Corn; in Kansas, farmers have many fields full of them. Corn, tall and golden, as numerous as the eye can see. It's been said if someone was dropped in the middle of one of these fields, it could be a day or so before they could find their way out, provided they're headed the right direction in the first place. Even the authorities would need a helicopter to find that lost person, and that would still take a while.

What better place was there to hide an arena for an underground fight club?

A representative for the Female Fight Club approached one of these farmers, and requested that a large circle the size of half a basketball court be cut in an obscure part of the cornfield. For a sizeable amount, the farmer had no problems with it; it gave him a little less acreage to deal with.

The circle was roughly forty feet wide, just enough room for two combatants, paying spectators, and not too much else. When nightfall came, crowds of people would make their way through the cornstalks, pay the admission, and place their bets as they watch the women do battle.

It was a hot day, and the night offered little comfort. It was warm and sticky, but a slight breeze rustled the cornstalks. Though it was a pitch black night with no moon, the people brought their flashlights and lanterns to follow a marked pathway to the arena. Battery powered lanterns supplied the light for the cornfield arena (torches were vetoed for danger of fire). The makeshift benches consisting of hay bales, folding patio chairs, and whatever spaces a person could find, ringed the primitive arena. The coziness made things a little hotter, but it added to the excitement.

On this night, there were already a few fights, and it was now time for the next fight that was right before the main event. The emcee called it "The Battle of the Big Girls." The opponents emerged from the corn stalks into the circle as they were greeted with warm applause.

Kelley was a farmer's daughter who stood 5'8" with dark brown shoulder-length hair and fair skin. For the night's battle, she wore a black tank top swimsuit with a black skirt. Her older brother was an acclaimed star in college in Greco-Roman wrestling. Every time he returned home, his sister would ask him to show her the latest wrestling move. Finally, the exasperated brother told her if she wanted to wrestle so much, maybe she should join the wrestling team at school. So she did. Now home for the summer from college, she was looking forward to trying out her skills.

Amanda, who stood the same height as Kelley, had short brown hair, and wore a red tank top swimsuit. The Hispanic was the granddaughter of migrant farmers from Mexico. Her parents followed suit and became farmers themselves. Her two older brothers went to college, where one excelled on the boxing team, and the other took up Greco-Roman wrestling, and became a close rival to Kelley's brother. Though she wasn't on the wrestling team yet, she was planning to join the upcoming semester. Her wrestling brother told her she had great talent for it, and her time with the power lifting club had already put her in good shape.

As they stood in the circle waiting for the referee, the audience could see that they were indeed big, and the time working at home on the farm, plus weight training had made them muscular. Both noticed neither one was wearing the standard fingerless gloves, only mouthpieces, though Amanda was holding hers, debating whether to put it in or not. It was as if both knew how they wanted to play this. Finally Amanda shrugged and popped her mouthpiece in. The referee arrived and told them the few rules that governed the match. The match would be won by knockout, verbal submission, or referee stoppage if one was being beaten to a pulp. No bites, scratches, or shots to the eyes, breasts, or crotch was allowed. Outside of that, anything else went.

Kelley and Amanda grinned slyly at each other, for none of the other precautions other than knockout or submission would apply. This would be a pure grappling match, Greco-Roman style. The crowd who wanted to see blood would have to wait for the next fight. Both women were aware of the rivalry between their brothers on the wrestling mat, and this match could start a new one between their sisters.

The bell rang, and both women circled each other. For a few moments, the place was silent, except for the shuffling of bare feet on the dirt floor. Then as if by an unspoken signal, both locked up, and the cheering began.

The state of Kansas was no stranger to the sport of colligate wrestling, freestyle and Greco-Roman, so it didn't take long for the audience to recognize what they were doing.

Greco-Roman wrestling was wrestling literally from the waist up. A wrestler cannot attack an opponents' legs or attack with their own legs. The legs were only for support, leaving only upper body strength and leverage. Despite these limitations, it still made for exciting matches.

