Kickboxing

An unusual mix of martial arts

This could be a good step in building kickboxing’s reputation and popularity – before it goes to the Olympic Games, it will appear in the program of the European Games Krakow – Malopolska 2023. During this year’s sporting event, 128 athletes from 25 countries will compete in 16 competitions. The competition of this spectacular sport will take place in Krakow at the Cracovia Hall.

The term “kickboxing” first appeared in Japan in 1960. It was created from a combination of many sports disciplines – karate mixed with boxing, taekwondo, muay thai and savate.

Kickboxing developed in earnest in the 1960s. Japanese boxing promoter Osamu Noguchi wanted to bring Thai boxing to his country, but in the meantime he began working on a completely new discipline. He combined elements of several combat sports, and the result was the creation of kickboxing. Kickboxing quickly gained popularity, but at some point the development of this discipline stalled. Interest in kickboxing grew in earnest in the 1990s.

Kickboxing has many variations. The American version was created in the 1970s. Players did not want to hit with limited power. They also wanted to be able to hit the enemy in the head. In this way, the so-called full-contact karate, which reflects the conditions of a real fight much more faithfully.

Reputation building

Representatives of this discipline have been fighting for years to include kickboxing in the Olympic Games program and in 2021 it seemed that they would finally get their way. On July 20, 2021, the International Olympic Committee officially recognized kickboxing as an Olympic sport. But that was only half the battle, because now you have to jump into the program. And it is already known that this will not happen on the occasion of the next Olympic Games in Paris in 2024. Efforts are underway to include this spectacular discipline in the program of the next Games, which will be held in 2028 in Los Angeles.

Players fight in the ring, using boxing punches and spectacular kicks. Kickboxing is a great general development discipline that builds in players such qualities as strength, speed, endurance, the ability to maintain balance, a sense of rhythm and flexibility.