a session. But in the ring is when my mood changes and the fighter inside me comes out. Many of my clients have described me as being adorably sweet and the fact that I can go from one extreme to the other is even more intriguing to them. The "sweetheart" isn't usually expected to be such a kick ass fighter and turn out to be so incredibly tough inside the ring. But this "sweetheart" certainly is! Finding this unique way to mix a variety of different personal aspects of what can be considered to be an odd sport, occupation, hobby or what have you is the heart of my personal business and adds to its success and the love that's involved in it.
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