Kickboxing is a generic term for a sporting martial art that, while similar to boxing, uses the feet as well as the hands for striking. Kickboxing can be practiced for general fitness, or as a full-contact combat sport. The boxers are bare chested, bare foot and wear a boxershort.
Forms of kickboxing that have been labelled under this term [1] include:
Adithada (Indian kickboxing) — The earliest form of kickboxing, and a possible predecessor of Muay Thai [2]
Pradal Serey (Khmer kickboxing) — A possible predecessor of Muay Thai
Muay Thai (Thai boxing/kickboxing) — Strong emphasis on knee and elbow strikes
Savate (French kickboxing) — Allows the use of shoes
San Shou/ Sanda (Chinese Kickboxing) — Takedowns and throws are legal
Lethwei (Burmese Kickboxing) — Any part of the body may be used to strike and be struck
Japanese kickboxing — Similar to Muay Thai, but different point system is taken
Full Contact Karate (American Kickboxing) — Most of the time padding and in some cases body armour is used
Shoot boxing — A Japanese form of kickboxing which allows throwing and submission while standing similar to San Shou
There are many additional derivatives of these forms, as well as combined styles which have been used in specific competitions (e.g. K-1). The rules of 'kickboxing' also vary between these different styles.
The term kickboxing is disputed and has come to become more associated with the Japanese and American variants. It must be noted that many of the above styles do not consider themselves to be 'kickboxing' as such, although the public uses the term generically to refer to all these martial arts. The term itself was created by the Japanese boxing promoter Osamu Noguchi for a variant of Muay Thai and Karate that he created in the 1950s; this term was later used by the American variant. When used by the practitioners of these two styles, it tends to refer to them specifically rather than the martial arts they were derived from.
History
Kickboxing, as a derivative of Boxing, Karate,Taekwondo as well as other styles, was created to compete effectively against these martial arts. The initial development of the styles (as well as the name) was in Japan. However there were also similar influences taking hold in the United States in 1974 (Wako), and martial artists from many disciplines toured both areas allowing the development of a common kickboxing standard.
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Initial Japanese development
Kickboxing (as a specific martial art) has its roots in Muay Thai. It was developed as a competitive sport to oppose Muay Thai by Japanese boxing promotor Osamu Noguchi. He wanted to introduce Japan the Muay Thai style of fighting that he had seen in Thailand. The 3 Muay Thai fighters were taken to Japan in 1966, and fought against 3 karate fighters from Oyama dojo (Kyokushin later). Japan won by 2-1 then. Noguchi and Kenji Kurosaki (Kyokushin karate instructor) studied Muay thai and developed a combined martial art which Noguchi named kick boxing. However, throwing and butting were allowed in the beginning to distinguish from Muay Thai style. This was repealed later. The Kickboxing Association was founded in Japan soon after this. Kickboxing boomed and became popular in Japan as it began to be broadcasted on TV. Tadashi Sawamura was an especially popular early kickboxer. However, the boom was suddenly finished and became unpopular after Sawamura was retired. Kickboxing had not been on TV until K-1 was founded in 1993.
In 1993, as Kazuyoshi Ishii (founder of Seidokan karate) produced K-1 under special kickboxing rules (No elbow and neck wrestling) in 1993, kickboxing became famous again.
The sport has spread through North America, Europe, and Australia.
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Spreading to Europe, Australia, and North America
Jan Plas, the Dutch kickboxer founded Mejiro jym with some Muay Thai pioneers in Netherlands, 1978 after he learned kickboxing from Kenji Kurosaki in Japan. In addition, he also founded NKBB (The Dutch Kickboxing Association) which is the first kickboxing organization in Netherlands in 1978. The sport took off in the U.S. with the popularity and success of Bill "Superfoot" Wallace" in the 1970s.
Rules
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Japanese style kickboxing
This is almost same as Muay Thai but there are differences between them.
Similarities
time: three minutes × five rounds
allowed to attack with elbow
allowed to attack with knee
allowed to kick the lower half of the body except crotch
allowed to do neck-wrestling (folding opponent's head with arms and elbows to attach to mid-body with knees)
head butts and throws were banned in 1966 for boxer safety
Differences
No ram muay before match
No Thai music at the match
Interval takes one minute only
Point system:
In muay thai, kicking to mid-body and head are judged highly. Moreover, kicking is still judged highly even if kicking was blocked. And punching is judged low. But they aren't in kickboxing.
American and Australian style kickboxing
These are rules used in American and Australian Full Contact Karate. Opponents are allowed to hit each other with fists and feet, striking above the hip. Using elbows or knees is forbidden and the use of the shins is seldom allowed. This is in contrast to Muay Thai where the use of elbows and knees are allowed; in fact some Muay Thai practitioners consider kickboxing a "watered down" version of Muay Thai. Fighters and promoters can agree to various rules including kicks only above the waist, kicks anywhere, no knee strikes, knees only to the body, and so on.
