A history of pillow fighting up to modern professional level.
"Pillow fighting isn’t just for slumber parties anymore."
— Guinness World Records
I'd never think that there would be such a thing as professional pillow fighting. Innocent that I am, I always considered a pillow fight to be one of two things. The first thing I thought of, and I'd guess yours too, was the stereotypical girls' sleepover thing, teen girls in pajamas and freed feathers flying. The second (and you may not have gone here) is the kind of thing that the porn industry (allegedly) tells us is the precursor to a lesbian orgy in a sorority scene.¹
At its most basic, pillow fights have probably been happening as long as there have been pillows, or at least pillows soft enough to fight with. The ancient Chinese and Egyptians as I recall used pillows of wood, stone or similar hard material, so let's say it began with the Romans, who did at least add stuffed fabric to their beds. Now I'm imagining Antony and Cleopatra having at it with some sort of stuffed thing before collapsing into a naughty, sweaty heap.
When I was in boarding school, pillow fights were a way of blowing off steam, though boys being boys, they could get quite brutal and frequently escalated into Real Fights™. Some minor injuries were inevitable as the pillows and pillow cases were made of military grade material. If we were ever caught, as we occasionally were, the consequences were the same as for fighting. Line up outside the Headmaster's study the next day after teatime for four strokes of the cane.
There have been many organised pillow fights, from several films from the late nineteenth century dedicated to the form. In more recent years we've seen their inclusion in many films, notably National Lampoon's Animal House and The Room (the Tommy Wiseau film, rather than the Harold Pinter play). Flash mobs have employed them as amusing (occasionally disruptive) events and there is even a Professional Pillow Fight League. Yes, you read that right.
The Professionals
Now we move to the heart of the matter. Professional pillow fighting is a thing. The WWE occasionally paid female wrestlers to fight with pillows, though of course they were dressed in lingerie or pajamas, and according to Wikipedia, "little or no wrestling took place" but presumably that wasn't the point. In any case, feathers flew. 2004 saw the first Pillow Fight League, beginning in a goth club in Toronto. It grew out of a pair of live events at the club, with a burlesque troupe. It seems to be a sport dominated by women, and despite pillows being the weapon of choice there are still injuries, mostly loosened teeth and bloody noses. From that humble start grew a code of rules, lots of public attention and soon there was a Pillow Fight Championship, televised and even pay-to-view.
For my part I'm looking forward to the Ultimate Mixed Martial Arts Pillow Fight League, or inclusion in the Olympics.
¹ Actually, this isn't my forte, but I imagine there's something like this out there.
Pillow Fighting Championships *currently experiencing web security issues
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