MMA101 - Kickboxing

At MMATraining.com we bring you news on the sport, offer you a chance to buy your favorite MMA products in our store and provide training tips and programs from the elite athletes competing in the sport today. As a new feature we are producing a set of “101″ overview reports on the disciplines that make up mixed martial arts. We hope you enjoy them and find it useful for the beginner piecing together all that goes into these amazing athletes that compete in professional mixed martial arts.

Kickboxing

Kickboxing has its origins in Japan and combines the punching techniques of boxing with martial arts style kicks. Traditional North American kickboxing permits strikes with hands and feet above the waist line only. Popular MMA fighters with strong kickboxing techniques include Mirko Filipovic “Cro Cop” and MMAtraining.com personality Mark Hominick.

Background

Kickboxing is a sport that uses martial-arts-style kicks and boxing-style punches to defeat an opponent in a similar way to that of standard boxing. Kickboxing does not allow continuation of the fight once a combatant has reached the ground.

Kickboxing is often practiced for fitness, or as a brutal contact sport. Boxers wear protective gear including: mouth-guard, hand-wraps and 10-oz. boxing gloves. In addition, amateur rules often allow less experienced competitors to use light or semi-contact rules, where the intention is to score points by executing successful strikes past the opponent’s guard, and use of force is regulated. The equipment for semi-contact is similar to full-contact matches, usually with addition of head gear.

Kickboxing is not the same as Muay Thai, which is also known as Thai Boxing. The two sports are similar, however, in Thai Boxing, kicks below the belt are allowed, as are strikes with knees and elbows.

Some basic kickboxing strikes are the Jab, Cross and Hook which are done with the fists and hands. Some basic kicking strikes are front kick, Side Kick and Roundhouse kick.

How To Win

The rules of kickboxing are often slightly different in different parts of the world. However, the basic scoring is similar to that of boxing, when a fighter is given time to get up from being knocked down and a fight can end by the judges decision or a Knock out or a Technical Knock Out (TKO).

To Learn More

To Learn more about kickboxing please visit the International Sport Kickboxing Association http://www.iska.com/