Bouts are usually 3 to 12 rounds (lasting 2 - 3 minutes each) for amateur and professional contests with a 1-minute rest in between rounds. The round durations and the number of rounds can vary depending on the stipulations agreed to before hand by each fighter or manager. A winner is declared during the bout if there is a submission (fighter quits or fighter's corner throws in the towel), knockout (KO), or referee stoppage (Technical Knock Out, or TKO). If all of the rounds expire with no knockout then the fight is scored by a team of 3 judges. The judges determine a winner based on their scoring of each round. A split decision indicates a disagreement between the judges, while a unanimous decision indicates that all judges saw the fight the same way and all have declared the same winner.
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European style kickboxing
Originally, American style kickboxing was formed with Muay thai and Japanese kickboxing.
time: 3 minutes × 5 rounds
not allowed to attack to with elbow
allowed to attack with knee
allowed to kick the lowerhalf of the body except crotch
allowed to do neck-wrestling but frequncy is limited.
headbutts and throws are not allowed
Muay Thai (IPA: [/muai32 tʰai32/]; Thai: มวยไทย) ("Thai Boxing") is the Thai name for a form of martial art practiced in several southeast Asian countries including Cambodia (where it is Pradal Serey), Myanmar, Vietnam (where it is known as Vo Tu Do), and Malaysia (where it is known as tomoi). The different types of fighting in mainland South East Asia is analogous to the different types of Kung Fu in China and Silat in the South East Asian islands or Malay World. It is the national sport of Thailand, and is also known as Thai Boxing or Art of the Eight Limbs.
Traditional Muay Thai has a long history in Thailand as a martial art used by the military. The military style of Muay Thai is called Lerdrit, while today's "Sport Muay Thai" slightly varies from the original art and uses kicks and punches in a ring and with gloves similar to those used in western boxing. Muay Thai is referred to as "The Science of Eight Limbs", as the hands, shins, elbows, and knees are all used extensively in this art. A master practitioner of Muay Thai thus has the ability to execute strikes using eight "points of contact," as opposed to "two points" (fists) in boxing and "four points" (fists, feet) used in the primarily sport-oriented forms of martial arts. Muay Thai is an especially versatile, brutal, straightforward martial art.
Techniques
The basic offensive techniques in Muay Thai use fists, elbows, shins, feet, and knees to strike the opponent. To bind the opponent for both offensive and defensive purposes, small amounts of stand-up grappling are used: the clinch. Muay Thai is often a fighting art of attrition, where opponents exchange blows with one another. This is certainly the case with traditional stylists in Thailand, but is a less popular form of fighting in the contemporary world fighting circuit. With the success of Muay Thai in mixed martial arts fighting, it has become the de facto martial art of choice for competitive stand-up fighters. As a result, it has evolved in order and incorporated much more powerful hand striking techniques used in westen style boxing, and the Thai style of exchanging blow for blow is no longer favorable. Note: when Muay Thai fighters compete against fighters of other styles (and if the rules permit it), they almost invariably emphasize elbow (sok) and knee (kao) techniques to gain a distinct advantage in fighting. Almost all techniques in Muay Thai use the entire body movement, rotating the hip with each kick, punch, and block. The rotation of the hips in Muay Thai techniques, and intensive focus on "core muscles" (such as abdominal muscles and surrounding muscles) is very distinctive and is what sets Muay Thai apart from other styles of martial arts.
The Clinch
The clinch is applied by holding the opponent either around the neck and head or around the body. The neck hold is usually called the Thai clinch. Clinching is extensively used in Muay Thai and sometimes the clinching goes on for a whole round. In Western Boxing, the two fighters are separated when they clinch, in Muay Thai however, they are not separated. It is often in the clinch where knee techniques are used. The clinch should be performed with the palm of one hand on the back of the other and not as shown in the picture. The reason why the fingers must never be interlaced are of course that you have boxing gloves on you and while it gives you a tighter grip during training, it doesn't really help in the ring. A correct clinch also involves your forearms pressing against the other fighters collar bone while your hands are around the opponents head rather than his neck. A common technique is to just tap the head downward then execute a throw. Another easy technique is to, if you're attacked by a knee, throw the opponents to his left if he is using a knee from the right. This will off set his balance and either send him to the canvas or giving you the time to perform a knee of your own.
