When is an altercation specifically a "catfight" in your opinion? Big emphasis on the word opinion there as I think we all have differing definitions and as what is technically a slang term, it can certainly be open to interpretation.
Even a simple verbal spat between women can sometimes be reported on as a catfight - but for me the personally it comes down to one simple thing - tactics.
We aren't boxing, we aren't kicking and punching with skill and technique - to me two women fighting in that style are simply 'fighting' - a fight no doubt, but a catfight? In my opinion no.
Same with grappling - skilled MMA practitioners going for submissions - while impressive - does not say "catfight" to me - again women fighting with these tactics are skilled and labeling their martial arts bouts as "catfights" is kind of demeaning and dismissive of the hard work and training they've put in to fight with such technique.
To me for a catfight to be a true catfight there needs to be a lack of technical fighting and more raw emotional and feral tactics - hairpulling is a must, but grappling in a catfight is a back-and-forth affair based on strength and determination rather than skill. The strikes are also likewise less technical and involve more slapping than punching - if the women are strictly punching I hesitate to call it a catfight and just based on the intensity alone would refer to such as a fistfight or simply a 'fight'.
The combatants aren't there to simply knock out or make the other submit, there's something inherently feminine in catfight tactics that makes us just go right for the hair or scratching each others faces, shredding shirts and tearing at nylons in an attempt not as much to beat our rival down as humiliate them and damage their feminine image.
Those are my two cents, attached are some examples from some of my matches that I think of when I think "CATFIGHT" - but I'm curious what others have to say!
Really a nice perspective brought out for discussion. There are a variety of female combats on this forum and I am specifically looking for 'CATFIGHT' mostly Indian.
The essence of catfights according to me is the building up of 'tension' between the two females due to some sort of urge to humble other or may be just a desire to put other down due to jealousy.
This tension may not come out in form of physical altercation most of the times as even verbal spat involving indirect taunts escalating to direct name callings either face to face or behind the back gives the sense of the female rivalry emotion that excites. However just a verbal quarrel without anything physical seems like foreplay without sex.
The physical encounter which I would prefer to witness in catfight is any sort of attack by one womer- slap, punch, push, grab, kick by one which is immediately retaliated by the other and this attack is out of the animosity or tension built up and not just a randomly agreed competition or matchup with rules or predefined stakes. And for me the other two factors essential are -
a. The physique of the two women should be similar to ensure that none has an advantage over other or which may lead to sheer bullying by one over other.
Both the women must be able to give and take blows with fierce aggression.
b. Considering such encounters should not be premeditated, the women fighting are untrained and unaware of any techniques and the fight goes by gut instincts. Trained moves require stable mind for execution and hence in such combats the emotion essence seems absent.
