While no one wants to say they were beaten up by a 13-year-old girl, there’s absolutely no shame in it if she took your lunch money by putting you in a guillotine choke.
You’ll be forgiven for pissing your pants when you meet Kimberli Smith. The tween from outside Daytona Beach is the number one ranked under-17 practitioner of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in the country, boy or girl. She’s been fighting since she was 5, and already has her own nickname: the Krossface Killer. Whoops, I think I crapped myself.
Video after the jump.
Seven days a week, 101-pound Kimberli Smith wakes up at 6 a.m. to run, do crunches, pull-ups and conditioning.
When other kids are drinking juice boxes, Kimberli drinks “Muscle Milk,” a fat burning, muscle recovery protein supplement. After school, she trains. And on the weekends, when other kids are waking up late to play GuitarHero and eat a bowl of sugary Cap’n'Crunch, Kimberli is off to a tournament to compete against kids and adults alike.
Kimberli’s precocious talent has her trapped in a sort of no-woman’s land. Her instructor won’t allow her to compete with the kids, since she’d likely snap their little spines like so many Kit-Kat Bars. But it’s illegal for her to go against the adults in some tournaments.
When she does compete with the big girls, she more than holds her own. At a Tampa tournament last month, she won the women’s absolute division, taking out a 162-pound blue belt and a 32-year-old Judo coach along the way.
She dreams of being an MMA fighter, but at the moment there’s no women’s division in the big time. I’m sure that’ll change. The biggest sign that MMA is here to stay is the number of kids going in to it, with a level of interest that boxing hasn’t seen in 30 years. It’s only a matter of time before the pros are opened up to the other half of the population.
4:14 pm on March 9th, 2009
sad. where are the parents. mma is for the idiots of society with nothing going on in their brain, so they use their fists like barbarians who existed 1000 years ago. sad.
4:16 pm on March 9th, 2009
ps. you're kid looks like 1993. no reason to retread the zoobas from the closet, "mom" and "dad." pauly shore wants his hat back. and stephon marbury needs his brick back so he can throw it at the rim.
4:29 pm on March 9th, 2009
may i be the first to say STFU? She's doing something that she likes and seems to be very good at it. Take your regular thoughts on society and throw them out the window because things are changing. Let me guess, you expect a woman's place to be in the kitchen at home taking care of the children while you are off to work? Woman are not viewed as just sex objects anymore, they are out to make a name for themselves doing what they like best.
So while i respect your opinions, i do not agree with them and had to throw my .02 in.
4:41 pm on March 9th, 2009
Are you sure she’s a girl?
4:48 pm on March 9th, 2009
Chad, you're an idiot. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is not a sport for people to "use their fists." Its more of a grappling sport, think choking, arm-bars, and other submission moves. Those aren't zubaz, but colored camouflage which has recently become popular, and kids these days where there hats like that and have never heard of Pauly Shore. Way to date yourself old dude. You're probably just pissed cuz you know she could kick your butt loser.
4:50 pm on March 9th, 2009
sorry about the typo, I meant wear not where. Chad's still a loser though.
5:13 pm on March 9th, 2009
She's the second coming of Gina Carano.
10:14 pm on March 9th, 2009
Jim: I think you also meant "their hats", not "there hats". Chad meant "your kid", not "you're kid". Sheesh. English class, anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
11:03 pm on March 9th, 2009
Jim, yeah Chads an idiot but if you watch the vid that's where she wants to go eventually….into MMA, where fists will fly! To that I say, what the fuck.. why not. If she enjoys it and is passionate about it, she should do it. And by the time she's leagally an adult there will probably be women's MMA.
1:56 pm on March 10th, 2009
Just from a few comments it's plain to see that there are still underlying and on the surface prejudices here in America. This is a great sport, especially the grappling side of it. It is highly technical, as much or more so as wrestling, and is perfect for women. The positions that they deal with in the gym could no doubt help them someday if there was a person twice as big as them on top of them trying to take advantage of them. Women have always been told what is not ladylike, and perhaps some of the commenters would feel more comfortable in a Taliban society where women cannot compete in sports. And as for the clothing comments- first off such a stupid thing to pick out of this whole article and make fun of. Secondly, I'm sure that they are the most functional thing for her to wear, and have almost nothing to do with style.
4:57 am on July 13th, 2010
i don’t think a 13 year old girl can beat up a grown men that has a lot more lbs on her. If someone is too strong or to fat many holds from bjj would not work. Try to close your guard on a very fat men.. or try to sweep him with all of his weight on to you?
Sport for kids must be fun and not a super competitive thing that takes all up her private time. If you compare her to kids her own age, she looks indifferent .. and looking at her picture she has an agressive attitude that always will cause for trouble on the street. Even if she was strong she could never defeat 2 guys at the same time. Better give her some peper spray