For hundreds of
years the people from the countries of Asia such
as Japan, Thailand, Burma, Korea, and China have
practised the Martial Arts.
Martial
is a word that means Military,
and initially during any 'military'
confrontation, armies would primarily use weapons
to defend themselves, such as Swords, Spears,
and Knifes.
However, should a soldier become unarmed at any
point, there would always be an unarmed method
of combat that they would then use on the battlefield.
This is why many early unarmed combat systems
were generically/widely referred to as KARATE.
KARE simply means
EMPTY and TE
means HAND. If you
are no longer carrying a weapon, then you resume
fighting with Empty Hands.
The traditional unarmed combat
systems concentrated on
kicks, knees, elbows, open palm strikes
and utilised very basic 'straight
'thrust' - punches', with a fighting stance
very static, low to the ground and rigid, ( as
can still be seen today in traditional martial
art formats such as Karate, Taekwondo, Kungfu
).
During the 20th Century,
Western influences came to 'MIX'
with these traditional Martial
Art systems and it was soon realised that
the Western style of unarmed combat, known commonly
as 'Boxing', had
the more superior 'Punching' method, utilising
fast Jabs, Punches, Hooks and Uppercuts.
Especially when this was combined with the very
mobile Boxer stance,
whereby a fighter stands taller and is light on
his feet moving around constantly, as opposed
to standing in a low, static, fixed position as
used by many traditional styles.
Fighters from different
martial art styles often sought to test their
skills against one another through competition.
Eventually the popular contest rules of Western
Boxing where adopted for such 'one-to-one'
contests, and matches progressed from the open
area / mat, to the Boxing
ring.
 Mark
Matthews
Senior Instructor:
Black Belt ( 5th Dan )
Pro. Inter-Continental Champion
( W.P.K.L.)
Pro. Commonwealth Champion ( I.S.K.A. )
Pro. British Champion ( I.S,K.A. )
Pro. English Champion ( W.A.K.O Pro. )
Pro. Regional Champion ( W.A.K.O Pro. )
Picture : Mark Matthews
on his way
to winning the British Muaythai Title!
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The first country
known to hold martial art contests in a ring under
rules allowing Kicking
and Boxing
was Thailand.
This happened when their
traditional unarmed martial art system, Muay-Boran
was modified in
the 1920's
adopting many
Western Boxing
rules and
regulations.
Thai-Kickboxing is
widely recognised as the first 'Kicking
and Boxing sport' and
is also known as Muaythai.
Please note:
Muaythai does not actually translate as 'Thai-Boxing'.
The most accurate translation is Thai-Kickboxing.
For a further explanation click
here.
When Muay-Boran
was modified into the sport
of Muaythai
( Thai-Kickboxing
) in the 1920's,
the kicks, punches, knees and elbows were still
legal, but under the new rules, strikes to the
groin and neck were no longer allowed. Gloves
would now be worn, and to replace finger strikes,
chops and chokes, the punching techniques of
Western Boxing
would be used.
The
adding of Western
Boxing skills
and rule sets, has also been adopted by other
traditional systems such as
Japanese Kickboxing, (
also known as 'K-1'
), which was initially a modified format of
traditional Karate.
Picture: 'Knee-Kick' during a K-1
Japanese Kickboxing bout! |
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Now
martial artists could compete on a 'International'
platform in a 'RING-SPORT'
and for those that would eventually become the
'best of the best', contests could now be made
for Championship Titles. With these modified rules
and the Eastern martial art strikes integrated
with Western Boxing skills, ( including now, very
similar rules and regulations ), a Kicking
and Boxing Ring sport grew
globally, known today by many simply as 'Kickboxing'.
KICKBOXING
: Understanding the
'Ring-Sport' formats.
National
Version---- --Which
was 'Modified' from----------------------------Known
As
Thai-Kickboxing -
-----( Thailand's traditional system of
Muay Boran ) --Muaythai
Japanese Kickboxing
( Japan's traditional system of Karate ) -------------K-1
KICKBOXING
: More recent modifications...
'M.M.A.' The
new sport of 'Mixed Martial Arts'
-
Kickboxing'
- has further modified as a system allowing continued
combat whilst on the ground with striking techniques
as opposed to only using hitting an opponent while
standing up. This is commonly
seen in the sport of 'M.M.A.'
( Mixed-Martial-Arts )
made popular by such promotions as the U.F.C.
