Two girls, Stam and Pet, are growing up as Muay Thai kickboxing professionals to support their families. The documentary takes place when they are both 8 years old.

Those interested in the sport and the Taiwanese culture.

The dose of reality and strong focus on the girls, as opposed to the view of the girls through grown ups eyes.

Too short and limited to only 2 girls. There are over 30,000 girls leading this life, I wanted to hear more stories.
This just came out in 2012 but a follow up would be nice.

*Spoiler alert*

Find out what happened next. Stam's family got to build a new house with her Championship winnings, but Pet was still looking for matches and fighting/begging in the red light district when the film ended.

Sad, angry, resigned, excited (about my/my future kids interest in the sport).

Honestly wasn't sure what to think at first. My worst fears were confirmed when the ref mentioned a ton of kids breaking limbs in fights. But I'm with the director, it sucks they can't just fight because they enjoy the sport, sucks they 'have' to do it to support their families, but it sucks most of all that there's such a financial imbalance in the world that makes this sort of thing necessary.

Stam is a ball of sunshine; she is ALWAYS laughing and smiling, it's infectious through the camera. She is so cute and you can tell she's her fathers spirit. Even though she's the smallest, she has the most fire.

Stams parents - Dad used to be a professional MT Kickboxer what had to stop around 22 yrs of age; Mom seems well enough, definitely a strong woman, but I question their decision to have so many kids if their welfare depends on how well their 8 yr old beats up other kids....

Pet also seems well adjusted, she smiles/laughs but she's also shown crying a good deal. It seems the pressure she has on her to support her family really breaks her down when she loses or doesn't do well. I was happy to know that the boxing has actually helped strengthen her heart defect, but I also worry the same sport could worsen it should she get hit enough in the right spot.

Pets parents seem sweet, but they are also 'numb' to the fact that a majority of their financial well being lays on the shoulders of their child.

It never hurts to have a dose of reality to help put 1st world problems into perspective.
If you consider yourself a Martial Arts enthusiast (of any discipline) this is a must see.

It's not for everyone. If you don't understand contact sports or the necessity for kids, babies really, to work at feeding their families, you won't like/understand this movie one bit.

Interested in buying this? Support Writing.Com by making your purchase of Buffalo Girls   from Amazon.Com!

Created Jan 13, 2014 at 10:43pm • Submit your own review...