Kickboxing is a martial art that is very similar to boxing but this art in particular will allow many strikes with both the hands and feet – thus giving it the name “kickboxing.” Many fitness centers across the nation employ kickboxing classes as a general aerobic workout; however, kickboxing can also be considered both a martial art and a full contact sport. Kickboxing can have both male and female competitors and there are many different forms or types of kickboxing that one can compete in, or participate in as a sport.

The many different forms of kickboxing are Filipino kickboxing (also known as Yaw Yan), shoot boxing, Sanshou, Savate, Khmer kickboxing (also known as Pradal Serey), American kickboxing, Japanese kickboxing, Thai boxing (also known as Muay Thai), as well as Burmese kickboxing and Indian kickboxing (also known as Lethwei and Adithada). Each different form of kickboxing takes on traits from the people in the area in which it is popular – for example, Indian and Burmese kickboxing emphasizes both knee and forehead hits while Savate (French kickboxing) will permit the opponents to wear shoes to give their strikes more impact.

Kickboxing makes an excellent form of self defense – it teaches the student both hand and foot strikes and some schools will even mix street fighting with kickboxing to develop a more well-rounded self-defense curriculum. Many people will practice kickboxing at their local gyms or athletic centers for fitness purposes. Kickboxing is a wonderful workout to help tone the body and burn calories because not only are the arms, legs and abdominal muscles used to kick and punch, the heart muscle is also put to work when the moves are performed quickly, like in a kickboxing match. The popular Tae Bo workout comprises of many moves derived from kickboxing itself. Regardless of the type of kickboxing, the sport itself has become extremely popular in not only America but in countries across the globe.