MONDAY, March 19th, 2001, 5:00 PM

The Kickboxing TALENT Pool
By Alex McDonald - IKF Japan (3/19/01)
AS ON NEWS PAGE:

One of the interesting things about the sport of kickboxing is not only the four rule classes but also where the fighters have come from. Some start as kickboxing amateurs then move on to the pro ranks like amateur boxers move to pro boxing but others come from various martial arts to create a fascinating diversity.

The K-1 in Japan claims that its name comes from the combat arts that have the letter K in them: karate, kung fu, taekwondo, kickboxing, etc. Muay Thai fans tend to dislike the name because most K-1 fighters have some training in Muay Thai, a martial art without a K. Some critics have even said the name K-1 comes from its founders name, Kazuyoshi Ishii (K-I). Regardless of whether the top K-1 fighters are primarily from one background or not, the fact remains that the K-1 has embraced all striking sports as a source of talent.

Let's now look at some of the different striking arts and see how they might perform in the kickboxing ring.

CONTINUED FROM NEWS PAGE BELOW

Let's now look at some of the different striking arts and see how they might perform in the kickboxing ring.

• Hard Karate (Kyokushin kai, seido kaikan, etc)
  • Strikes:
    • Punches: (bare knuckle)- To the body only.
    • Kicks: To the legs, body and head.
    • Elbows: To the body.
    • Knees: To the body and head.
  • Grappling: Holding is nearly non existent. When opponents get too close they tend to push to open the area between them.
  • Protective Equipment: Taping of injured areas is allowed. Otherwise none.
  • Aspects of Competition:
    • Time: 2 min (1st and 2nd overtime extensions are also 2 minutes)
    • Area: Flat surface.
    • Scoring: A knock out or two knock downs will stop the match and decide the winner. One knock down will decide the winner after the time has expired. In the absence of a knock down the 4 judges will select the dominant fighter as the winner. If no decision is reached the competitors will go into overtime. If the overtime extension(s) still don't establish a winner the fighters are weighed. If the smaller of the two is 10kg or more lighter he will be named the winner of the match. If not, the number of boards broken at the beginning of the event will decide the winner. At the 1999 world championships, champion Francisco Filho (L) broke 22 boards whereas finalist Hajime Kazumi broke 19.
    • Other- The elite kyokushin fighters are drawn to attempt what is called the Hyakunin Kumite which is basically a test that requires the karateka to fight 100 fighters in a row. Losses during the test are tolerated provided the test taker doesn't finish with a losing record or leave his feet. Being sent to the floor in one's last match will mean failure. Francisco Filho completed his test in 3 hours 8 minutes with a record of 76 wins-0 losses-24 draws. (He actually did it twice, within the short period of two months. The first time it was in Brazil, and the second time in Japan. He then went on, in the same year, to also place 3rd in the November 1995 World Kyokushin Championships. Filho's bouts -Brazil- were 1 minute and 30 seconds each, and the event took 2 hours and 45 minutes to complete. The Japanese bouts were probably the regulation 2 minutes each, with no total time provided. (3 hours 8 min to complete.) Hajime Kazumi completed his in 4 hours 4 minutes with a record of 58 wins- 0 losses- 42 draws.
• Hard Karate to Kickboxing:
  • Probably the best example of a top level karateka successfully transferring to the sport of kickboxing is the late Andy Hug who had placed 2nd in the Karate World Championships in 1987. Hug had a very rough start in kickboxing though, losing to American Patrick Smith and South African Mike Bernado (both boxers). His biggest problem was protecting his head from punches which were never allowed in karate. By the end of his career he had adopted a style of defense that resembled Floyd Patterson's (R) 'peek-a-boo'.
  • Francisco Filho was an instant success. He fought slow paced fights and when opponents decided to speed things up they wound up flat on their backs. Ernesto Hoost exposed his first weakness; he could be outpointed. Mike Bernado and Jerome LeBanner exposed the second; he could be knocked out. Filho has since added two elements to his repertoire, a snappy jab and the 'peek-a-boo' defense that gave Hug so much success.
• Taekwondo
  • Strikes:
    • Punches: (small gloves) to the body only.
    • Kicks: To the body and head.
  • Grappling: Some holding may happen but the referee then separates the fighters.
  • Protective Equipment: Headgear, mouthpiece, shin guards, groin guard and chest protector.
  • Aspects of competition:
    • Time: 3 rounds x 3 minutes.
