Kick Boxing

Kickboxing must simply be boxing with kicks added, right? Well, it isn’t really quite that simple. Kickboxing is really just a generic term used to describe numerous forms of martial arts that involve both kicking and punching. There is the most common American sport referred to as kickboxing where two men fight it out in a ring using their fists and feet, but there’s also Muay Thai, Japanese kickboxing, Adaithada and Savate, just to name a few variations. To keep things simple, we’ll focus solely on American kickboxing for this blog.

In American kickboxing, fighters are allowed to hit each other with their fists and feet, above the hip. In other forms of kickboxing around the world, fighters are allowed to use their elbows, knees, and even head-butt anywhere on the body except (usually) the groin.

Fights are anywhere from three to 12 rounds, lasting between two and three minutes each. The winner is determined by knockout, technical knockout, or if the fight goes the distance, by judges’ decision based on scoring from each round.

There are far more fighting techniques involved in kickboxing than in standard boxing because a fighter can use his feet as well as his hands. The same basic punches that apply in boxing – such as the jab, the cross, the hook and the uppercut – all apply in kickboxing. In some international forms of kickboxing, fighters are allowed to strike with the back of their hand but this is not allowed in American kickboxing.

The kicking techniques in kickboxing are numerous and usually begin with basic kicks such as front kicks, side kicks, semi-circular kicks and more powerful roundhouse kicks. Speed plays as big a part as power in kickboxing, and results in the addition of faster kicks such as hook kicks, crescent kicks and back kicks. All of these forms also have spinning varieties that can come from other angles and generate more power.