Kickboxing in its current form took off in the USA during the 1970s. Movie stars such as Bruce Lee popularized the Thai boxing style of combat and paved the way for an exciting new martial art. Kickboxers combine the direct punches of a boxing bout with the body kicks of a karate move. Today, several different organizations provide kickboxing competitions.
Origins
Kickboxing's origins lie with the ancient Asian martial art of Muay Thai. One record tells the story of a Siamese prince who defeated a Burmese prince in A.D. 1560 using Muay Thai, according to Thomas A. Green's "Martial Arts of the World." However, the technique likely dates back many more centuries. When Burmese troops burned Siamese records in 1767, they destroyed any further written evidence of Muay Thai's history. Muay Thai was likely used for self defense, particularly in an era before gunpowder when hand-to-hand combat was more common. By the early 20th century, Thailand had its own governing body for the sport of Muay Thai and held regular tournaments.
Modern Kickboxing
The modern Western version of kickboxing appeared in the USA in the early 1970s. American karate practitioners were searching for a less restrictive fighting style, according to John Ritschel in "The Kickboxing Handbook." Taking a lead from Muay Thai, kickboxers used their feet to attack an opponent. However, unlike Thai boxing, the new form did not allow knee and elbow strikes, or any kicks below the belt. Instead it took attacking rules from more traditional boxing styles. At the time, this new form of combat was known as full contact karate, according to the Prokick Kickboxing School.
First Competitions
In 1974 a small group of full contact karate experts created the first professional association -- the PKA, or Professional Kickboxing Association. The first official championships of full contact karate happened in Los Angeles, California in 1974. In those early stages the fights still took place on traditional karate mats, but soon after the fights moved to boxing rings.
Expansion
As the sport grew in popularity, several new organizations started in both North America and Europe. In 1975, the World All Style Karate Organization began in Germany and quickly established itself as a leading amateur international competition. In 1976 the World Kickboxing Association, or WKA, was founded. However, the WKA kept closer ties with Asian competitions and focused less on North America. In 2010 several kickboxing organisations compete across the world and the USA. Two of the major bodies are the World Kickboxing Network and the International Sport Kickboxing Association.
Weight Classes
Like boxing, kickboxing developed weight divisions, each with a separate title. Kickboxing has 18 weight classes, ranging from flyweight at the lightest for fighters weighting 111 lbs. or less, to Super Heavyweight for fighters that weight more than 209 lbs. Women's kickboxing weight divisions range from 104 to 141 lbs.
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