9781422286685

Boxing with Kicks

Although street fighting has always had its own rules (or, more accurate- ly, lack of rules), if we were to go back only a couple of generations in the West, we would find that kicking was not considered to be gentlemanly in a fight. Today, virtually every movie or television fight scene that lasts more than a few seconds involves kicking techniques. Indeed, the present generation of movie-goers and martial artists expect to see kicking techniques in fights. Kicking techniques also form the basis for the martial arts movements shown in video games, illustrated in comic books, and written in books about the martial arts. There are somany different martial arts that an accurate classification of them would be impossible. Even within a given tradition, techniques and training procedures vary from club to club and from group to group. Many martial arts, including the most modern ones, were undoubtedly inspired by martial arts from China and Japan. This includes the modern art of kickboxing. Martial arts are commonly used for entertainment purposes, but true martial arts involve much more than flashy demonstrations; their creation was for more serious In the ring, kickboxing demands strength, flexibility, and stamina. A single kick can send an opponent flying into the ropes.

9