American Kickboxing

[fistfeet]

I'm looking for a school that teaches American Kickboxing in New York City. I've gone to a few schools and have only been able to find Muay Thai and karate schools that claim to do American kickboxing but only dedicate little time to sparring and too much time on kata.

If anyone knows of schools please let me know. I'm very eager to begin my study.

fistfeet

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whats the difference between american kickboxing and normal kickboxing

[Tom Yum]

whats the difference between american kickboxing and normal kickboxing

American kickboxing combines punches from boxing and kicks from karate & tkd. The rules limit kicks above the waist and the general rules of boxing apply.

Muay Thai kickboxing uses punches from boxing as well, but also permits the use of elbow strikes, knees, clinching (stand up wrestling) and kicks to the legs and higher areas. The kicking techniques are more about power and landing with the hardest parts of the leg.

American kickboxing is a great sport because of its combination of boxing and kicking techniques. They are great fighters too but fight under different rules.


About muay thai? I've heard people say that martial art abc has the exact same techniques as muay thai, so why is it so special?

The difference is in the training method and the brave fighters that step into the ring that can fight under elbows/knees to the head.

In your typical karate class, you might practice 10 vertical elbows with each arm, 10 rising knee strikes for each leg and 10 horizontal elbows with each arm from a fighting stance. You might also incorporate these techniques in partner assisted self-defense techniques.

In your typical muay thai class you might spend 3 minute rounds throwing elbow from different angles and getting popped back by a pad. You might also spend 3 minute rounds throwing knees in different combinations to attack the body or head. You are generally blasting your elbows and knees into a 5-6 lb pad stuffed with anything from cloth to tightly packed sand.

Your partner might swing one of the pads at you to simluate someone attacking back while you are attacking or resting to teach you how to handle pressure while maintaining your focus and power.

[silapathai]

hmm

I'm looking for a school that teaches American Kickboxing in New York City. I've gone to a few schools and have only been able to find Muay Thai and karate schools that claim to do American kickboxing but only dedicate little time to sparring and too much time on kata.

If anyone knows of schools please let me know. I'm very eager to begin my study.

fistfeet

I assume you mean old PKA style kickboxing like Joe Lewis, Bill Wallace, and Benny "the jet" competed in? I also assume that you saw kata being done at the karate school and not at the muay thai gym.
In all honesty you don't need to spar a lot to be a good fighter and sparring a lot can actually give you bad habbits(in standup arts). I really don't think much of the kind of kickboxing I assume you're looking for...only kicks above the waist are allowed, no knees, elbows...good boxing skills in some of the fighters. I do respect the pioneers in american kickboxing because let's face it, what else was there available to them at that time in the USA? And they're skilled fighters but American style kickboxing is nothing compared to European and Asian style kickboxing...and Muay Thai.

[fistfeet]

I understand that there are both pros and cons in every martial art.

However, I feel that sparring is essential for creating real life fights. Hitting bags, practicing katas are good for building stamina and correct form, but only sparring places you in a situation where you are forced to show the moves you own as opposed to the ones your peer is allowing you to practice on him. In sparring you actually get hit, you have to evade and counter under punches and kicks.
Yes I feel that it is at great disadvantage that in American kickboxing kicks below the waist are not allowed. However, I feel that it is a great disadvantage in muay thai that there is no full contact sparring. Yes some of the muay thai kicks are more powerful, but the tremendous leverage used to throw these kicks places the fighter in an unbalanced stance something that a street fighter will use to his advantage. The elbows are also great, but who gets elbowed in the face during practice?

I am not saying that American kickboxing is better and I am not in any way down playing muay thai. These are just observations.

[ryangruhn]

Why do you want to study "American Kickboxing"? Is there any reason you don't want to study Muay Thai? Just curious.

Gruhn

[fistfeet]

I want to study American Kickboxing for self-defense. I want to know that when I kick or punch my opponent that I am executing the moves on someone who is truly trying to evade and hit me. I don't just want to hit punching bags all day long and practice moves that I never really used on my opponents at the gym. It is a fall sense of security. Striking someone in a fight takes more then power and technique. The person needs accuracy, timing, speed, and ability to perform the moves under the pressure of attack.

Muay thai is very good, but a person needs to be a well-seasoned fighter in muay thai before he can say he is a good fighter. He needs to get into the ring and get hit, regain balance, maintain control under attack and successfully apply techniques during this high adrenaline situation.

I like American Kick boxing because they make you spar intensely. I also like martial arts like judo, because you are attempting to apply techniques to someone who is resisting you. I think a big misconception in martial arts training is that a person who hits a bag and hits it hard is a lethal weapon. Or a student who throws amazing kicks in the air during katas will be good at self-defense. Learning to feel the pain of being punched, kicked, pushed and dealing with fears and keeping composure while under attack is a necessity before the person can proudly say he can apply techniques.

[EmptyneSs]

fist, i think u have some misconceptions about muay thai and american kickboxing. u mention using thai kicks put u at risk, but wouldnt u think american style high kicks are more risky to use in self defense than the lower muay thai kicks that are more powerful and easier to execute? also american style kickboxing uses the foot to hit targets wich can cause injury to your foot and are much less powerful than the more reliable thai style kicks that use the shin to hit targets. american kickboxing is way more flashier than muay thai, muay thai is simple, str8foreward and to the point. muay thai doesnt contain any katas, and there is plenty of sparring in muay thai. i spar like 30+ rounds a week vs all kinds of different opponents. some come at me full force and try to brawl, and some try to work on their skills, so i get really good experience in fighting. we box, and spar full contact with protective gear all the time. american kickboxing is cool, but i think muay thai is just more effective. also, just about everything that is in american kickboxing is in muay thai, its just more effective and simpler.

[EmptyneSs]

btw, check out this webpage http://members.aol.com/Thaiboxing2000/

theres a section that talks about how american kickboxers, including benny the jet went to compete in thai land and all of em got easily decimated by the thai boxers.

[Garland]

I want to study American Kickboxing for self-defense.
Muay thai is very good, but a person needs to be a well-seasoned fighter in muay thai before he can say he is a good fighter.
I like American Kick boxing because they make you spar intensely. I think a big misconception in martial arts training is that a person who hits a bag and hits it hard is a lethal weapon. Learning to feel the pain of being punched, kicked, pushed and dealing with fears and keeping composure while under attack is a necessity before the person can proudly say he can apply techniques.

You know nothing of muay thai. American kickboxers spar intensely??? Jesus, bro, you needs to be schooled. I'm not going to lie, I'm going to be as blunt as possible, American kickboxing is crap...and generally practiced by mullet-having, american-flag-wearing, yokel mo-fos who couldn't fight their own fat asses out of a wet paper bag. I'd be more concerned by an elderly old lady going through tai chi movements, than by some silly redneck who tried to front me with some silly ass stance. The only thing an "american" style kickboxer has on his side is, and this is very unlikely, good western boxing...what I'm saying is;
boxing good, Thai boxing is hard-core, and "american kickboxing" is for flag wearing, glass-closet hiding, latent homosexual rednecks who picked up a martial art in the first place to try and get some tough guy points...much like the Napoleon Dynamite fool.

So...yeah...gets a clue, you nay-saying, ignorant-ass, perpetratin' punk.