TYPES OF KICKBOXING
The success of kickboxing has allowed it to evolve into different types with different rules or goals to make it appeal to a larger audience of people.
Simply put there are four types of kickboxing rules –
• Cardio kickboxing
• Semi contact kickboxing
• Light contact kickboxing
• Full contact kickboxing
Cardio kickboxing
Although all types of kickboxing focuses on cardio exercise, specifically cardio kickboxing’s sole end is to develop exercise and fitness. Although students would go through the motion of performing many of the kicks and punches found in Kickboxing, they do not apply the movements and do not focus on
any of the martial arts principles of other styles of kickboxing. There is no contact with other people in the form of sparring, and often you will exercise in a gym class environment simply doing moves to music. The result is an excellent workout and increased physical fitness.
Semi contact kickboxing
Semi contact kickboxing teaches all the movements of kickboxing, including in some cases, self defence routines. It also allows sparring, which enhances the realism of the training and gives a sense of purpose to the techniques. It is also strongly argued that because there is sparring involved, a student’s mental focus and discipline is also strongly enhanced.
The rules of sparring for Semi contact Kickboxing are as follows -
Opponents try to score points by successfully landing strikes to their opponent whilst maintaining clean controlled form. Each strike must be made with light contact only. Each time a strike is successfully landed, the fight is interrupted and opponents are reset to their staring positions. Referees assess and score the strikeaccordingly.
A successful strike scores 1-3 points depending on the degree of complexity.
Very often there is grading’s and ranks also included in this style of kickboxing. This has the benefit of helping the student develop to a more advanced stage. It also inclines them to stay and train harder to achieve the next goal.
Light contact kickboxing
Light contact kickboxing also incorporates all the benefits of cardio kickboxing. As well as this it allows students to practice their moves against an opponent in a controlled manner. Students wear appropriate safety gear that allows very light contact. This allows more realism and better application of movement, whilst paying high attention to safety.
The rules of semi contact kickboxing are as follows –
Light-contact kickboxing opponents fight for a number of number of rounds and try to score points by landing clean and controlled strikes. If a fighter is deemed to be fighting too hard then they shall be given a warning by the referee. Otherwise the fight is continuous and only interrupted if a foul committed.
Light-contact kickboxing is perfect for intermediate Kick boxers who want to compete or gain vital experience for full-contact fights.
Once again there is often gradings and ranks in this style.
Because of its realistic application whilst not putting at risk the students safety, light contact kickboxing is the most popular type of kickboxing, and the type that we would recommend to new students.
Full contact kickboxing
Full-contact Kickboxing allows opponents fight each other with the aim knock their opponent out or score the most points. This version of Kickboxing is scored very similar to that in boxing.
The majority of people competing in full contact kickboxing have a few years of martial arts training behind them.
These rules are only really recommended to those who wish to take it very seriously.