( Ultimate Fighting Championship
).
Modified Kickboxing
allows all of the common striking techniques while
standing, as used in 'Ring
formats of Kickboxing' , ( such as kicks,
punches, knees and elbows ), but also includes
specific 'counter moves' to avoid being taken
to the ground, ( Kickboxing as a Ringsport generally
does not allow throwing an opponent within its
rules ).
Should a Kickboxer's counter techniques in a Mixed-Martial-Arts
bout, such as the 'Sprawl' not work, and a Kickboxer
finds himself on the floor, he now uses his striking
skills whilst on the ground.
Striking while positioned on top of his opponent
from what is known as the 'Mount position' with
Punches and Elbows, or while laying across an
opponent in the 'Side-control position' with Knee
strkes. Kickboxing techniques can even be used
when below an opponent and lying on your back,
known as the 'Guard position' with Up-Kicks.
Modern Self-Defence / Unarmed Combat Systems
Kickboxing has long been
the core method of most modern Self-defence /
Unarmed Combat systems. Many security and military
forces across the world utilise Kickboxing striking
methods for situations when combatants are on
the ground as well as standing.
Known in the armed forces as 'Combatives', as
well as using all four limbs for striking with
Kicks, Punches, Knees and Elbows when standing
or on the ground, Combatants will also use a fifth
weapon, what is known in
Japanese systems as the '
ZUTSUKI ' or head butt!
Headbutts being a primary weapon when in such
a close grappling range that someone maybe holding
your arms or clothes, or both combatants are actually
gripping each other. A swift Headbutt, followed
by knee-kick to the ribs, and a sweep-kick to
the ankle can floor an opponent in seconds. A
stomp-kick to the groin as a finishing technique,
and a confrontation can be over as quickly as
it started. In Japan combative systems are known
a Kakuto Karate (
Kakuto = Combat ).
Kickboxing has now gone full circle. Originating
from the unarmed ( empty-hands ) military systems
of the acient battlefields, to the testing grounds
of Square ring and the Cage, to becoming the chosen
combat method of todays modern military.
Recomended reading, further supplementing the
expert tuition offered at the Okami-Dojo
Wolf-Gym :
RING
SPORT :
MUAYTHAI
:
ADVANCED THAI-KICKBOXING
by Christopher
Delph.
Covering all the aspects of of the
combat-sport!
I.K.F. website
Note:
Warrington
Kickboxing Studio's
Senior Instructors, Neil
Holden, Mark Matthews and
Craig Booth
are all certified Muaythai
Instructors by Grand
Master Sken of Thailand.
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 Mixed
Martial Arts ( M.M.A. ):
WHAT
IS KUDO!
by Takashi Azuma
Japanese Kickboxing
and Judo techniques
combined into the Mixed Martial Arts ( M.M.A.
) system of KUDO!
Kicks, Punches, Knees, Elbows, Open Palm,
Plus...
Sweeps, Throws, Ground fighting and Submissions!
KUDO Website
Note:
Warrington
Kickboxing Studio
Senior Instructors, Neil
Holden and Mark
Matthews are certified Black
Belts in KUDO
by Grandmaster Takashi
Azuma of Japan.
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COMBAT
/ SELF-DEFENCE :
Hand
to Hand H2H
by Greg Thompson
Modern Army Combatives ( unarmed combat
) featuring Kickboxing striking.
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 COMBAT
/ SELF-DEFENCE :
THE
MODERN BODYGUARD
by Peter Costerdain
The author is the head of the British
Combat-Karate Association, a group
that specialises in martial arts techniques
specifically for practical unarmed Combat
( Kakuto ). This book features Kickboxing
methods as used by modern security officers.
B.C.A Website
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 COMBAT
/ SELF-DEFENCE :
STREET
WISE
by Peter Costerdain
The
author is the head of the British
Combat-Karate Association, a group
that specialises in martial arts techniques
specifically for practical unarmed Combat
( Kakuto ).
B.C.A Website
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_______________________________________________________
Warrington
Kickboxing Studio Senior
Instructor, Neil
Holden is a
certified 5th Dan
Black Belt in
KAKUTO ( COMBAT ) KARATE
through the
British Combat-Karate
Association, a group
specialising in Self-Defence / Combat that produced
the books STREETWISE
and THE MODERN BODYGUARD.
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