Both held the other in a mutual bearhug, spinning each other around to jockey for position, or to possibly cause the other to misstep, leaving them open to an attack. It was easy to see both were equally skilled; no one-sided beatdown here. And the strength both ladies were putting into their grip could break the ribs of a lessor woman or man. It was only a matter of time before someone gained the upper hand, but who?

Finally, it was Amanda's training in power lifting that turned the tide for her. She loosened her hold just a little, then dropped it down to clinch Kelley around the waist instead of the upper body. Then placing all her weight and power, swung Kelley to the left. The sudden shift in balance took her off her feet, and sent her to the ground on her back.

If this was a regular Greco-Roman match, she would be in a perilous position, because she would be in danger of being pinned. However, this was a submission match, so she had a little more freedom, but not much. Kelley didn't know what Amanda had in mind next, but she wasn't planning on finding out. She violently spun her body around so she could get on all fours, and get back on her feet if she needed to. The move also broke Amanda's hold.

Amanda was starting to rise to her knees as well, but Kelly shot up to her feet and clamped a reverse bodylock on Amanda. She locked her grip around Amanda's middle near the waist, and with a grunt, fell back, lifting the Hispanic wrestler, and turning it into a type of suicide throw. The reversed escape, lock and throw earned wild applause from the crowd. Aside from a few rooting for one girl or the other, they were quiet and tense. Hardly anyone was sitting.

The throw stunned Amanda a little, but not enough to keep her from forming a bridge to keep from being subjected to a submissive hold. The rising dust from the dirt floor had started to cover both combatants in a light tan. Except for the dark colors of their outfits, at times it was hard to determine who was who in the manmade duststorm. On their knees, Amanda managed to deliver a low-level shoulder throw, but it had little effect but to free her from Kelley's attempt to secure a half nelson she was struggling to clamp on her.

In time, the holds, locks, takedowns and reversals were starting to take their toll on both wrestlers. Instead of being just dusty before, the dirt had now mingled with the sweat of the two women, encasing them not quite in mud, but in more of a flaky crust. Both were breathing a little heavy. In a normal match of its kind, there were three brief two minute periods, with thirty seconds to a minute between each one; enough time to grab a drink and towel off.. Again, this match was different, designed for each fighter to battle until the finish. Until then, no drop of water or relief was in sight.

Amanda saw if she wanted to finish this, it needed to be now. Both of them were too evenly matched. Even though she was a little stronger than Kelley, the fair skinned farmers' daughter had more than enough reversals and countermoves to make up for it; just like her brother. And though chokes, attacks to the legs, and strikes were allowed here, this bout was going to be fought their way. And then, she came up with an idea.

Acting a little more weary than she really felt (but not by much), she stood facing Kelley to engage in one more clinch. With a final burst of energy, Amanda charged forward, grabbed Kelley around the hips, and executed a high double leg hip swing. That consisted of lifting the opponent, holding them tightly while moving their hips so the midline of their body was on the attacker's side. The regular procedure is to drop to one knee and bend forward, putting the opponent's back to the mat. Amanda however, turned it into a power move by foregoing the last two steps, and making it a power slam, putting her weight into it. There were more cheers from the audience, but Amanda didn't hear them as she conducted her next move. She scrambled over the stunned and exhausted Kelley, and performed a frontal half-nelson variation, locking up her right arm, and pinning her top half down with what little juice she had left.

Kelley, totally spent, waved over the referee and uttered, "I quit."

The referee motioned the match was over. Those who weren't already standing rose up to deliver a standing ovation. Amanda managed to roll off Kelley and lay there, panting. The referee reached down to help her up so her hand could be raised in victory. Amanda then bent down and helped Kelley up, giving her an embrace as she did so. Amanda raised Kelley's hand up, earning more applause from the crowd. Finally, they staggered off into the cornstalks.

There were a couple of buckets of cool water waiting for them. They wasted no time in taking the buckets and drenching themselves with them.

