Hi, I am considering taking Kickboxing but know nothing about it really. My questions are- 1) I saw in the 'Idoits Guide to Kickboxing' that American Kickboxing has no belt system but when I watch Martial Arts tournments on sports networks alot of American Kickboxers (that I see anyway) wear belts. Can someone explain this to me? 2) I once read in a book at my local library that all the kicks in American Kickboxing are the same kicks that can be found in Tae Kwon Do. Is this true? 3) Wikipedia states that cardio kickboxing and American Sport Kickboxing are virtually the same just put into a form of alternate exercise (instead of doing weights or pilates etc.) So does this mean if I can only find cardio kickboxing at a gym or ymca and not an actual Kickboxing dojo I'd be doing the exact same techniques? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cardio_kickboxing Any info would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
It has no official belt system. Some organisations use belts to denote ranks, others don't. Taking an example, WAKO have a ranking system up to black belt with gradings etc. IKF do not. The grading system in all associations seems to be different and there is no "set standard". Kickboxing stems from karate any many clubs have adopted belts/gradings which are similar to karate. Kickboxing is basically western boxing + karate. Full contact kickboxing actually used to be called Full contact karate! Generally, most martial arts will share the same kicks - roundhouse, front kick etc. The difference is how they are applied. Whilst many "kickboxing kicks" can be found in taekwondo, most kickboxers would get destroyed in a TKD tournament and vice versa. Taekwondo tends to involve more flashy kicks (jumping turning kicks and the like) which aren't necessarily practical in a kickboxing fight. IMO, the argument kickboxing kicks are the same as TKD kicks is fairly accurate, but only in the same way that they are similar to karate kicks, and kicks from other MAs Strictly speaking, you'd be doing the same techniques but you'd be practicing them in a very different atmosphere. Normal Sport kickboxing clubs will have you hitting bags, pads and maybe sparring. Most cardio clubs will have you perform set routines of often simple combinations to thin air and to a musical beat. Emphasis tends to be on the physical movement rather than technical excellence and you certainly won't get much feedback from the cardio club.
....what the hell? aren't kickboxing's kicks similar to the thai style roundhouses if not the same as them?
Well the roundhouse kicks are only 1 of a number of types of kicks. Typically, the full contact kickboxing clubs teach a type of roundhouse which is similar to the karate version while the leg kick clubs teach a similar one to the thai version. Depends on the club but kickboxing also has sidekicks which don't seem to be too common in thai boxing.
In addition to that, you will see both versions of the round kick as well. The MT version used with the shin as a power strike and the chambered instep version (espcially with the lead leg) as a probing strike similar to a jab.
This sentence should be a sticky for EVERY style =v= style thread. Every who would win? Every M/A -v- The street and definatly every ' Which M/A should I do?' Your choice of instructor depends on what sort of martial artist you can achieve. Choose well.
No. The two have different backgrounds and different rule sets. Thus different techniques. Many kicks in Kickboxing you're never going to see in Muay Thai and there are dozens upon dozens of techniques in Muay Thai that Kickboxing doesn't have.
Basic misunderstanding from a lot of people - kickboxing is really about the rules. Full contact karate, muay thai, sanshou, K1 etc. are all 'kickboxing', but all slightly different due to different rules. So: 1. No formal belt system. Some schools will apply a grading system, but the old adage 'the belt is in the ring' is true - you are as good as the people you fight 2. Most of TKDs kicks could be used in the ring, but experience has shown that only a few really work consistently. Front and round kicks are bread and butter but ax kicks (Andy Hug for example) and spinning and back kicks can be found (Leko v Hari) still occur. But round kicks are the % shots. (Same as olympic TKD actually). And they are usually trained differently as well 3. Cardio kickboxing in theory uses the same moves. But without the reality check of bag work and sparring, poor technique can creep in. And you won't devlop what I think of as the intangibles - distance, timing, rhythm all only come from working with a partner for drills and sparring. Nothing inherently wrong with cardio kickboxing as exercise, but it annoys me when people take tae bo and call themselves kickboxers. If you aren't sparring you don't get to be a kickboxer (because you aren't ready to get in the ring, which is where the belt is )
Some kickboxing schools use a belt system some dont. Some compete , some simply arent good enough to. If a kickboxing club dont compete then they really need to at least have a grading system. The grading system should include sparring at least from intermediate grades onwards even if it is only light sparring with an instructor (who will obviously control himself). My club is more low kick based than "kick above waist style" but we do have a grading system. We also dont "give belts away easily" like a lot of other clubs which is why if you see a Green belt (intermediate grade) from our club you know that theyre standard of technique and sparring is good. Our Green belts are generally at least competition standard even at novice level. Anybody wants examples of certain people from certain associations that are simply not worth their salt let me know.
If you look at Neil Kelly's lot at USKA, I think I'm right in saying that most of his top fighters aren't actually black belts. And he turns out some good fighters too.
my wife has done both cardio-kickboxing and tae-bo. from what i have seen neither even remotely resemble kickboxing. sure they punch and kick yet proper technique is not empasized to any extent. the footwork is nowhere to be found and they NEVER spar. with poor execution of technique and no real footwork the basic mechanics of kickboxing isnt there. for someone like my wife that just wants to stay in shape and have fun the cardio-kickboxing is fine. the people who take such classes are getting some exercise and building a little muscle tone. yet i have never heard of any cardio-warriors being capable of dealing with a kickboxer. and doubt that i ever will. too much difference between them.
Hi Concept Styles, My advice to u is simple.. forget everything u have read/heard about the sport, and get yourself down to a local club to check it out for yourself mate. enjoy
