Basic Trope: A petite female defeats a much larger opponent in combat. Often with She-Fu.
- Straight: Alice, a five foot, wiry woman kicks the ass of Bob, who's taller and more muscular than her.
- Exaggerated: Alice defeats Bob; Alice is a skinny dwarf and Bob is a big fat giant.
- Downplayed: Alice is smaller than Bob, but not to the point where their sizes are disproportionate as they fight.
- Justified:
- Alice is using magic, technology, or something to give her an edge against Bob.
- Alice is not human; her species doesn't have the same weaknesses a human woman of her size would have.
- Alice is trained in martial arts that prepare her for battles against bigger opponents like Bob.
- Bob is such a shit fighter that Alice is able to defeat him via her superior skills.
- Bob is in a weakened state (due to a hangover, crippling wound, the flu, depowerment, etc.) so it's easier to beat him, even by someone around Alice's size.
- Alice is an extremely dirty fighter; she starts by punching Bob in the crotch, breaks his ankle(s) while he's still reacting to the first hit, and once Bob has effectively been incapacitated, she grabs a nearby pipe and breaks some bones just to make sure he won't be back for at least a few weeks.
- Inverted: Bob, a five foot, wiry boy/male dwarf kicks the ass of Alice, a Statuesque Stunner and Amazonian Beauty, using acrobatic moves.
- Subverted: Alice starts to fight Bob, only for him to take her down quickly because he's bigger than her.
- Double Subverted: Alice then gets up and knocks out Bob with a kick to the head.
- Parodied: All the females in the nation of Troperia kick tons of ass from the day they are born. As they grow up into adults, they are de-powered.
- Zig-Zagged: Alice can fight enemies bigger than herself, but she doesn't always win.
- Averted:
- The fight is interrupted before it even starts.
- Alice doesn't fight Bob.
- Enforced: The executives demand the writers to include a scene where Alice kicks Bob's ass due to two reasons: to satisfy a request given by the actress who plays as Alice, and to satisfy the viewers with girl power and fanservice.
- Lampshaded: "Wow, I betted on the wrong fighter. Never thought the small chick would win."
- Invoked: Alice and Bob are manipulated into fighting each other by a mob yelling "FIGHT!" over and over, because the mob has a thing for "small woman vs big guy" fights.
- Exploited: A passer-by records Alice and Bob's fight because it looks cool.
- Defied: Alice sees Bob and hightails it. She's not stupid enough to see if she can beat him.
- Discussed: "Next up, we have Alice VS Bob. Who do you think is gonna win?" "Alice, for sure. She's not to be underestimated despite being five foot tall."
- Conversed: "Shows these days really like scenes where a small gal kicks a big burly guy's ass with dance moves, huh?" "Well, the viewers like them, that's for sure."
- Implied: Alice prepares to fight Bob; the scene cuts to a bruised and battered Bob stumbling away while Alice appears no worse for wear.
- Deconstructed: In a setting where Alice is a normal person with no Charles Atlas Superpower (e.g. Real Life), Alice's hits don't pack as much of a punch due to lack of mass and power. Consequently, Alice gets curb-stomped against a larger opponent, like a bear.
- Reconstructed: Alice's fighting style is nonetheless effective against regular humans, via exploiting their weak spots (e.g. nose, groin, etc.).
- Played for Drama:
- Bob, a large Serial Rapist, corners the petite Alice on an alleyway, thinking she's easy prey. Alice's adrenaline goes into overdrive and she manages to incapacitate Bob without realizing.
- Alice's skill and innocent looks allow her to rob and/or murder any Gentle Giant she comes across.
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