Kickboxing Rules

Though I don't prefer my hubby joining kickboxing competitions. But being supportive of his sport, I researched the net to know more about it.

I found that the rules in kickboxing vary in Japanese, American and International kickboxing.

In Japanese kickboxing, the rules are quite similar with Muay Thai.
The similarities are:

• Time: 3 minutes, 5 rounds
• Allowed to kick the lower half of the body except crotch
• Allowed to do neck wrestling
• Allows knee strikes
• Head butts and throws are banned for boxer's safety

Differences are:

• No ram muay before match
• No Thai music during the match
• Interval is only one minute -- same as boxing
• Point system -- punches and kicking are held in closer esteem 

American Kickboxing is a mixture of Western Boxing and Karate. The rules used are:

• Opponents are allowed to hit each other with fists and feet, striking above the hip
• Using elbows or knees is forbidden -- this is in contrast to Muay Thai, where the use of elbows and knees are allowed
• The use of the shins is seldom allowed.
• Bouts are usually 3 to 12 rounds (lasting 2 – 3 minutes each) for amateur and professional contests with a 1-minute rest in between rounds -- round durations and the number of rounds can vary depending on what is  agreed to before hand by each fighter or manager

International-style kickboxing was formed with a combination of Muay Thai and Japanese kickboxing rules. It has evolved into three different disciplines:

Semi Contact:

• Characteristics: delivery, technique and speed
• The competition is executed in light and well-controlled contact
• Equal emphasis on hand and foot techniques
• Techniques (punches and kicks) are strictly controlled
• The fight could be held in a tatami or in a ring

Light Contact (or medium-contact):

• Created as an intermediate stage between semi and full contact kickboxing
• Should be executed as its name implies, with well-controlled techniques
• Use techniques from full contact, but these techniques must be well controlled when they land on legal targets
• Equal emphasis is placed on both punching and kicking techniques
• The fight could be held in a tatami or in a ring

Full Contact:

• The intention of a fighter is to beat his opponent with full power and strength
• Punches and kicks must be delivered to legal targets with focus, speed and determination, creating solid contact
• Punches and kicks are allowed to the front and side of the head, the front and side of the body (above waist) and sweeping is also allowed
• The fight is held in a ring
• Amateur fights have 3 x 2 minute rounds with a minute break between each round
• Outside a tournament, a single amateur fight can have up to 5 x 2 minute rounds with a minute break between each round

Note: The use of more than 3 rounds must be due to an agreement between the fighters.