Full contact (American) style kickboxing in Japan

[Axkick1]

Just had a quick question or thought. Why isn’t full contact kickboxing (kickboxing with pants) popular in Japan anymore? As far as I know the USA still has it and Europe and South America actually like it also.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Do the pants matter?

 

[Dirty Dog]

Do the pants matter?

Yes. Especially if you've got bird legs.

 

[Axkick1]

Do the pants matter?

To me they do yes. They look cool lol I also happen to be fond of that style of kickboxing because it allows the fighter to showcase more elaborate kicks.

 

[drop bear]

Because K1 is better.

Same reason it doesnt flourish in Australia. Because Thai is better.

 

[Axkick1]

Because K1 is better.

Same reason it doesnt flourish in Australia. Because Thai is better.

Well I wouldn’t call it better. It’s just a different rule set. In my opinion it’s the martial artist not the style. But I will say Muay Thai has more options

 

[drop bear]

Well I wouldn’t call it better. It’s just a different rule set. In my opinion it’s the martial artist not the style. But I will say Muay Thai has more options

More money, better fighters, better career options. So if I trained with a champion k1 fighter and a champian American kickboxer. The K1 guy would be the better guy. K1 has the bigger promotions.

Again same as Australia because we can go to Thailand pretty cheaply. We can train with better guys at better schools.

Look at k1 champions and they are guys who have made it in the fighting industry.
List of K-1 champions - Wikipedia

Cro cop, Mark hunt, Alistair Overeem,

Who do we know from American kickboxing?

 

[Axkick1]

More money, better fighters, better career options. So if I trained with a champion k1 fighter and a champian American kickboxer. The K1 guy would be the better guy. K1 has the bigger promotions.

Again same as Australia because we can go to Thailand pretty cheaply. We can train with better guys at better schools.

Hmmm yes you are right. I’ve noticed from documentaries on Muay Thai that a lot of Aussies are in Thailand training Muay Thai. I don’t blame them. It’s a great martial art! Just not my own personal cup of kickboxing.

Why is full contact still so popular in Europe and South America?

On a side note Australia has one of my favorite kickboxers, Steven “Superkick” Vick. So kudos to you and your country sir.

 

[kickillustrated]

It's always been a lack of promoters being willing to promote fights in full contact. The Canadians around the Theriault brothers are starting to promote full contact again these days.

One of the reasons why American kickboxing or full contact went down the drain was the corruption within the associations and sanctioning bodies. There were heavy conflicts of interests and people spent more time at court seeing each other than nurturing their sport. Some lost a lot of money and got tired. Karyn Turner for example was a Denver based promoter who discovered Dennis Alexio and brought Budweiser to the sport as a big sponsor. But she ended up in legal battles with other promoters .... she left the game.

 

[Axkick1]

It's always been a lack of promoters being willing to promote fights in full contact. The Canadians around the Theriault brothers are starting to promote full contact again these days.

One of the reasons why American kickboxing or full contact went down the drain was the corruption within the associations and sanctioning bodies. There were heavy conflicts of interests and people spent more time at court seeing each other than nurturing their sport. Some lost a lot of money and got tired. Karyn Turner for example was a Denver based promoter who discovered Dennis Alexio and brought Budweiser to the sport as a big sponsor. But she ended up in legal battles with other promoters .... she left the game.

Wow that’s a shame..... it’s a great sport and I’d love to see it have another rise in popularity

 

[chrissyp]

Wow that’s a shame..... it’s a great sport and I’d love to see it have another rise in popularity

I agree! I would too! The closest thing iv'e honestly seen to a "rebirth" is Karate combat, with kicks about the waist, but with limited punching techniques. If you think about the origin of American kickboxing, which i'm sure you probably know, it was known as "full contact Karate", KC, while not kickboxing, seems to bring back the same principles and ideas of its original concept....but that's just my observation