Japanese kickboxing
Encyclopedia
Japanese kickboxing is combat sport
created by the Japanese boxing promoter Osamu Noguchi and Karate
practitioner Tatsuo Yamada
. It was the first combat sport that adopted the name of "kickboxing
" in 1966. The sport is now known as Japanese kickboxing and most recently K1 Rules
or Oriental Rules to differ from other combat sports that also adopted the name of "kickboxing".
The original rules were very similar to Muay Thai
.
On December 20, 1959, a Muay Thai among Thai fighters was held at Tokyo
Asakusa
town hall in Japan. Tatsuo Yamada
, who established "Nihon Kempo Karate-do", was interested in Muay Thai because he wanted to perform Karate matches with full-contact rules since practitioners are not allowed to hit each other directly in karate matches. At this time, it was unimaginable to hit each other in karate matches in Japan. He had already announced his plan which was named "The draft principles of project of establishment of a new sport and its industrialization" in November, 1959, and he proposed the tentative name of "Karate-boxing" for this new sport. It is still unknown whether Thai fighters were invited by Yamada, but it is clear that Yamada was the only karateka who was really interested in Muay Thai. Yamada invited a Thai fighter who was the champion of Muay Thai (and formerly his son Kan Yamada's sparring partner), and started studying Muay Thai. At this time, the Thai fighter was taken by Osamu Noguchi who was a promoter of boxing
and was also interested in Muay Thai. The Thai fighter's photo was on the magazine "The Primer of Nihon Kempo Karate-do, the first number" which was published by Yamada.
There were "Karate vs. Muay Thai fights" February 12, 1963. The three karate fighters from Oyama dojo (Kyokushin
later) went to the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Thailand, and fought against 3 Muay Thai fighters. The 3 Kyokushin Karate fighters' names are Tadashi Nakamura
, Kenji Kurosaki and Akio Fujihira (as known as Noboru Osawa). Japan won by 2-1: Tadashi Nakamura and Akio Fujihira both KOed opponents by punch while Kenji Kurosaki was KOed by elbow. This should be noted that the only Japanese loser Kenji Kurosaki was then a Kyokushin instructor rather than a contender and temporarily designated as a substitute for the absent chosen fighter. Noguchi studied Muay thai
and developed a combined martial art which Noguchi named kick boxing, which absorbed and adopted more rules than techniques from Muay Thai. The main techniques of kickboxing is still derived from Full-Contact Karate (Kyokushin). However, throwing
and butting
were allowed in the beginning to distinguish it from Muay Thai style. This was later repealed. The Kickboxing Association, the first kickboxing sanctioning body, was founded by Osamu Noguchi in 1966 soon after that. Then the first kickboxing event was held in Osaka, April 11, 1966.
Tatsu Yamada died in 1967, but his dojo changed its name to Suginami Gym, and kept sending kickboxers off to support kickboxing.
Kickboxing boomed and became popular in Japan as it began to be broadcast on TV
. By 1970, kickboxing was telecast in Japan on three different channels three times weekly. The fight cards regularly included bouts between Japanese (kickboxers) and Thai (muay thai) boxers. Tadashi Sawamura
was an especially popular early kickboxer. In 1971 the All Japan Kickboxing Association (AJKA) was established and it registered approximately 700 kickboxers. The first AJKA Commissioner was Shintaro Ishihara, the long time Governor of Tokyo. Champions were in each weight division from fly to middle. Long time kickboxer Noboru Osawa won the AJKA bantam weight title, which he held for years. Raymond Edler, an American university student studying at Sophia University in Tokyo, took up kickboxing and won the AJKC middleweight title in 1972; he was the first non-Thai to be officially ranked in the sport of Thai Boxing, when in 1972 Rajadamnern ranked him no. 3 in the Middleweight division. Edler defended the All Japan title several times and abandoned it. Other popular champions were Toshio Fujiwara and Mitsuo Shima. Most notably, Fujiwara was the first non-Thai to win an official Thai Boxing title, when he defeated his Thai opponent in 1978 at Rajadamnern Stadium winning the Lightweight Championship bout.
By 1980 due to poor ratings and then infrequent television coverage the golden-age of kickboxing in Japan was suddenly finished. Kickboxing had not been seen on TV until K-1
was founded in 1993.
In 1993, as Kazuyoshi Ishii
(founder of Seidokaikan
karate) produced K-1 under special kickboxing rules (No elbow and neck wrestling) in 1993, kickboxing became famous again.
