In the Chinese Martial Arts, there is a form of kickboxing referred to as ‘sanda’.

Sanda (Chinese: 散打; pinyin: Sǎndǎ), formerly Sanshou (Chinese: 散手; pinyin: Sǎnshǒu), is the official Chinese kickboxing full-contact combat sport. In Chinese Language, "Sanda" originally referred to independent and separate training and combat techniques in contrast to "Taolu" (pre-arranged forms or routines).
Sanda is a fighting system which was originally developed by the Chinese military based upon the study and practices of traditional Chinese martial arts and modern combat fighting techniques; it combines boxing and full-contact kickboxing, which includes close range and rapid successive punches and kicks, with wrestling, takedowns, throws, sweeps, kick catches, and in some competitions, even elbow and knee strikes.

— https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanda_(sport)

Whilst some of the locations in the Wutan school offer it, I have never learned or practiced sanda and the closest I have gotten to it was the sparring I used to do in Karate, but perhaps more so, the sparring we used to do in Taekwondo (groin guard, gum shield, foot pads and open-handed lightweight gloves).

In this article I want to use some material recorded and collected by Jesse Enkamp ‘The Karate Nerd’ to showcase some of the early Western pioneers of kickboxing.

…you shouldn’t limit yourself to one singular aspect of Karate – but learn from everyone regardless of style, rank or age.

— https://www.karatebyjesse.com/

It concludes with Jesse’s own personal voyage of discovery and experience of the kickboxing ring (no spoilers!).

We’ll start with Benny ’The Jet’ Urquidez. He claims to have invented the term ‘kickboxing’ (and I would not argue with him!).

Benny Urquidez (born June 20, 1952) is an American former professional kickboxer, martial arts choreographer and actor. Nicknamed "The Jet", Urquidez was a non-contact karate competitor who later pioneered full-contact fighting in the United States. He made the transition from point to full-contact karate in 1974, the year of its inception in the US, frequently fighting in bouts where the rules were ambiguous and contrasts in styles were dramatic. Urquidez is also known for once holding the rare achievement of six world titles in five different weight divisions, and remained largely undefeated in his 27-year career. His only loss came in a Muay Thai match which was shrouded in controversy, as Urquidez had only agreed to a no-decision exhibition, a clause that was ignored when the fight was over.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benny_Urquidez

Interesting to me, but probably an every day technique to a fighter, was the ‘switch jab’ - look out for it about 08:40 in.

Also, ‘cutting’ sweeps to the shin ‘stop people from dancing’, and kicking the thigh stops the opponent from using any power in the punch. Some great counters to elbows, knees, clinches.

Get’s a bit philosophical from about 20:00 onwards.

Next, let’s look at Bill ‘Superfoot’ Wallace…

William Louis Wallace (born December 1, 1945), nicknamed "Superfoot", is an American martial artist, former professional kickboxer, and actor. Considered one of the first American superstars of kickboxing, he was the Professional Karate Association (PKA) World Full-Contact Champion, and the Middleweight Kickboxing Champion for six years, retiring with an undefeated 23-0-0 record. He was elected to Black Belt magazine's Hall of Fame in 1973 as "Tournament Karate Fighter of the Year" and again in 1978 as "Man of the Year". He is currently the International Ambassador for PKA Worldwide.

— https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Wallace_(martial_artist)

Wallace tore his medial ligament of his right knee when training in judo. He started learning karate whilst he was still in a cast! When he had the cast removed he had to find a way to protect the knee. He developed a fighting system around speed rather than power. Slightly contradicting himself he goes on to say his sidekick is his power shot, his roundhouse kick is his jab and his hook kick is his counter. He compares his side kick to a punch, his roundhouse to a ridge hand and his hook kick to a backlist.

Here’s Jesse’s interview and session with him…

The final video in this post starts with Jesse getting some expert coaching before entering his first full contact fight.

Is it going to be a 👍🏻 or a👎🏻?

Photos by angelo cornejo and Lisa Marie Theck on Unsplash

Kickboxing

What’s in a name?