What Is American Kickboxing?

American Kickboxing is a combat sport and a unique style of kickboxing in which two opponents of the same weight fight each other using full contact strikes with their fists and try to attack the opponent while holding the same rules of western boxing. It is considered as a very practical and easy to learn martial arts. It is believed that American kickboxing originated in 1970, as a total sum of fighting styles that combined the key elements of Japanese Karate and American Boxing. The first official American kickboxing event took place in January 17, 1970, and the primary intention was to create a new kind of sport where karate students in the US could fight with full contact and with rounds like in boxing, since they weren't permitted to hit each other in traditional Karate tournaments.Joe Lewis, Bill Wallace, Benny Urquidez, are some of the most popular names in American kickboxing. Read on the article to know more about American kickboxing.

Information On American Kickboxing

It is the special set of rules dictating almost every aspect of competition that separates American kickboxing from Japanese karate, Muay Thai and other variations of this sport. This bunch of rules determines how fighters should present themselves and how the fight is to be conducted. These interesting rules of American Kickboxing help to ensure that the participants are protected even when they are engaged in full contact combat.
American Kickboxing is comprised of three to twelve rounds of action. All the rounds in American Kickboxing last almost between two and three minutes depending on whether the opponents are professionals or amateur. Amateur fights normally have two minutes rounds while the professionals often compete in three-minute rounds. The participants are given one minute rest period between rounds. Any American kickboxing match can be stopped by a registered referee or a doctor if one of the competitors gets injured in the match. A kickboxer or his trainer can also finish the contest by throwing in the towel.
One of the most important rules in American Kickboxing is concerned to strikes. Participants are permitted to strike their opponent with kicks and punches to the upper part of the body. The competitors are not allowed to strike with knees, elbows and shins at any point, however hard-boiled the match turn into. If a person strikes with any of these body parts, he will lose points immediately or will end up in disqualification, depending on the intensity of the error he commits. Common wrestling maneuvers such as leg sweeps and throws can also result in loss of points.
Each and every match in American Kickboxing is scored on a ten point system. In order to be the winner of a given round, a competitor must kick at least ten times to his opponent in each round. The winner of the round will get ten points while the loser is awarded points based on the number of successful kicks he has scored. The judges will usually deduct one point per each illegal strike of the competitors.

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