History Of Kickboxing

The "true" beginnings of many pastimes are very unclear, and the history of kickboxing is no exception. Kickboxing is more often than not attributed to a man named Osmau Noguchi, who is first recorded as coining the term. Noguchi began to create the style of kickboxing after watching Muy Thai matches, attempting to create an opposing school of martial arts. In 1966, he brought three Muy Thai fighters and pitted them against similarly ranked Karate fighters. Along with many of his colleagues, Osamu developed a fighting style combining the two disciplines, originally described as "Muy Thai with throwing and butting"; however, the discipline evolved into much more that a simple branch art.

Eventually, Noguchi founded the first professional kickboxing association in 1966, although he failed to see its future after his death the next year. The name of the federation was the World Kick Boxing Association (or WKBA), founded in Japan and lasting for a few years. The claim to Osamu's originality as the first kickboxing organization is debatable, as the similarly-named World Kickboxing Association (or WKA)  also boasts the same title. The WKA was created 10 years later, in 1976, by Howard Hanson (not to be confused by the composer of the same name), a Karate black belt.

Along with the ISKA (The International Sports Kickboxing Association) and the WFK (The World Federation Kickboxing), the WKA is one of the main governing organizations of modern-day kickboxing on both professional and amateur levels. On the international scene there are generally three types most organizations agree upon: light contact, semi contact, and of course, full contact. Light contact is limited to certain bodily targets, while full contact has no limitations and the pain of the moment is felt with every, single blow. The sport has come a long way, internationally speaking, and kickboxing will continue to do well as a sport of fighting.