    • Area: Flat surface.
    • Scoring: The referee gives points for successful strikes to the designated areas Taekwondo to kickboxing.
      • In 1996, Isamu Hayami who was the Japanese ITF taekwondo champion stepped in the ring against Yakayuki Murosaki who was trained at Muay Thai. Hayami was quick, used the ring well and played a good hit and run game but by not landing any hard strikes his opponent eventually lost respect, chased him down and knocked him out cold.
      • In 1997, Pierre Guenette (R) faced Andy Hug in the opening round of the K-1 GP. Guenette was completely unprepared for the differences between fighting on a mat and fighting in a ring. Hug cut the ring off so well that Guenette resorted to turning his back and running to get some room. His final mistake was pushing with both hands to break a clinch which left him completely open for Hug's right hook.
      • In 1998, Guenette fought Tsuyoshi Nakasako. This time he tried to get some respect by throwing harder punches. Nakasako kept his hands up and absorbed almost all of them in his gloves. Guenette's strategy only got him exhausted. With no energy left all he could do was run. The shocking thing was that, in terms of talent, Guenette completely outclassed Nakasako but talent wasn't enough. He needed skills, especially defensive skills. It was obvious that he could see every punch and kick coming (he'd surely seen faster than Nakasako) but running was only wearing him out and prolonging the inevitable. Never before and never since have I seen a referee stop a fight because a fighter was too exhausted to properly defend himself.
      • It should be noted that a taekwondo artist may not have the TKD skills and talents of Guenette or Hayami but be better suited for kickboxing. Patrick Smith for example, with limited TKD and some boxing skills managed a knockout win over Andy Hug. In fact, if one were to take the top 20 TKD artists and have them compete against each other under kickboxing rules, we'd find that there would be very little correlation between the TKD rankings and the kickboxing rankings. That goes for most crossover athletes. No one would believe, for instance, that Michael Jordan would be the best basketball player turn boxer.
• Boxing:
  • Strikes:
    • Punches: (gloved) To the body and head (no spinning backfist)
    • Kicks: None.
    • Grappling: Holding is a defensive maneuver. Too much holding though can result in warnings, point deductions and even disqualification. The referee is responsible for breaking up fighters in a clinch.
    • Protective Equipment: Headgear (amateurs only), mouthpiece and groin protector.
  • Aspects of Competition
    • Time: Amateur: 4 Rounds X 2 min, Pro: up to 12 rounds X 3 min.
    • Area: Ring (a raised surface with ropes)
    • Scoring: Amateur: The new system gives one point for every clean strike. The judges are criticized for not counting body shots. Pro: 10 point must system. The fighter who scores the most punches wins the round with 10 points, the loser is awarded 9 points. In the event of a knock down, the one still standing is usually awarded the round (10 points) and the loser of the round gets 8 points.
  • Boxing to Kickboxing:
    • Because of the number of promoters in boxing and the amount of money that is made by elite boxers it is much more usual to see kickboxers transfer to boxing than the other way around. One notable example is Vitali Klitschko who won 27 boxing matches in a row by KO before losing to Chris Byrd. Anothers are undefeated IKF North American FC Middleweight Champion Eric Regan (R) and past IKF U.S. Amateur FCR Champion Greg Kirkpatrick. (L)
    • Mike Bernado, who now holds the WBF world title (boxing), has had a fairly successful kickboxing career. In addition to a predominantly punching style, he brought something a little unusual to the mix, head movement. Where most karateka left their heads in one place he made his a difficult target to hit. Even when he was punching his head was moving and hard for counter attackers to hit. The drawback to this is that head movement requires the feet to be well planted which can be dangerous against opponents with powerful low kicks. On a few occasions, Bernado has had his legs kicked out.
    • Rick Roufus (L, The night he won his IKF Title) like many full contact (FC) fighters has a wealth of boxing experience. His first fight in the K-1 saw him matched against Jerome LeBanner. Although he was dominant for most of the fight, his inexperience in leg kick matches cost him the match. He has since devoted himself to developing his skills in this type of match and by defeating Stan Longinidis (R, After his bout with Roufus) has become the IKF International Rules Heavyweight Champion of the World.

