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5-year-old Josh Vinson Jr. crowned #1 Josh for a 2nd time annual Josh Fight

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

Have you ever heard of a Josh Fight? Well, last weekend, dozens of people named Josh gathered in a park in Lincoln, Neb., to compete in Josh Fight 2022. Now, you may be asking, what exactly is a Josh Fight?

JOSH SRERY: Anyone with the name Josh with a pool noodle can come in and fight.

SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:

That Josh is Josh Srery. He decided to join this year's competition after seeing last year's battle go viral. The Josh Fight rules are simple. Anyone named Josh grabs a pool noodle and has an all-out brawl. If someone hits you with a noodle, you're out. The last Josh standing is crowned the No. 1 Josh.

CHANG: Now, most of the Joshes had their eye on one competitor - last year's returning champion, 5-year-old Josh Vinson Jr., aka Little Josh. Srery says he was anxious to face off against Little Josh.

SRERY: I was somewhat nervous because I kind of knew of his potential, especially having that confidence that he won last year.

CHANG: But Little Josh mostly kept his cool before the match.

JOSH VINSON JR: I was a little nervous, but not that nervous.

PFEIFFER: And he had his family to help him prepare.

JOSH: I've been training with my brother.

PFEIFFER: As the start time neared, a crowd formed around the Joshes, and they assumed their battle stances.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Shouting) Three, two, one...

PFEIFFER: When the fight began, Little Josh sprung into action - bolting around the arena, weaving between his competitors, dodging noodles from all directions.

CHANG: (Laughter).

PFEIFFER: Little Josh's father, Josh Vinson Sr., said his agility was just insurmountable.

JOSH VINSON SR: It also helps that he's, like, less than three feet...

CHANG: (Laughter).

VINSON: ...So he can run through people's legs and, you know, he can't get hit as well because he's just, like, this little, fast, Speedy Gonzales guy running around with a big red pool noodle.

CHANG: As the battle raged on, the arena thinned as Little Josh took down everyone in his path until there were only two.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Come this way. Come this way. We're going to have a final duel between Captain Josh Sparrow and Little Josh.

PFEIFFER: The battle was tense, like two Jedi facing off for the fate of the galaxy. But in the end...

VINSON: He went out there and crushed the competition, just like we knew he would. His skills are undeniable.

PFEIFFER: And not only did little Josh Vinson Jr. retain his title as the No. 1 Josh in the world. The event had raised more than $20,000 in donations for Children's Hospital and Medical Center in Omaha, Neb.

(SOUNDBITE OF KAYTRANADA'S "TRACK UNO") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Michael Levitt
Michael Levitt is a news assistant for All Things Considered who is based in Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Political Science. Before coming to NPR, Levitt worked in the solar energy industry and for the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, D.C. He has also travelled extensively in the Middle East and speaks Arabic.
Kathryn Fox