In case you missed the first half of this article, which appeared in our September 2012 issue, our goal in preparing it was to shine a spotlight on the 10 toughest female fighters who’ve visited the Black Belt offices, whether for an interview, a photo shoot or a plain, old-fashioned throwdown.

Note: You can view the first half of this article here!

These ladies compose a category of warrior we’ve dubbed “women who scare us.” Although we didn’t do battle with all of them, one editor grappled with the person who made No. 1 on this list, and he’ll readily attest that these are women who can handily kick male butt.

(“Isn’t it reassuring to learn that the promises of the martial arts—you know, all those claims about being the great equalizer—are legit?” he says about the incident.)

Female Fighter #5: Melissa Soalt

BACKGROUND This renowned self-defense instructor, who goes by the moniker “Dr. Ruthless,” has been interviewed numerous times on network television. A member of the Black Belt Hall of Fame, she stars in the Paladin Press video series Fierce and Female.

QUALIFICATIONS Soalt is one of the few female martial arts instructors who, in the words of several experts, can execute techniques like a man. To top that off, her involvement with the Model Mugging program, in which she got used to unleashing full-power techniques on a male opponent wearing protective armor, taught her not to hold back—a problem that plagues many women who’ve been schooled by society to be nice.

Soalt is on the small side, yet she still manages to amaze the masses. We can only imagine how fierce and female she’d be if she were 5 feet 10 and weighed 140 pounds.

COMMENTS “Melissa is a legitimate combative talent,” says Black Belt columnist Kelly McCann. “She’s explosive, fit and fast. Yeah, she’s diminutive, but how’d you like to get shot with a bullet her size? Although her curriculum may be primarily oriented toward women, her combative concepts and efficient techniques translate directly for use by men, as well. Give her a shot if you haven’t already. Duck if she shoots back.”

Reality-based fighting instructor Lito Angeles agrees: “Out of all the people on this list, she’s the one who understands street self-defense the best. She delves into the pre-fight rituals—all the stuff that leads up to the situation. She uses only full-power blows and never trains to pull her punches. She has very good mechanics. She’s a smaller person, but she hits hard.”

Female Fighter #4: Kayla Harrison

BACKGROUND This judoka is a student of Black Belt Hall of Fame member Jimmy Pedro. In 2008 she won the Junior World Championships. In 2010, at age 20, she scored a gold in the World Championships. As this issue goes to press, she’s in London to represent the United States in the Olympic Games.

QUALIFICATIONS Having endured the pressure of international competition so many times—leading up to the 2010 World Championships, she fought in more than 80 matches against top-notch judoka in Brazil, El Salvador, Poland, Germany, Hungary and Japan—would give her a definite advantage against an attacker.

“And don’t forget the fact that she’s an Olympian,” Angeles says. “Having overcome the number of skilled women she had to in order to get on the Olympic team means her skills are excellent.”

Would her age—she’s only 22—be a pro or con?

“It’s a pro,” Angeles says. “She’s at her physical peak. Her muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints are all at their optimal level. Her reflexes, too.”

COMMENTS “The same strong suits that AnnMaria De Mars would enjoy, Kayla Harrison would have—the throwing skills she gets from judo and the fact that she’s accustomed to physical contact,” Angeles says.

“The fact that she’s an elite competitor means that anybody she might have to deal with on the street would be less skilled. If she were to transition to MMA, she would be even more phenomenal.”

Female Fighter #3: Kathy Long

BACKGROUND She’s a five-time world kickboxing champion and a Black Belt Hall of Fame member. In addition to her pedigree in striking, she’s trained in aikido, kung fu san soo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. In 2009 she won her first MMA bout and has plans to compete more in the sport.

QUALIFICATIONS Her varied martial arts training means she’s skilled at kicking, punching, throwing, falling, joint locks and what might be called dirty fighting.