These rules have changed with the pass of time, especially in the early 1990s with the creation of new governing bodies and continental promotions like K-1
. For example, neck wrestling and elbow strikes are no longer allowed.
Combat sport
A Combat sport, also known as a Fighting sport, is a competitive contact sport where two combatants fight against each other using certain rules of engagement , typically with the aim of simulating parts of real hand to hand combat...
created by the Japanese boxing promoter Osamu Noguchi and Karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
practitioner Tatsuo Yamada
Tatsuo Yamada
was a Japanese actor best known for his portrayal of biker Jin, the protagonist of Sōgo Ishii's 1980 film Crazy Thunder Road.- External links :...
. It was the first combat sport that adopted the name of "kickboxing
Kickboxing
Kickboxing refers to a group of martial arts and stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching, historically developed from karate, Muay Thai and western boxing....
" in 1966. The sport is now known as Japanese kickboxing and most recently K1 Rules
K-1
K-1 is a defunct world-wide kickboxing promotion based in Tokyo, Japan founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a formerKyokushin karate practitioner. K-1 combines stand up techniques from Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, Savate, San Shou, kickboxing, western-style boxing, and other martial arts...
or Oriental Rules to differ from other combat sports that also adopted the name of "kickboxing".
The original rules were very similar to Muay Thai
Muay Thai
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...
.
History
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
Asakusa
Asakusa
is a district in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan, most famous for the Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon. There are several other temples in Asakusa, as well as various festivals.- History :...
town hall in Japan. Tatsuo Yamada
Tatsuo Yamada
was a Japanese actor best known for his portrayal of biker Jin, the protagonist of Sōgo Ishii's 1980 film Crazy Thunder Road.- External links :...
, who established "Nihon Kempo Karate-do", was interested in Muay Thai because he wanted to perform Karate matches with full-contact rules since practitioners are not allowed to hit each other directly in karate matches. At this time, it was unimaginable to hit each other in karate matches in Japan. He had already announced his plan which was named "The draft principles of project of establishment of a new sport and its industrialization" in November, 1959, and he proposed the tentative name of "Karate-boxing" for this new sport. It is still unknown whether Thai fighters were invited by Yamada, but it is clear that Yamada was the only karateka who was really interested in Muay Thai. Yamada invited a Thai fighter who was the champion of Muay Thai (and formerly his son Kan Yamada's sparring partner), and started studying Muay Thai. At this time, the Thai fighter was taken by Osamu Noguchi who was a promoter of boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and was also interested in Muay Thai. The Thai fighter's photo was on the magazine "The Primer of Nihon Kempo Karate-do, the first number" which was published by Yamada.
There were "Karate vs. Muay Thai fights" February 12, 1963. The three karate fighters from Oyama dojo (Kyokushin
Kyokushin
is a style of stand-up, full contact karate, founded in 1964 by Korean-Japanese karate master, who was born under the name Choi Young-Eui . Kyokushinkai is Japanese for "the society of the ultimate truth". Kyokushin is rooted in a philosophy of self-improvement, discipline and hard training...
later) went to the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Thailand, and fought against 3 Muay Thai fighters. The 3 Kyokushin Karate fighters' names are Tadashi Nakamura
Tadashi Nakamura
is the founder of Seidō juku karatedo.-Early years:Tadashi Nakamura was born on the February 22, 1942 in the town of Maoka on the island of Karafuto. Nakamura trained in various martial arts including Goju-Ryu, Kendo, and Kyokushin...
, Kenji Kurosaki and Akio Fujihira (as known as Noboru Osawa). Japan won by 2-1: Tadashi Nakamura and Akio Fujihira both KOed opponents by punch while Kenji Kurosaki was KOed by elbow. This should be noted that the only Japanese loser Kenji Kurosaki was then a Kyokushin instructor rather than a contender and temporarily designated as a substitute for the absent chosen fighter. Noguchi studied Muay thai
Muay Thai
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...
and developed a combined martial art which Noguchi named kick boxing, which absorbed and adopted more rules than techniques from Muay Thai. The main techniques of kickboxing is still derived from Full-Contact Karate (Kyokushin). However, throwing
Throw (grappling)
A throw is a martial arts term for a grappling technique that involves off-balancing or lifting an opponent, and tossing them to the ground in Japanese martial arts referred to as nage-waza, 投げ技, "throwing technique"...
and butting
Headbutt
A headbutt is a strike with the head, typically involving the use of robust parts of the cranium as areas of impact. Effective headbutting revolves around striking a sensitive area with a less sensitive area, such as striking the nose of an opponent with the forehead...
were allowed in the beginning to distinguish it from Muay Thai style. This was later repealed. The Kickboxing Association, the first kickboxing sanctioning body, was founded by Osamu Noguchi in 1966 soon after that. Then the first kickboxing event was held in Osaka, April 11, 1966.
