<div align="center">(http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6091/6350898588_27a618b137_z.jpg)</div><br/>The Street Fighter circuit never had deep roots in New Orleans.  A city built amidst the romantic backdrop of plantation homes and steam ships, there was never a backdrop for the fighting arts.  Boxing and fencing had their times, but their presence faded as quickly as they came.  Instead the people of New Orleans turned toward witty banter and informal fighting to settle their disputes.  Politics and words were the favored weapon of the Southern gentleman.  That was until the storm, as many people called Hurricane Katrina, rocked the sleepy city.  Riots and a mass exodus threw the territories of the underground world into disarray.  The underbelly of New Orleans, always riff with drugs and illegal vices, was not up for grabs.<br/><br/>Police were the first to take notice as they came back to the city in full force.  National Guard support along with federal funding allowed the police to crack down on the few criminal elements that stayed in the city.  Political maneuvering had the projects torn down and affordable housing acts dispersed the families of the criminal element.  Some feared the spread would bring about a wider array of criminal activity, pushing the underside to the light.  Instead the acts threatened to disrupt the power base.  Police were able to target the isolated areas of violence so that crime families had to find less obvious methods of settling disputes.  Street Fighting was there to provide a functional method for control.  Fighters from each family were put forward to secure territory and settle disputes.  The violence of guns and killing did not stop, but the ring became a more formal method of determining a victor.<br/><br/>Fighting and money mixed into a bloody conflict that drew the attention of other areas.  Fighters from across the United States noticed the amount of money such competitions catered.  Local crime families took notice of how much better the experienced fighters were as opposed to their young family members.  In a short time the fighters were being sponsored by the families.  So in a short time the Street Fighting circuit came to life in the city of New Orleans.  People desired more exotic fighters to watch and crime families needed more powerful fighters to win their conflicts in the ring.  So the stage was set for the intervention of influences new, alien and rich to come into the once sleepy city of New Orleans.