'Don't Get Caught Sleeping' as Pillow Fighting Becoming Sport
2021-12-04
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1Pillow fighting is moving out of the bedroom and into the boxing ring.
2The Pillow Fight Championship, or PFC, plans to hold its first live, pay-to-watch event in Florida on January 29.
3Steve Williams had the idea of turning a children's game into a professional fighting sport.
4The head of PFC said professional pillow fighting will have the excitement of hand-to-hand fighting without the violence of mixed martial arts, or MMA, and boxing.
5He said it is not a joke.
6"It's not something where you sit there and laugh and feathers are flying," Williams told Reuters.
7"It's serious. It's hardcore swinging with specialized pillows."
8The three-round fights will be available to view on sports streaming station FITE.
9The male and female athletes in January's event come mostly from MMA and boxing.
10But Williams said the athletes are not going to get injured.
11"The fighters don't like to get hurt, and there's a lot of people who don't want to see the blood.
12They want to see good competition, they just don't want to see the violence."
13Since many people grew up pillow fighting with friends or relatives,
14Williams hopes the new sport will be relatable and can grow a large audience, including children.
15"You can call it an alternative sport, but we think it's going to have mainstream appeal," he said.
16"Think about how they mixed country music with rap music and brought these diverse audiences together.
17That's what we're doing, and we hope it brings in a different kind of viewer."
18I'm Dan Novak.
1Pillow fighting is moving out of the bedroom and into the boxing ring. The Pillow Fight Championship, or PFC, plans to hold its first live, pay-to-watch event in Florida on January 29. 2Steve Williams had the idea of turning a children's game into a professional fighting sport. The head of PFC said professional pillow fighting will have the excitement of hand-to-hand fighting without the violence of mixed martial arts, or MMA, and boxing. He said it is not a joke. 3"It's not something where you sit there and laugh and feathers are flying," Williams told Reuters. "It's serious. It's hardcore swinging with specialized pillows." 4The three-round fights will be available to view on sports streaming station FITE. 5The male and female athletes in January's event come mostly from MMA and boxing. But Williams said the athletes are not going to get injured. 6"The fighters don't like to get hurt, and there's a lot of people who don't want to see the blood. They want to see good competition, they just don't want to see the violence." 7Since many people grew up pillow fighting with friends or relatives, Williams hopes the new sport will be relatable and can grow a large audience, including children. 8"You can call it an alternative sport, but we think it's going to have mainstream appeal," he said. 9"Think about how they mixed country music with rap music and brought these diverse audiences together. That's what we're doing, and we hope it brings in a different kind of viewer." 10I'm Dan Novak. 11Reuters reported this story. Dan Novak adapted it for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. 12_______________________________________ 13Words in This Story 14pillow - n. a bag filled with soft material that is used as a cushion usually for the head of a person who is lying down 15ring - n. an area that is used for shows and contests and is usually surrounded by ropes or a fence 16feather - n. any one of the light growths that make up the outer covering of the body of a bird 17hardcore - adj. very active and enthusiastic 18alternative - adj. not usual or traditional 19mainstream - adj. the thoughts, beliefs, and choices that are accepted by the largest number of people 20diverse - adj. made up of people or things that are different from each other