Hi-5: Five Women Who Could Kick Your Ass

In this week’s Hi-5, we take a look at women who could kick our asses. Now, most women could kick ass given the right inspiration, but these five go above and beyond that: they’re all professional boxers or martial artists. Not only are they badasses when it comes to fighting, but they also prove that not all female fighters need to look like a man in order to be successful. They also remind us that, sometimes, it’s better to figure out what a woman does for a living before you hit on her too much or try to look cool in front of your buddies at a bar or club; they might be able to kill you with their bare hands.

5. Rain Mako

Anyone from Australia or New Zealand should already be fairly familiar with Ms. Mako, who was voted one of the Sexiest Women of New Zealand in 2001. After retiring at the end of a very short career (4-2, with 1 K.O.), Rain moved on to other ventures. She started her own fitness company and still works to increase awareness for boxing as a serious form of exercise for women around the world. She never did get the Leila Ali fight that she wanted, but she does beat Leila here.

4. Corinne Groot 

Corinne Groot’s life has involved several turns and transformations. This Canadian-born woman parlayed her B.A. in criminology and English into a job with the Ottawa-Carleton police force. After a few years of work (including undercover work as a hooker, rawr), Groot grew bored of the work and moved into the personal training field, which led to her pursuing stunt work, which in turn led to a career in boxing. Corinne turned into one of woman boxing’s fastest risers at an impressive 10-0 (4 KOs), but in 2003 she took a hiatus from the sport in order to participate in (and ultimately win) NBCs reality show, The Next Action Star. This April, Groot returned to the boxing ring where she easily dispatched of her opponent Cantrell Sewell, showing that her time in Hollywood didn’t lessen her thirst for blood in the ring.

3. Kathryn Kersey 

Kathryn Kersey is a trained singer, actress and martial artist. Given her looks, the singer/actress tag shouldn’t surprise anyone—what will surprise people is the fact that she’s a black belt in Shorei Kai Karate. She’s an Indiana state champion and an International Karate Team (WKO) invitee. She finished 5^th in the World Karate Championships in 1998 and took bronze at the International Karate Championships in Tokyo in 2002. She may or may not be able to drink depending on who you ask, but, in spite of that odd fact, she qualifies as a hot women who could likely kick our asses.  

2. Regina Halmich

Regina Halmich may be the most successful fighter on this list. At 52-1-1 with 16 KOs, her record is nothing to scoff at. Halmich has held the WIBF World Titles in the Super Flyweight and Light Flyweight classes, and has been the WIBF World Flyweight champion since 1995. She doesn’t let boxing define her, though, as she has branched off into the television and business world in her native Germany. With her own brand of cosmetics, the possibility of a future clothing line, and a modeling resume which includes a little magazine you may have heard of called Playboy, she truly is the perfect example of a femme fatale.

1. Mia St. John 

Mia St. John is the epitome of hot women who could kick our ass. While going for her degree in psychology, Mia compiled a Tae Kwon Do record of 27-1, was awarded a black belt and worked as a model. Just before her 30^th birthday, she began a career in professional boxing whereby she worked under managers such as some guy named Don something…Don Krang? Don Kring? Oh, wait! Don King! That’s it. Sadly, during her prime she was involved in a skiing accident which nearly cost her a leg, and she temporarily retired from boxing. Even with a fairly large bank account behind her, Mia couldn’t stay away from boxing, and -- through surgery -- she was able to preserve both her career in boxing and her two-leggedness. During her second start in boxing, Mia also found the time to appear on the cover of Playboy, making her the second woman fighter in this list of five to work with the Hef. As of April 2007, Mia’s record stands at 43 wins, 9 losses, and 2 draws with 18 KOs. Did I mention she also runs a charity which helps aid Latino schools in the U.S.? Talk about a renaissance woman!