♪ girl you know >> tonight on ""nightline."" frozen, sur voviving in the colt city in america. here, way below zero temperatures are a way of daily life. but instead of hunkering down, these people are owning it. how long is too young? tiger woods started when he was 2. anna kournikova was only 5. so is 7 years old too young to be fighting in a ring? meet the parents who say it's a good thing to be young and aggressiv aggressive. >> aren't you worried about him getting hurt? >> and our world as you've never seen it before. a dragon fly in slow mo, a water droplet, even lightning. tonight, we'll show you the

mysteries of the unseen world.

good evening. as a swirling 1,000-mile-long snowstorm is clobbering much of america, grounding flights, shutting down schools and generally making people miserable, we thought it might be useful to visit the coldest town in this country where they believe there's no such thing as bad weather, only bad year. sub zero is a way of life, and these people fully embrace it. abc's juju chang got a survival lesson. >> reporter: in the coldest city in the continental u.s., it's an average day. the wind chill, negative 38. >> a little chilly. >> but terry mason is not intimidated. >> here we go. >> reporter: in fact, the young mother of four is kbeti ingetti

to do something most of us wouldn't ever dare, run about six miles in what's called the real winter games. the test of cold weather endurance in brutal conditions. >> i did see frosty eyelashes, but it appears to be a-okay. i've got my gloves, my hat and my double socks. that's what you really, really need. >> reporter: "nightline" travelled to international falls, minnesota, where minnesota is a way of life. the jet to ssecret to surviving temperatures? no cowering indoors. these individuals do the opposite. they embrace it. >> nice and warm. >> right now, it's nine below zero. but it's not just a race. this canadian border town celebrates the cold with this annual event for the young and the young at heart. the bold, and the brave. there's something for everyone in this up to of 6,000. >> keep up the good work, girls. >> reporter: and it's a lifestyle lesson for the rest of

us, shivering through one of the coldest winters on record. it all starts with an early morning wake-up call. >> good morning. time to get up. >> reporter: terry is your local guide, a first grade teacher and mother of four. >> mornings in the winter are dark. nobody ever wants to get up because they swear you're waking them up in the middle of the night. >> reporter: to ward off cabin fever, the living room also doubles as the family gym. >> the reason they're here is because it's so dark, so long. going into the basement is even more depressing. >> reporter: with temperatures as low as negative 50, getting reed dito venture out involves a great deal of strategy. >> it's snow pants and jackets and boots and you have to find mittens and hats. >> reporter: and cold weather gear isn't cheap. >> the snow boots are on sale at $50 a piece. so that's $200, and then snow suits will run you about another $50. >> reporter: the family moved here from texas 13 years ago. >> houses in international falls are not as big because you just can't heat them.

>> reporter: to keep her car battery from dying in the cold, terry's husband plugs it into a power outlet. >> you can plug it when it gets really below zero so the battery doesn't die on you. always a personal goal to get out there before the car shuts off. >> reporter: the 6,000 or so residents of international falls plan their week around the five-day forecast. >> when is going to be your long run day, when is going to be your inside day. all depending on the weather and the wind. >> icebox day. 34 years of icebox days right here in international falls. it's 8:37. >> reporter: it's the talk of the town. >> yes, it is a little bit cold, but that's what it's all about. so only the bold run the cold. no. the cold and the bold. >> reporter: k 104 talking up a the festivities. like frozen turkey bowling. >> many people are under the misconception that you use live turkeys. no. what we do is we use frozen turkeys. >> reporter: competitors gather

from all over minnesota and beyond. >> it's a little chill. little chilly. >> reporter: with fresh snow, the running conditions are less than ideal. how do your lungs not burn while you're doing this? >> this cute little thing. >> yeah. >> here she comes, here she comes. >> reporter: terry gets some much needed moral support. >> doing okay? doing good? how you feeling? good? >> yeah. >> halfway there. >> reporter: cheering the runners on involves braving the cold. >> hey, cassidy, good job. >> if you're real outdoorsy. >> where i'm from, we complain when it drops below 40. >> oh, yeah? >> we start the tomatoes when it's still 40. >> reporter: terry crosses the finish line, placing first among the local women. >> i did it! whew! hey!