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Defense against punches and kicks
Defensively, the concept of "wall of defense" is used, in which shoulders, arms and legs are used to hinder the attacker from successfully executing his techniques. Blocking is a critical element in Muay Thai and compounds the level of conditioning a successful practitioner must possess. Low and mid body roundhouse kicks are normally blocked with the upper portion of a raised shin. High body strikes are blocked with the forearm/glove, knee/shin. Mid section roundhouse kicks can also be caught/trapped, allowing for a sweep or counter attack to the remaining leg of the opponent. Punches are blocked with an ordinary boxing guard.
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Elbow techniques
The elbow can be used in six ways: horizontal, diagnal-upwards, diagnal-downwards, uppercut, downward, and flying. From the side it can be used as either a finishing move or as a way to cut your opponent's eyebrow so that blood might block his vision. The blood also raises the opponents awareness of being hurt which could affect his performance. That's the most common way of using the elbow. The diagnal elbows are faster than the other forms, but are less powerful. The uppercut and flying elbows are the most powerful, but are slower and easier to avoid or block. The downward elbow is usually used as a finishing move.
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Kicking techniques
Two Muay Thai techniques were adopted by fighters from other martial arts: The Thai low kick and the Thai roundhouse kick. They are actually variations of the same kick, but hit at different heights. The low kick uses a rotational movement of the entire body to hit the opponent's outer thigh or side of knee with the shin. When not properly defended against, this technique often leads to the end of the fight, as the opponent has great difficulty standing after a few powerful low-kicks. The Thai roundhouse kick is also unique and was adapted for its efficiency. The kick is carried out with a straight leg and the entire body rotating from the hip, which is "locked" right before the leg makes contact to the opponent. At close ranges, Thai boxers strike with the shin; at longer ranges, the foot makes contact.
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Knee techniques
Some knee techniques ("kao")
Kao Dode (Jumping knee strike) - the Thai boxer jumps up on one leg and strikes with that leg's knee.
Kao Loi (Jumping or Flying knee strike) - the Thai boxer jumps up or takes step(s), springs up off one leg and in mid-air switches to the other knee to strike. A quite spectacular sight when it connects.
Kao Tone (Straight knee strike) - the Thai boxer simply thrusts it straight upwards. According to one written source, this technique is somewhat more recent than Kao Dode or Kao Loi. Supposedly, when the Thai boxers fought with rope-bound hands rather than the modern boxing gloves, this particular technique was subject to potentially vicious cutting, slicing and sawing by an alert opponent who would block it or deflect it with the sharp "rope-glove" edges or sometimes by the glass glued onto the "rope-gloves". This explanation also holds true for some of the following knee strikes below as well.
Kao Noi (Small knee strike) - the Thai boxer hits the inside upper thigh (above the knee) of the opponent when clinching. This technique is used to wear down the opponent or to counter the opponent's knee strike or kick.
Like most competitive full contact fighting sports, Muay Thai has a heavy focus on body conditioning. Muay Thai is specifically designed to promote the level of fitness and toughness required for ring competition. Training regimens include many staples of combat sport conditioning such as running, shadowboxing, rope jumping, body weight resistance exercises, medicine ball exercises, abdominal exercises and in some cases weight training.
Training that is specific to a Muay Thai fighter includes training with coaches on Thai pads, focus mitts, heavy bag, and sparring. The daily training includes many rounds (3-5 minute periods broken up by a short rest, often 1-2 minutes) of these various methods of practice. Thai pad training is a cornerstone of Muay Thai conditioning which involves practicing punches, kicks, knees, and elbow strikes with a trainer wearing thick pads which cover the forearms and hands. These special pads are used to absorb the impact of the fighter’s strikes, and allow the fighter to react to the attacks of the pad holder. The trainer will often also wear a belly pad around the abdominal area so that the fighter can attack with straight kicks to the body at anytime during the round.
Focus mitts are specific to training a fighter’s hand speed, punch combinations, timing, punching power, defense, counter-punching and are also used to practice elbow strikes. Heavy bag training is a conditioning and power exercise that reinforces the techniques practiced on the pads. Sparring is a means to test technique, skills, range, strategy, and timing against a partner. Sparring is often a light to medium contact exercise because competitive fighters on a full schedule are not advised to risk injury by sparring hard. Specific tactics and strategies can be trained with sparring including in close fighting, clinching and kneeing only, cutting off the ring, or using reach and distance to keep an aggressive fighter away.
Due to the rigorous fighting and training regimen (some Thai boxers fight almost every other week) professional Muay Thai fighters have relatively short careers in the ring. Many retire from competition to begin instructing the next generation of Thai fighters. Most professional Thai boxers come from the lower economic backgrounds and the fight money (after the other parties get their cut) is sought as means of support for the fighters and their families. Very few higher economic strata Thais join the professional Muay Thai ranks; they usually practise the sport as amateur Muay Thai boxers.
