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.
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preservation of a nation's intangible cultural heritage.
Muay Thai, sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinching techniques. The name “Art of Eight Limbs” refers to 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 (PAT), sanctioned by the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT).
Savate, also known as French Boxing or French Foot Fighting, is a French hybrid martial art and full-contact combat sport that combines principles of western boxing with a wide variety of kicking techniques. Unlike kickboxing styles such as Muay Thai, which allow knee and/or shin strikes in competitive bouts, savate involves striking exclusively with one's feet, but participants can nonetheless target any part of the body. The sport is also notable for requiring footwear to be worn by the competitors, as would be expected from individuals fighting in the streets. A male practitioner of savate is called a "tireur" while a female one is a "tireuse".
Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling, incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world.
Vale Tudo or vale-tudo, also known as No Holds Barred (NHB) in the United States, is an unarmed, full-contact combat sport with relatively few rules. It became popular in Brazil during the 20th century and would eventually evolve into modern mixed martial arts (MMA). For years, "Vale Tudo" was used as a synonym for MMA in Brazil, but the term fell into disuse due to the emergence of stricter rules and the influence of the media to have a more "civilized" name. It is now used to refer to an early, more rules-free stage of the modern sport.
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 kickboxing full-contact combat sport. In Chinese Language, "Sanda" originally referred to independent and separate training and combat techniques in contrast to "Taolu".
Kun Khmer, or Pradal Serey, is a combat sport that originated in Cambodia. The sport consists of stand up striking and clinch fighting, where the objective is to knock an opponent out, force a technical knockout, or win a match by points. The sport was codified in Cambodia by the French colonial administration in the early 20th century, and was derived from centuries-old traditions, namely Bokator, the close-quarter combat system used during the Khmer empire. The official Khmer name of the sport is Kbach Kun Pradal Khmer.
Jeffrey Ryan "Duke" Roufus is an American former kickboxer and head coach of the Roufusport based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. He is a well-known striking coach in North America.
A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opponent, or attacking the opponent in a specific or designated technique. Combat sports share a long history with the martial arts.
The Chute Boxe Academy is a Brazilian martial arts academy. It opened as a Muay Thai academy in 1978 in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil. Head trainer Rudimar Fedrigo later expanded the program in 1991 to include other aspects of modern mixed martial arts, such as wrestling and submission grappling. By 1995, the Chute Boxe team was considered a prime training ground for Vale Tudo fighters. In 2004, an American branch, Chute Boxe USA, was established in Los Angeles, California.
Brazilian Top Team (BTT) is an academy and team specialized in Brazilian jiu jitsu and mixed martial arts. It was established in April 2000 by Murilo Bustamante, Ricardo Libório, Mário Sperry and Luis Roberto Duarte, former members of the Carlson Gracie Academy, to develop and create new training techniques for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, submission grappling and mixed martial arts.
Maurice Lavonne Smith is a retired American kickboxer and mixed martial artist. In kickboxing, he held the WKC world light heavyweight championship, the WKA world heavyweight championship, and the ISKA world heavyweight championship. In mixed martial arts, he held the Heavyweight championship in Battlecade Extreme Fighting and the UFC, and became a member of the UFC Hall of Fame in 2017. A professional competitor since 1980, Smith has formerly competed in kickboxing for the companies All Japan Enterprise and K-1, Pancrase, RINGS, PRIDE, Strikeforce, International Fight League and RFA.
Mark DellaGrotte is an American former professional Muay Thai kickboxer and a trainer in Muay Thai. He is the owner and operator of the Sityodtong USA Branch in Somerville, Massachusetts, and was certified and appointed by Master Yodtong to be recognized as an international conservator of Thai style boxing. Mark also has extensive training and is certified in the arts of escrima, Pencak Silat, Jeet Kune Do, savate, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
A ring announcer is an in-ring employee or contractor for a boxing, professional wrestling or mixed martial arts event or promotion, who introduces the competitors to the audience.
The short straight punch is an offensive hand technique used in some fighting sports.
Charles Lecour was a French boxer. He began his studies of Savate at an early age and was a student of Michel Casseux, who merged Savate and English boxing to a fighting style he eventually called French Boxing.
Shidōkan (士道館) is an eclectic style of knockdown karate, founded by Yoshiji Soeno. Established in 1978, its governing body is the World Karate Association Shidokan, with its headquarters located in Ito City, Shizuoka Prefecture. Currently, it has branches in 68 countries.
Orlando Wiet is a Surinamese-Dutch former world champion kickboxer, boxer and mixed martial artist.