“Kathy also has written a self-defense book that’s supposed to be pretty good, so she gets it—she understands the pre-fight components of self-defense,” Angeles says.

COMMENTS “Kathy used to spar with guys a lot, which acclimated her to what it’s like to fight a bigger, stronger male opponent,” Angeles says. “It’s a different feel, one that many women never experience.”

Although she’s a striker at heart, her recent conversion to MMA would give her a skill set to fall back on in case punches or kicks didn’t work as planned.

“I don’t think the new MMA knowledge would conflict with her base, which is striking,” Angeles says. “Her predisposition will always be stand-up, which is not to say she can’t get competent on the ground. Whenever a stand-up fighter learns to do takedown defense, reversals and escapes, it means she can stand up and strike with greater impunity.”

Female Fighter #2: Felice Herrig

BACKGROUND This professional fighter was raised on kickboxing, muay Thai and finally MMA. As this issue goes to press, the International Kickboxing Federation lists her as the No. 2 contender in the pro women’s bantamweight division under muay Thai rules, and the Unified Women’s Mixed Martial Arts Rankings has her at No. 10 in the strawweight division. She’s currently signed with Xtreme Fighting Championships.

QUALIFICATIONS Reread the fight facts listed above, then consider: Herrig is 27 years old, a young and hungry striking powerhouse who not only can grapple but also can put it together in the MMA arena.

“For a woman to be successful in the ring now, with the level of competition being so much higher, it means more than it did 20 or 30 years ago,” Angeles says. “Felice would wipe the floor with most of the women who were world champions in the past. She’s so much more well-rounded.”

COMMENTS Angeles believes Herrig’s musculature would be a huge advantage in a fight with a man.

“Of course, skill set is No. 1, but all the other factors—stamina, strength and so on—simply empower that,” he says.

Her status as an active fighter, as opposed to a retired champ, would confer a huge advantage, Angeles says.

“When it comes to the physical skills you need to excel in a combat sport, ring rust definitely matters, and that wouldn’t be an issue in this case.” >>

Female Fighter #1: Ronda Rousey

BACKGROUND A judoka since the age of 10, she’s medaled in international competition numerous times. In 2008 Rousey bagged a bronze in Beijing, becoming the first American woman to win any Olympic medal in judo. For that victory, she was inducted into the Black Belt Hall of Fame. In 2010 she dipped her toe in MMA and continued her winning ways. Her record now stands at 5-0.

QUALIFICATIONS To complement the world-class judo skills she acquired from the likes of Jimmy Pedro, Rousey is being schooled in grappling and MMA by Gokor Chivichyan and Gene LeBell.

“She’s a girl, but she has guy skills,” Chivichyan says. “I think she could fight men at her weight and win with no problem. Her submissions, ground fighting and takedowns are all excellent.”

“Her boxing has recently come around—she busted a pro boxer’s jaw in a fight,” LeBell says. “Ronda has heavy hands. I’d rate her skills as nearly a 10 in everything.”

Also of note is that Rousey is the daughter of Dr. AnnMaria De Mars, the martial artist who occupies the No. 7 spot on this list. Coincidence? I think not!

COMMENTS “Ronda was a guest on The Ultimate Fighter Season 15—Dominick Cruz brought her in to put on a clinic,” Angeles says. “She injured his knee with a throw—that’s why he’s out. She then demonstrated on all the guys on his team, and during the post-throw interviews, they all said she’s a badass. She pinned them down after the throws, and they said she was crushing them. They were all believers. You could tell they underestimated her.”

Starting with a judo base, acquiring experience in the Olympics and then moving into MMA and boxing is a wonderful progression, Angeles adds.

“Some people have criticized her for not having good stand-up, but I think it’s just that she hasn’t had to use it yet because her judo skills are so good—she’s defeated all her opponents by armbar.

“Ronda is the most vicious fighter on this list. She has no problem breaking arms—there’s a lot to be said for any martial artist who can do that intentionally. She’s hard-core.”