Interview with K-1 Fighter Mena Kimura, Who’s Making Headlines as the “Real Chun-Li”: “My Dream Is to Walk the Runway at ‘TGC’!”

An Unconventional Heroine Has Arrived!

“I was just posting videos of my matches on social media to keep track of how many kicks I landed on my opponents, but they went viral. Until then, I’d never even played *Street Fighter*, and I didn’t even know who Chun-Li was (laughs).”

K-1 fighter Mona Kimura (25), dubbed the “Real Chun-Li” by fans for her cute looks and unique leg technique known as the “Mona Kick,” said this with a shy smile.

Just as she said, Kimura’s fighting style—which has seen her rack up four consecutive wins, including two KOs, since her debut in November 2024—is drawing attention both at home and abroad.Even the famous rapper Snoop Dogg (54) has praised her, and some of the fight videos posted on Kimura’s Instagram have garnered nearly 13 million views. The “Real Chun-Li’s” 20-year martial arts journey began with karate.

“I started karate when I was about four years old. I was strong right from the start—I won my very first tournament, and I don’t remember ever losing since then. From elementary school through junior high, I’d come home and practice until 3:00 a.m. every night… My mom, holding a wooden sword in one hand, would put me through my paces every night.I hardly had any time to sleep, but my mom would say, ‘Just sleep at school then!’—she was super strict (laughs).”

Alongside karate, her talent also blossomed in boxing, which she started in the fourth grade. In junior high school, she won the Tokai Under-Junior Championships in the girls’ 52kg division.

“When I graduated from junior high, the special training sessions that went until 3:00 a.m. came to an end. I decided to focus solely on boxing in high school, so I joined the boxing club at Gifu Technical High School.”

However, perhaps as a backlash to the intense training, her attitude toward practice in high school wasn’t great.

“Somehow, I could win even without practicing. So I used to skip practice. I hated cutting weight, and I hated roadwork. When I was a freshman in high school, I got sick of it all—I even skipped practice two days before a match and hid out at a friend’s house. I sang Kana Nishino songs nonstop at karaoke and reclaimed my lost youth (laughs).”

Even so, despite barely practicing at all, Kimura went on to win the Junior Division (Featherweight) at the All-Japan Women’s Boxing Championships during her sophomore year of high school.

“It just kind of happened!”

After enrolling at Nihon University, she joined the boxing club while working part-time as a trainer at “K-1 Gym Meguro.” It was there that she decided to pursue a career as a professional fighter. As mentioned earlier, using her “Mona Kick” as her signature move, she has dominated her rivals with a perfect 4-0 record since her debut in ’24.

The “Mona Kick” is a unique kicking technique where she adopts a half-guard stance and whips her right leg like a whip, using her left leg as a pivot. It’s just like the “Hundred-Split Kick” used by Chun-Li, a character from the famous fighting game *Street Fighter*.

“Actually, I didn’t use the ‘Mona Kick’ in my debut match. It was a move that just happened to come about during my second match last January. At that time, I’d come down with the flu right before the match and stepped into the ring in the worst possible condition.

I didn’t have the stamina to just exchange punches, and I didn’t want to infect my opponent, so I wanted to keep my distance. I kicked her as if to shoo her away, thinking, ‘Go over there!’ People sometimes ask me, ‘What kind of training did you do to master that kick?’ but I didn’t do any (laughs). It just happened by chance!”

He says he can’t even control his signature side kick himself.

“It’s almost automatic—or like there’s a sensor—my leg just moves on its own. It’s the same with karate; once you reach a certain level, you can predict what’s coming next based on your opponent’s muscle movements. But since I kick unconsciously, there’s no ‘warning sign,’ so they can’t dodge it.”

Her sights are set on the world. Like any martial artist, does Kimura hope to fight at Madison Square Garden in New York?

“I don’t really care where the match is held. The belt isn’t something I’m aiming for—it’s something you naturally win as you keep fighting. If I had to name a sacred venue I’ve always dreamed of, it would be the runway at the ‘Tokyo Girls Collection.’ I’d love to walk like Nicole Fujita.

My motto is ‘Strong and Cute.’ As long as I continue in combat sports, I know I’ll have to make some sacrifices, but I don’t want to give up being cute. Just like fighting with eyelash extensions or hair extensions, I want to prove that I can compete without giving up on being cute. My goal for the future is to create gloves that I can wear even with my nails done!”

An unconventional new heroine has emerged.

From the July 10, 2026 issue of *FRIDAY*