"That was pretty cunning on your part, that last move," Kelley said, shaking her head to rid herself of the excess water.

"That was all I had. You could've rolled me over and pinned me easily," Amanda replied.

"It was all I could do to stand. I couldn't pin you unless I fell on you. Now I know what our brothers' matches were like."

Amanda scoffed. "Our brothers never fought in a match like this. They should be the ones admiring us."

Kelley thought for a moment. "You're right. No mats, all this dirt, they should try it."

They giggled when the one in charge of scheduling the matches shown up with their winnings.

"Very good, ladies," he said as he handed them their money. "The main event just started, but it's nowhere near as exciting. You should feel proud."

"Right now, I feel like going home and soaking in the hot tub for a week," Amanda responded.

"Well you both deserve it. Oh, and there's a lady who wants to see you."

Both ladies looked at each other before turning back to him. "Which one?" Kelley asked.

"Both of you."

Both women hesitantly walked over to where a large woman about as big as they were with the same build, sat in a portable chair with a large cooler in front of her. She was a Native American, with shoulder length black hair. She wore a white T-shirt with khaki green cargo shorts. Her hardened bare soles made circles on the loose dusty soil.

"Good match," she said smiling, as she tossed an ice cold bottled water to each woman.

"Thank you, eh . . ." Kelly started.

"Call me Diane. Word had gotten around that both of you decided to follow in your brother's footsteps. When I found out you were going to compete here, in God's country, I had to be here. And I'm glad I did."

Amanda, like Kelley, had savored her water. As she felt the soothing coolness go down, she asked, "Was there something you needed us for besides watching us wrestle?"

"Yeah. How do you feel about sumo wrestling?"

Kelley stopped her bottle before it reached her lips. "Sumo wrestling?" She said.

"But I thought there wasn't any stables around these parts. And I don't think I'm in shape for it," Amanda protested.

Diane laughed. "Well there is now, and we want you two to join our team of heavyweights."

Kelly looked at her friend, then back at Diane. "Well I don't know."

"I know the two of you have trained in Greco-Roman wrestling, following in your brothers' footsteps. Your brothers are pretty much a household word around here when wrestling is mentioned. But the two of you have a unique opportunity here. Not only will you be making history, but you'll also be blazing a trail for other women to follow, especially once you reach professional status."

"What happens once we reach professional status?" Amanda asked.

"More money, professional endorsements, public recognition, and the chance to compete overseas. And Amanda, both you and Kelley are in great shape. Not everybody can wrestle in a cornfield. You're both strong, quick, and have excellent technique. I can see you two leading our heavyweight wrestlers, and I can see you making professional status in no time at all. So what do you say? Say yes, and we can meet in the morning to sign a few papers and get acquainted with your new stable."

Amanda looked at Kelley, then back over at Diane. "How early in the morning?" She asked.

"Uh, does it matter?" Diane asked.

Kelley laughed. "Well we did finish wrestling in the middle of a cornfield late at night. I'm still sore in a few places."

Diane smiled. "Good point. Tell you what, I'll pick you both up tomorrow, have a late breakfast on me, then we can visit the sumo camp and talk business there. All you'll have to do is clean up, get dressed, eat, sign papers, and meet people. Not too much exertion there."

"Well I'm sold," Amanda said.

"I could never pass up a free breakfast. Okay, I'm in too," Kelley said.

"Congratulations ladies. You'll never regret this decision," Diane replied.

Diane's words later proved to be prophetic. Amanda and Kelley ended up not just being the leading sumo wrestlers in their stable, but in the state, making their own legacy apart from their brothers. Both reached professional ranking, and had the opportunity to play for their country on several occasions in tournaments at home and overseas, many of them successful.

And it all started in the middle of a cornfield.

If you enjoyed this story, perhaps you may want to read other stories from the Barefoot Heroines collection. There are a variety of stories to choose from. They can be found at http://www.thevalkyrie.com/stories/mongoose/index.htm.

For suggestions, comments, or story ideas, email the author at shrewsberry@juno.com.

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