• Savate (or La Boxe Française):
  • Strikes:
    • Punches (gloved) To the body and head.
    • Kicks: (shoed) To the legs, body and head (kicks must out number punches)
  • Grappling:
    • Since any holding will stop the clock, it is arguable that grappling is non existent in this sport.
  • Protective Equipment: Headgear: (amateurs only), mouthpiece, groin protector. The gloves are a little longer than boxing gloves to protect the wrist from being injured by the shoes.
  • Aspects of the Competition:
    • Time: 2 to 5 rounds X 1 or 1½ or 2 minute(s). The referee stops the time to break clinches.
    • Area: Ring.
    • Scoring: This is a kicking art and more points are given for kicks than punches. Punches-one point. Low kick- one point. Middle kick- two points. High kick- three points.
  • Savate to Kickboxing:
    • In 1988, Ernesto Hoost of the Netherlands won the European Savate Championships in the middleweight division. He has since been in the K-1 Grand Prix final 4 times winning three times. It should be noted that Hoost is not a pure savateur. He has fought under many different rules on his way to earning the nickname 'Mr. Perfect'. One example was his desire to fight Rick Roufus under full contact rules, pretty gutsy for a man to surrender such great low kicks.
    • Gerard Gordeau who is famous for fighting Royce Gracie in the final of the first UFC, also fought in the K-1 in the early '90s but never managed to win a match.

• San Shou (or shoot boxing)
  • Strikes:
    • Punches: To the body and head.
    • Kicks: To the legs, body and head.
  • Grappling: Holding is accepted and points are given for throws. Hitting while holding is not allowed.
  • Protective Equipment: Headgear (amateurs), shin guards (amateur), mouthpiece and groin protector.
  • Aspects of the Contest:
    • Time: Up to 8 rounds x 2 minutes (pro) or up to 5 rounds x 2 minutes (amateur)
    • Area: Raised surface without ropes or a standard kickboxing ring.
    • Scoring: 10 point must system plus 0-3 points for throws.
  • San Shou to Kickboxing
    • Actually, san shou is a sanctioned event in the IKF and therefore it is kickboxing. Some fighters have however changed rule classes.
      • Teng Jun and An Hu of China stepped into the K-1 ring to compete in the K-1 Japan. They seemed to have a lot of trouble with the grappling. They either were in a great position for a throw or were being held and kneed (there is no holding and hitting in san shou and there are no knee strikes). Teng Jun has shown that he too had tricks up his sleeve. We usually see heavy fighters exhaust smaller fighters in the clinches but Teng's extensive grappling experience is always tiring for any opponent. Even Nobu Hayashi, who outweighed him by about 25 kg, (55 lbs) was gasping for air by the end of their bout.
      • As a crossover sport, San Shou may also be attractive for NHB fighters who want to work exclusively on their standing game: from strikes to throws.

• Muay Thai:
  • Strikes:
    • Punches: (gloved) To the body and head.
    • Elbows: To the body and head.
    • Kicks. To the legs, body and head.
    • Knees: To the body and head.
  • Grappling: Extended holding is permitted as is holding (the neck and head) and hitting (especially knees). Throws are not allowed.
  • Protective Equipment: Headgear: (amateurs), shinguards (amateurs), elbow pads (amateurs), mouthpiece, groin protector.
  • Aspects of the Competition:
    • Time: 5 three minute rounds (3x2 for amateurs)
    • Area: Ring.
    • Scoring: Since Muay Thai is viewed as a sport in the IKF, it is scored on a 10 point must system. In Thailand though, it is scored like a fight so if the judges feel fighter A controlled the fight even if he were hit more times, they will declare him the winner.
  • MuayThai to Kickboxing:
    • Muay Thai enthusiasts may feel there is a world of difference between their beloved sport and kickboxing but the IKF does sanction Muay Thai under the umbrella term of kickboxing. Furthermore, there have been crossover matches where Thai fighters fought under compromised rules or western kickboxers fought in Thailand.

