Kickboxing is a martial art which teaches people how to fight with hands and legs and defend yourself. The sport is based in the United States and Japan, which became popular in the early 1970s. In the United States, kickboxing has emerged as a system for measuring different fighting styles and martial arts.

The kickboxing from Japan has evolved from the karate styles and influences of muay thai. In the Netherlands, kickboxing is previously derived from the Japanese variant and looks more like Thaiboxing than American kickboxing. Eurosport’s famous K1 resembles kickboxing in the Netherlands. Of course, you need years of training to be able to perform at that level.

MMA stands for Mixed Martial Arts. A martial art that is constantly growing and will soon be the world’s greatest martial art. While fighting MMA you’re allowed to fight both standing and on the ground.

Ultimate Fighting

The roots of MMA are in Greece, Japan and Brazil. In 1993, the Gracie family brought MMA to the United States and the first UFC event was organized. UFC stands for Ultimate Fighting Championship and is the largest and most famous organization in the world.

When the UFC just started, nobody knew exactly what MMA was. Fighters specialized in one fighting style and that created interested matches. Boxers started fighting against wrestlers and karateka’s were in the ring with jiu jitsu black belters. Nowadays, that is different. MMA fighters train multiple styles. The best-known styles are kickboxing, wrestling and Brazilian jiu jitsu.

Reputation

In the United States and Japan, MMA fighters are honoured as heroes, but unfortunately this is not the case in the Netherlands. The sport is relatively unknown and is often seen as aggressive and criminal. But in practice, there is little evidence of this. At an MMA training you are pushed to get the most out of yourself. Respect for each other is very important and that is what’s emphasized.

This sport is not suitable for everyone, but that’s also the case with many other sports.

Osu!