Muay Thai is considered by some to be a derivation of a general indigenous martial art style native to southeast Asia. Tamil nationalist Alex Doss claims that Tamils introduced their kickboxing art Adithada to Southeast Asia, where it evolved into Muay Thai and related arts of neighboring countries.[1] Muay Thai was the first of these styles to be popularized outside of Southeast Asia.
Muay Thai began as Krabi Krabong, the Siamese military fighting style with a sword in one hand. Developing through time and natural evolution of the art, it gave birth to Muay Boran, ancient style Muay Thai. As battlefield warfare evolved into a more technological basis, hand to hand combat was no longer required within the military. Muay Boran was divided to Muay ThaSao (North), Muay Thai Korat (Esarn or NorthEast), Muay Thai Lobburee (Center region), Muay Thai Chaiya (South)
There is a phrase about Muay Thai Boran that states, "Punch Korat, Wit Lobburee, Posture Chaiya."
Muay Korat emphazies in strength. There are one technique call "Throwing buffalo punch". It was call like this since it can defeat the buffalo in one blow. Muay Lobburee emphazies in clever movements. Its strength point is the straight and turned punch. Muay Chaiya emphazies in posture, defending. It's difficult for opponent to attack. Muay Chaiya stress in elbows and knees.
Muay Thai became a sporting martial art, kept alive in Thailand as a competitive sport, and for many, a way of life.
Traditionally in the past, Muay Thai was used as entertainment to kings. It is thought by some sources that gloves were made out of wrapped twine, tar, and broken pieces of glass to ensure a bloody event, however it is still a subject of debate. [The notion of incorporating broken glass into the gloves of a Muay Thai fighter was taken from a Jean Claude Van Damme movie]
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Nai Khanomtom
A very famous fighter was Nai Khanomtom. Around 1774, he was captured along with other Thai prisoners, either in a skirmish or at the fall of the ancient capital of Siam (Thailand's name at that time) of Ayutthaya. He was brought to Rangoon in Burma, where the Burmese king Mangra was holding a religious festival in honor of Buddha's relics. The festivities included many forms of entertainment. King Mangra was reported to be curious to see how the various fighting styles of Burma and other countries would compare. At one point, he wanted to see how Muay Thai (or Muay Boran) would compare to the Burmese art (either Parma (?) or Lethwei (?)). Nai Khanomtom was selected to fight against the Burmese champion. Nai Khanomtom did a Wai Kru (wai khru ram muay) pre-fight dance which puzzled all of the Burmese. When the fight began, he charged out and using punches, kicks, elbows, and knees, quickly pummelled the Burmese.
The referee was reported to have stated that the Burmese opponent was distracted by the Wai Kru, so the knockout was invalid. The King then asked if Nai Khanomtom would fight nine other Burmese champions to prove himself. He agreed and fought them all, one after the other. The last Burmese was reputed to be a great boxing teacher. Nai Khanomtom defeated them all in a superior fashion. King Mangra was so impressed that he remarked, "Every part of the Thai is blessed with venom. Even with his bare hands, he can fell nine or ten opponents. As his lord master was incompetent, the country was lost to the enemy. If his lord were any good, there was no way the City of Ayutthaya would fall." He granted Nai Khanomtom freedom along with either riches or two beautiful Burmese wives. Nai Khanomtom chose the wives as he said that money was easier to find. He then departed with his wives for Siam (Thailand). Other variations of this story had him also winning the release of his fellow Thai prisoners. His feat is celebrated every March 17 as "Boxer's Day" or "National Muay Thai Day" in his honor and that of Muay Thai's.
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Kickboxing
Muay Thai, along with savate and karate, heavily influenced the development of kickboxing in Japan, Europe, and North America. However, unlike Muay Thai, many kickboxing competitions do not allow elbow strikes, knee strikes, and kicks below the waist. These rule changes have led some martial artists to consider kickboxing a 'watered down' version of Muay Thai.
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Mixed Martial Arts
Starting in the 1990s, Muay Thai has enjoyed a boost in popularity worldwide as it has been very effective in mixed martial arts fights, such as those held by the PRIDE Fighting Championships and Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial artists such as Marco Ruas (of Ruas Vale Tudo) and Wanderlei Silva and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (of the Chute Boxe Academy) have combined many striking elements of Muay Thai with grappling, submission, and choking elements from Judo, Wrestling, or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu into a hybrid synthesis that has been highly effective in defeating practitioners of "pure" martial arts. Other fighters that have used Muay Thai as their primary style in mixed martial arts include Duane "Bang" Ludwig, Yves Edwards and Spencer Cooper. Shoot-fighters and professional wrestlers who have trained and influenced by Muay Thai include Satoru Sayama (the original Tiger Mask and founder of shooto) and Yoshiaki Fujiwara.
2006-08-28 13:58:49
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answer #1
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answered by Anonymous
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