Boxing is a combat sport and a martial art in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined amount of time in a boxing ring.
Kickboxing is a full-contact combat sport and a form of boxing based on punching and kicking. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouth guards, shorts, and bare feet to favor the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general fitness, or for competition. Some styles of kickboxing include: Karate, Muay Thai, Japanese kickboxing, Lethwei, Sanda, and Savate.
Muay Thai, sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "Art of eight limbs", as it is characterised by the combined use of fists, elbows, knees and shins. Muay Thai became widespread internationally in the late 20th to 21st century, when Westernised practitioners from Thailand began competing in kickboxing and mixed-rules matches as well as matches under Muay Thai rules around the world. The professional league is governed by The Professional Boxing Association of Thailand (P.A.T.), sanctioned by The Sports Authority of Thailand (S.A.T.).
Boxing training is the training method that boxers use in order to get more fit for their sport.
Filipino martial arts (FMA) refer to ancient and newer modified fighting methods devised in the Philippines. It incorporates elements from both Western and Eastern Martial Arts, the most popular forms of which are known as Arnis, Eskrima, and Kali. The intrinsic need for self-preservation was the genesis of these systems. Throughout the ages, invaders and evolving local conflict imposed new dynamics for combat in the islands now making up the Philippines. The Filipino people developed battle skills as a direct result of an appreciation of their ever-changing circumstances. They learned often out of necessity how to prioritize, allocate and use common resources in combative situations. Filipinos have been heavily influenced by a phenomenon of cultural and linguistic mixture. Some of the specific mechanisms responsible for cultural and martial change extended from phenomena such as war, political and social systems, technology, trade and practicality.
A strike is a directed, forceful physical attack with either a part of the human body or with a handheld object, intended to cause blunt or penetrating trauma upon an opponent.
San Da, formerly San Shou, is the official Chinese kickboxing full-contact combat sport. Sanda is a fighting system which was originally developed by the Chinese military based upon the study and practices of traditional Chinese martial arts and modern combat fighting techniques; it combines boxing and full-contact kickboxing, which includes close range and rapid successive punches and kicks, with wrestling, takedowns, throws, sweeps, kick catches, and in some competitions, even elbow and knee strikes.
High-intensity training (HIT) is a form of strength training popularized in the 1970s by Arthur Jones, the founder of Nautilus. The training focuses on performing quality weight training repetitions to the point of momentary muscular failure. The training takes into account the number of repetitions, the amount of weight, and the amount of time the muscle is exposed to tension in order to maximize the amount of muscle fiber recruitment.
A punching bag is a sturdy bag designed to be repeatedly punched. A punching bag is usually cylindrical and filled with various materials of suitable hardness.
Lethwei or Burmese boxing is a full contact combat sport from Myanmar that uses stand-up striking including headbutts. Lethwei is considered to be one of the most brutal martial arts in the world, as the sport is practiced bareknuckle with only tape and gauze while fighters are allowed to strike with their fists, elbows, knees, and feet, and the use of headbutts is also permitted. Disallowed in most combat sports, headbutts are important weapons in a Lethwei fighter's arsenal, giving Lethwei its name of the "Art of nine limbs". This, combined with its bareknuckle nature, gave Lethwei a reputation for being one of the bloodiest and most violent martial arts. Although popular throughout modern Myanmar, Lethwei is primarily and historically associated with the Karen people of Kayin State; vast majority of competitive Lethwei are ethnolinguistically Karen.
Kata is a Japanese word meaning "form". It refers to a detailed choreographed pattern of martial arts movements made to be practised alone. It can also be reviewed within groups and in unison when training. It is practised in Japanese martial arts as a way to memorize and perfect the movements being executed. Korean martial arts with Japanese influence use the derived term hyeong and also the term pumsae.
Wushu (武術), or kung fu, is a competitive Chinese martial art. It integrates concepts and forms from various traditional and modern Chinese martial arts, including Shaolin kung fu, tai chi, and Wudangquan. "Wushu" is the Chinese term for "martial arts", reflecting the art's goal as a compilation and standardization of various styles.
An elbow strike is a strike with the point of the elbow, the part of the forearm nearest to the elbow, or the part of the upper arm nearest to the elbow. Elbows can be thrown sideways similarly to a hook, upwards similarly to an uppercut, downwards with the point of the elbow, diagonally or in direct movement and in several other ways, like during a jump. Elbow strikes are native to traditional Southeast Asian martial arts, traditional Chinese martial arts and traditional Okinawan martial arts.
Clinch fighting is the part of stand-up fighting where the combatants are grappling in a clinch, typically using clinch holds. Clinching the opponent can be used to eliminate the opponent's effective usage of some kicks, punches, and melee weapons. The clinch can also be used as a medium to switch from stand-up fighting to ground fighting by using takedowns, throws or sweeps.
A focus mitt is a padded target attached to a glove and usually used in training boxers and other combat athletes.
In combat sports such as boxing and MMA, an orthodox stance is one in which the fighter places their left foot in front, thus placing their left side closer to the opponent. Because it places the right side in the rear, the orthodox stance can allow for more rotation and distance to accelerate right sided strikes, in turn generating more power. This makes it the most common stance in boxing, as well as MMA, and primarily used by right-handed fighters.
Tae Bo is a body fitness system that incorporates martial arts techniques, such as kicks and punches, which became popular in the 1990s. It was developed by American taekwondo practitioner Billy Blanks. Such programs use the motions of martial arts at a rapid pace designed to promote fitness.
Aliveness, also referred to as alive training, describes martial arts training methods that are spontaneous, non-scripted, and dynamic. Alive training is performed with the intent to win, rather than for mastery or demonstration purposes as in regular sparring, where victory is not an option. Aliveness has also been defined in relation to martial arts techniques as an evaluation of combat effectiveness. Some trainers, like Cus D'Amato, Kevin Rooney, Floyd Mayweather Sr., resort to the alive training, requesting both their trainees and sparring partners to do their best. Such method became known as the wars in the gym. Others, like Angelo Dundee, prefer rather mild and less extreme methods.
Shadowboxing is an exercise used in the training for combat sports. Shadowboxing is sometimes an alternative translation for tai chi, the Chinese martial arts.
Suntukan is the fist-related striking component of Filipino martial arts. In the central Philippine island region of Visayas, it is known as Pangamot or Pakamot and Sumbagay. It is also known as Mano-mano and often referred to in Western martial arts circles of Inosanto lineage as Panantukan. Although it is also called Filipino Boxing, this article pertains to the Filipino martial art and should not be confused with the Western sport of boxing as practiced in the Philippines.