>> congratulations, mom. >> thank you. >> how do you feel? >> awesome. my only special gear is i screw my shoes. >> reporter: but she made a rookroo rookie mistake. >> my phone broke. >> how? >> it was dead. it was in my pocket and it gets too cold. >> the battery died. >> reporter: i was trying to warm it up. no music for the last mile. >> reporter: her biggest mistake once led to frostbite. >> don't let your feet get wet. they have to stay dry. >> several months later and she's still feeling the pain. >> it's just like a throbbing constant -- and it just hurts. you don't even want to take your shoe off. >> reporter: frostbite is a real danger for people up here. >> you can lose limbs if it's severe enough. >> reporter: which is why we're all bundled up, except for this guy. don't your arms sting? >> not really. >> reporter: you don't feel the cold? >> not really. i just ignore it. >> reporter: and now event we've

all been waiting for, frozen turkey bowling. next up, the toilet seat toss. what's the technique? >> i don't know. seems like when you get it up and do it this way instead of sideways. >> all right, here you go. she's awesome! look at her face. nice! >> reporter: downtown, just outside the viking bar it's team canada versus team usa. >> this is an international competition. i didn't realize. >> we li on border town. go canada, go! >> reporter: it's event called smooshing. does this help aerodynamically. >> when you look fabulous, you perform fabulous. >> team duluth traveled much farther to get here than team canada. which is just minutes away. >> on your marks, get set, go. this is for the big trophy.

>> reporter: in the end, team usa takes home the gold. but win or lose, these winter warriors show us, instead of cursing the cold, you just have to revel in it. for "nightline," i'm juju chang in international falls, minnesota. >> okay, check this out. tomorrow in international falls, the forecast call call kauls fo temperature to dip to minus 22. coming up next here on "nightline," inside a shocking world. the parents who think this is the right way to toughen up their kid. and later on the show, the high tech cameras making nature's wonders visible. check out this dragon fly. when jake and i first set out on our own, we ate anything. but in time you realize the better you eat, the better you feel.

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for years in america, we've debated how long is too young to push kids into serious athletics. but the story we're going to bring you tonight takes that debate to an entirely new level. these are parents who believe that their kid's character can be forged by doing battle in the ring at age 7. >> reporter: these 7 to 9-year-oldin 9-year-olds are getting ready for their big night. it's 7:00 in thailand. it's a school night, and hundreds have come here to watch these children beat the living daylights out of each other. no headgear, mouth guards or any other form of protection.

this is the thai version of "friday night lights" but far more dangerous, and in action nearly every night of the week. the kids, including girls have been captured on video including some unspeakably disturbing moments. a child throwing up in the ring, crying, wanting to quit and being sent back in. watch this little girl's eyes. doctors tell us she is having a seizure from blows she suffered. to find out what's going on here, "nightline" travelled from the streets of bangkok out to the thai country side. in a village, we find a tiny stone faced 7-year-old named andy, preparing iffer he for hi fight. we ask what most people wonder right now. i'm not scared, i want to teach him to be tough. andy says he likes to fight. because i get money, he says.

we're a little nervous for andy as he's paraded into the ring. his fight doesn't last long. the refs call it off early, fearing that he's outmatchood. this man is the fight organizer. does anyone ever get hurt? the fight isn't that dangerous because the gloves help protect them and because they're still small. here's where it even gets stranger. this is not some secret back room sport, but virtually a national pastime, mainly among the poor. >> you can find a fight any night of the week in the provinces. >> reporter: todd spent years inside thailand's boxing soldier for his film "buffalo girls." the movie follows the lives of two young girls whose families rely on them to win in the ring for money. is mainly in the form of the widespread gambles that goes along with these child fights. >> the betting is what drives the whole thing.

it's the love of the sport, but also the betting. the trainer, the promoters, the kids families all bet on the fights and they all make pretty good money doing that. >> reporter: this 9-year-old is typical of many of the fighters wi we met. school by day, then crammed into a truck for the bumpy ride home where there's a makeshift boxing ring built along a dock by a river. she has 15 brothers and sisters and they all fight. how many fights have you had and how many have you won or lost? 11 fights and i won all of them, she says. where i live, people think it's not safe for a little kids like you to fight. don't worry, this 13-year-old says. we are so well prepared, we don't get hurt. the training is endless. jogging every day, exercising and drilling repeatedly. even the smallest are expected to join in.