• Full Contact:
  • Strikes:
    • Punches: (gloved) To the body and head.
    • Kicks: (padded footwear) To the body and head. Minimum of 6 kicks (amateur) or 8 kicks (pro) thrown per round.
  • Grappling: Defensive holding may take place but it is the responsibility of the referee to break any clinches.
  • Protective Equipment: Headgear (amateurs only), shinguards (amateur), foot pads, mouthpiece and groin protector.
  • Aspects of Competition:
    • Time: Amateur: 3 to 5 rounds X 2 minutes. Pro: 5 to 12 rounds X 2 minutes.
    • Area: Ring.
    • Scoring: 10 point must system. The biggest difference is that points are deducted for not throwing the required number of kicks. One point is deducted for the first inadequate round, two for the second, three for the third and so on.
  • Full Contact to Kickboxing
    • Again this is a sanctioned rule style in the IKF so it is therefore under the umbrella term of kickboxing. Probably the most successful fighters to make the switch from FC to IR is Rick Roufus (R) who now holds the IKF Heavyweight World Title.

• International Rules Kickboxing (Leg Kick)
  • Strikes:
    • Punches: (gloved) To the body and head.
    • Kicks: To the legs (not to the knees), body and head.
  • Grappling: As in boxing, holding may happen but it is the responsibility of the referee to break up any clinches. There is neither throwing nor holding and hitting.
  • Protective Equipment: Headgear (amateurs), shin guards (amateurs), mouthpiece, and groin protector.
  • Aspects of Competition:
    • Time: Amateur 3 X 2 minute rounds. Pro: up to 10 X 2 minute rounds.
    • Area: Ring.
    • Scoring: Standard 10 point must scoring.
  • Kickboxing Crossovers
    • In the IKF National Amateur Tournament, this set of rules is regarded by fighters and trainers as the neutral rules. If, for instance, a san shou competitor and a MT fighter are without opponents, they will view IR as the neutral ground and compromise (though purists will see no value and walk out).

Conclusion

Many spectators view martial arts simply by the techniques used or the rules of their contests. We hear things like 'Why don't karate guys just put on gloves and punch to the head?' The reason is in the approach the martial art takes as its ultimate purpose. Although many martial arts are also competitive sports, they are primarily for self defense. The reason hard karate fighters fight with bare knuckles is simply that if attacked by someone on the street, they will not have time to slip on a pair of gloves. Also, how many of the first UFC fighters trained with gloves then broke bones in their hands fighting bare knuckle? I can think of a few.
The reason TKD fighters throw quick kicks and retreat is because disengaging from a fight is a very safe and sensible thing to do. Think about it. What are referees in the ring for? To make sure there is a fight. (As well as for the safety of the fighters of course) If a fighter stepped into the ring with a strategy of holding and running, he'd probably look okay after the fight (at least until the promoter got a hold of him). So, standing toe to toe on the street with some criminal (it is a crime after all to attack people on the street) is therefore trained out of these students.

Despite all the style bashing we often hear, I believe every style has something to offer the sport of kickboxing and in return the sport of kickboxing may have something to offer martial artists: a pro career.
The purpose of the IKF National Amateur Tournament, is to give amateurs the chance to gain experience with fighters from around the country. It is so sad to see fighters with few amateur fights turning pro due to lack of competition. Or someone with a number of hometown fights challenging for a world amateur title with an irresponsible sanctioning organization. It is also a shame to see very talented martial artists step into a ring for the first time as a pro and oblivious to the dangers they face. It is fine for the K-1 to embrace different fighting styles but it's simply unwise for the athletes to make the transition from amateur to pro at the same time as they make the transition from their style to that of kickboxing.

Having said that, I would like to recommend fighters from the amateur martial arts community to register for future IKF National Amateur Tournaments. I strongly believe that the protective equipment will reduce the risk of injury and give you the chance to showcase your talents. Naturally, I don't expect to see a wave of crossover fighters. Some purists feel the rules of their competitions are as much a part of the art as the techniques and the underlying approach. For those, however, who feel the approach and the techniques could apply to different rule systems, I'm sure the IKF will welcome you. Spread the word.

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