Tatsu Yamada died in 1967, but his dojo changed its name to Suginami Gym, and kept sending kickboxers off to support kickboxing.
Kickboxing boomed and became popular in Japan as it began to be broadcast on TV
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. By 1970, kickboxing was telecast in Japan on three different channels three times weekly. The fight cards regularly included bouts between Japanese (kickboxers) and Thai (muay thai) boxers. Tadashi Sawamura
Tadashi Sawamura
Tadashi Sawamura is a Japanese former kickboxer whose real name is Hideki Shiraha...
was an especially popular early kickboxer. In 1971 the All Japan Kickboxing Association (AJKA) was established and it registered approximately 700 kickboxers. The first AJKA Commissioner was Shintaro Ishihara, the long time Governor of Tokyo. Champions were in each weight division from fly to middle. Long time kickboxer Noboru Osawa won the AJKA bantam weight title, which he held for years. Raymond Edler, an American university student studying at Sophia University in Tokyo, took up kickboxing and won the AJKC middleweight title in 1972; he was the first non-Thai to be officially ranked in the sport of Thai Boxing, when in 1972 Rajadamnern ranked him no. 3 in the Middleweight division. Edler defended the All Japan title several times and abandoned it. Other popular champions were Toshio Fujiwara and Mitsuo Shima. Most notably, Fujiwara was the first non-Thai to win an official Thai Boxing title, when he defeated his Thai opponent in 1978 at Rajadamnern Stadium winning the Lightweight Championship bout.
By 1980 due to poor ratings and then infrequent television coverage the golden-age of kickboxing in Japan was suddenly finished. Kickboxing had not been seen on TV until K-1
K-1
K-1 is a defunct world-wide kickboxing promotion based in Tokyo, Japan founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a formerKyokushin karate practitioner. K-1 combines stand up techniques from Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, Savate, San Shou, kickboxing, western-style boxing, and other martial arts...
was founded in 1993.
In 1993, as Kazuyoshi Ishii
Kazuyoshi Ishii
is a Japanese master of Seidokaikan karate and founder of the K-1 fighting circuit, a widely televised international martial arts competition combining Muay Thai, karate, sanshou, taekwondo, kenpo, boxing, and kickboxing...
(founder of Seidokaikan
Seidokaikan
is a style of full contact karate, or Knockdown karate, founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii in 1980.-History:First formed in 1980 by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a former Kyokushin Karate practitioner who began his training under Hideyuki Ashihara in 1969...
karate) produced K-1 under special kickboxing rules (No elbow and neck wrestling) in 1993, kickboxing became famous again.
Similarities with Muay Thai
- Time: three minutes × five rounds
- Allowed to attack with elbow
- Allowed to attack with kneeKneeThe knee joint joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two articulations: one between the fibula and tibia, and one between the femur and patella. It is the largest joint in the human body and is very complicated. The knee is a mobile trocho-ginglymus , which permits flexion and extension as...
- Allowed to kick the lower half of the body except crotchCrotchThe term crotch may be used to describe the region of an object where it splits into two or more limbs. This can include trees, animals, buildings, in wiring diagrams, etc....
- Allowed to do neck-wrestling (folding opponent's head with arms and elbows to attack the opponent's body or head with knee-strikes)
- Head butts and throws were banned in 1966 for boxers' safety.
Differences with Muay Thai
- No ram muay before match
- No Thai music during the match
- Point system: In muay thai, kicking to mid-body and head are scored highly generating a large number of points on judges' scorecards. Moreover, kicking is still judged highly even if the kick was blocked. In contrast, punching is worth fewer points. In kickboxing punches and kicks are held in closer esteem.
These rules have changed with the pass of time, especially in the early 1990s with the creation of new governing bodies and continental promotions like K-1
K-1
K-1 is a defunct world-wide kickboxing promotion based in Tokyo, Japan founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a formerKyokushin karate practitioner. K-1 combines stand up techniques from Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, Savate, San Shou, kickboxing, western-style boxing, and other martial arts...
. For example, neck wrestling and elbow strikes are no longer allowed.