Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing punches at each other for a predetermined amount of time.
Kickboxing is a full-contact hybrid martial art and boxing type based on punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. 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: full contact karate, Muay Thai, Japanese kickboxing, Lethwei, Sanda, and Savate.
Muay Thai, sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a Thai martial art and full-contact 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.).
Jeet Kune Do is a hybrid martial art conceived and practiced by martial artist Bruce Lee. It was formed from Lee's experiences in unarmed fighting and self-defense—as well as eclectic, Zen Buddhist and Taoist philosophies—as a new school of martial arts thought.
Boxing training is the training method that boxers use in order to get more fit for their sport.
Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world.
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.
Sanda, formerly Sanshou, is the official Chinese boxing 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.
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 originating from Myanmar and is regarded as one of the most brutal martial arts in the world. Lethwei fighters are allowed to use stand-up striking techniques such as kicks, knees, elbows and punches, and the use of headbutts is also permitted. Fighters compete bareknuckle, wrapping their hands with only tape and gauze. 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 has been primarily and historically associated with the Karen people of the Kayin State; vast majority of competitive Lethwei fighters are ethnolinguistically of Karen descent.
Kata is a Japanese word meaning "form". It refers to a detailed choreographed pattern of martial arts movements. It can also be reviewed within groups and in unison when training. It is practiced 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, 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.
Footwork is a martial arts and combat sports term for the general usage of the legs and feet in stand-up fighting. Footwork involves keeping balance, closing or furthering the distance, controlling spatial positioning, and/or creating additional momentum for strikes.
Ippon is the highest score a fighter can achieve in a Japanese martial arts ippon-wazari contest, usually kendo, judo, karate or jujitsu.
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, also known as a northpaw 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 stances, kicks and punches. It became popular in the 1990s. This fitness system was developed by American taekwondo and karate 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.
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.