not surprisingly by this point, the father of, a former fighter himself, tells us he has no safety concerns at all. their proud mother show office the family's overflowing stash of trophies and prizes. there are some mothers who will watch this and who will say it's your job to protect them. having a 7-year-old in the ring, no protection is dangerous. it's a sport, and there are bigger problems, she says, adding that it keeps the kids happy, focused and away from drugs. in thailand where this form of boxing known as muay thai is fully engrained in the culture, researchers estimate 100,000 kids under 16 are actively fighting. so these kids are already showing evidence of memory daniel. >> yes. daniel to the brain. >> reporter: this doctor may be tackling the biggest fight. she's part of a team in bangkok

doing the first ever research into what all this fighting is doing to the children by conducting brain scans and other tests on 100 child boxers. she says early tests are far worse than she imagined when she began the project. their brains look like people who have been in automobile accidents in. >> yes. >> reporter: the data is revealing. boxers have much better hand-eye coordination than other kids, but they also have serious memory issues that will grow worse. one of the kids being test eed this 10-year-old. like others we met, she, too, is part of a fighting family. her father set up this makeshift boxing ring next to the police station where he works. the family also, like the others, is poor. she shares a tiny apartment with her brothers and sisters and there's great hopes that her fighting skills will be her ticket out. from what we saw she's shy,

focused and unbelievably fierce in the ring. she is fierce in there and throws some really hard punches. she must also get hit pretty hard. do you ever worry about her? >> i was very scared, she says. but after seeing her in practice and the fact that she learned how to protect herself, i feel better. the family believes fighting keeps the kids away from other dangers. and that is the trouble with this troubling sport that is engrained in a culture that provides few alternatives. some of these kids would be working in sweat shops or worse, put to work in bangkok's infamous red light district, if they weren't in the ring. >> it's something i struggled with quite a bit during the shooting, and especially during the editing process. i went there with a very western centric idea. it took me a lot of time to realize that this is a way of life. these kids are putting their brothers and sisters through school, buys uniforms, buying pens, pencils.

one of the kids in the film built a house for their parents. >> reporter: and so disturbing as the early research is, it may not make a difference in a culture not yet ready to hear it and unprepared to offer a better way out. for "nightline" in bangkok, thailand. >> different kind of adventure. a snakebite, a caterpillar's mouth, the eye of a fruit fly. but sometimes, i still struggled to get going, even get through the day. so i was honest with my doctor. i told him i'd been feeling stuck for a long time. he said that for some people, an antidepressant alone only helps so much and suggested we add abilify (aripiprazole). he said that by taking both, some people had symptom improvement as early as 1 to 2 weeks. i wish i'd talked to my doctor sooner. [ female announcer ] abilify is not for everyone. call your doctor if your depression worsens or you have unusual changes in behavior, or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these

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dayquil severe. nyquil severe. thanks dude. [ female announcer ] walgreens. get in. get out. feel better. select dayquil severe and nyquil severe. $11.99 at walgreens. every once in a while it's useful to be reminded how much more fascinating our would world is beyond surface appearances. and tonight, we have some images that do this work in spectacular fashion. all around us, even right in front of us, there is so much that we cannot see. a new national geographigeogra film uses technology to make visible the previously invisible. >> we're showing things that are either too slow, too fast, too

small or invisible for the eye to see. hopefully that takes us on a journey of wonder and discovery. >> reporter: using high speed cameras that capture images thousands of times faster than our own vision, we can finally see the unseen. a drop of water landing and bouncing. lightning shooting up from the ground, not down as it appears to our eyes. and the greatest flyer in nature, the dragon fly, a kr creature capable of flying backwards and forwards and even upside down. >> its four wings can actually individually pivot. we can study insects and learn from the trial and error and research that nature has done for 100 million years how to create maybe better fly mag sheens. >> reporter: by using time lapse imagery, we can see things that

move too slowly for us to appreciate. plants growing, animals decomposing. the film also reveals inskrcrede creatures way too small to be seen by the naked eye. an electron microscope can zoom in so far so animal features become unrecognizable and to many of us, unbelievable. the skin of a shark, a caterpillar's mouth. the eye of a fruit fly. an egg shell. a flea. >> the fact that in the ordinary is the extraordinary. and that we need to open our eyes and to be able to appreciate all of life that surrounds you. >> reporter: what's the point of all of this? to show us that our world is even more interesting than we knew. and to put our own lives in perspective. >> to create that sense of wonder, to take the blinders off and realize that we live in this one narrow perspective, and i think that man kind can, you know, sometimes become arrogant.

that's why we sometimes destroy our environment. because we don't realize we're connected to all of it. >> we are connected to all of it. and there's so much more to it than meets the eye. and national geographic's new 3d adventure just premiered at the american museum of natural history and is now open in imax theatres and digital cinemas across america. thank you for watching "nightline" tonight. tune into gma first thing in the morning for the latest on the snowstorm. and as always, we're online at abc news.com. good night.