Advice on Kickboxing

[TheCount]

Ok Im interested in taking up kickboxing but I'm not sure if it would be a good sub for karate if I choose to drop karate. I mainly want it for the fighting side of it because in karate we spar maybe twice a month but in Kickboxing im guessing you fight a lot more often and it is a lot more fight oriented. However some people have described to me kickboxing being like boxing but with a kick here and there or like lots of kicks with the odd punch. Could anyone tell me more about the makeup of the art and how much punching/kicking you use

[slipthejab]

Ok Im interested in taking up kickboxing but I'm not sure if it would be a good sub for karate if I choose to drop karate. I mainly want it for the fighting side of it because in karate we spar maybe twice a month but in Kickboxing im guessing you fight a lot more often and it is a lot more fight oriented. However some people have described to me kickboxing being like boxing but with a kick here and there or like lots of kicks with the odd punch. Could anyone tell me more about the makeup of the art and how much punching/kicking you use

LOL!

Come on... the name is fairly self explanatory.

It's not like it's the mystery MA or something.

Yes... you will kick and punch more than in karate.

Jeez.:D

[Ikken Hisatsu]

depends on what you mean by "kickboxing"

do you mean american rules, with kicks only above the waist? if so then you might as well just take up boxing.

Do you mean "modified thai rules" with clinching and knees and leg kicks? I would recommend that over boxing or kickboxing. Of course even better is full thai rules :D

[jabcrosshook]

do you mean american rules, with kicks only above the waist?

You have to remember, Count, that Ikken is hugely biased and in fact American rules is the best :);)

do you mean american rules, with kicks only above the waist? if so then you might as well just take up boxing.

Well, not really. Sure, there are more punches than kicks but this isn't a rule. He will still learn the kicks and have full scope to use them. You still get very "leggy" fighters in american kickboxing they are just not that common. People these days seem to have the idea of "American KB is rubbish - just do boxing." In many ways, see it as a challenge to get more kicks in. It is not the same as boxing.

I mainly want it for the fighting side of it because in karate we spar maybe twice a month but in Kickboxing im guessing you fight a lot more often and it is a lot more fight oriented.

Correct. You'll spar more than twice a month :)

However some people have described to me kickboxing being like boxing but with a kick here and there or like lots of kicks with the odd punch. Could anyone tell me more about the makeup of the art and how much punching/kicking you use

If we're talking about American rules (As ikken described it) then it is basically boxing with a few kicks. Muay Thai/International rules (leg kicks allowed) features far more kicks with most of these being to the legs. Ultimately, the ratio Punches:Kicks is down to you :)

[hux]

ditto what they ^^ said...although if you really like karate as an art surely there are schools near you where sparring is more often than twice a month?

edit
american rules - I've never heard this term? We train leg kicks on a regular basis and I'm in US....isn't it org specific? I'm just curious.

/edit

[TheCount]

Well there is one class but still there is the emphasis on forms and you know, the other non fighting elements of karate and basically I would rather take an art where i know I will fight a lot than struggle for donkeys learning to fight in karate because we never do any!

Thanks for the info guys

[jabcrosshook]

american rules - I've never heard this term? We train leg kicks on a regular basis and I'm in US....isn't it org specific? I'm just curious.

American rules is the style of kickboxing where no leg strikes (except sweeps) are permitted. It is org specific in the sense that some orgs don't sanction it and some do, but no more than other rules systems. American kickboxing is (I think) the only kickboxing ruleset to use trousers rather than shorts.

It is no more American than any other system. This link: http://ikfkickboxing.com/RulesFC.htm may be of interest. It is normally referred to as "full contact" these days :)

[hux]

ah, ok...that sorts it. thanks!