Kickboxing is one of the most popular combat sports that has been around since the 1950s. Though kickboxing is often associated with countries with strong martial arts cultures, such as Japan or Thailand, the nation that actually dominates the sport is the Netherlands.
MMAchannel.com Staff
A lot of MMA fans believe that Taekwondo (TKD) doesn’t have any relevance in cage fighting. But the reality is TKD is more than present in modern MMA. Although the application of this Korean art is quite limited, there have been a number of successful UFC fighters who came from a strong foundation in TKD.
PFL, launched in 2018, is the first major MMA promotion to use a sport-season format where fighters compete in regular-season events to earn points. After the regular season, fighters with the most points compete in the playoffs, where the final two winners face off in the championship.
Capoeira is a hybrid martial art that mixes martial arts techniques with aspects of dancing, acrobatics, music, and spirituality. The traditional form concentrates on self-defense, whereas the modern form is focused on demonstration and spreading Brazilian culture through martial art dancing.
Unlike most other martial arts, BJJ doesn’t include any striking, which causes most injuries, so the overall risks are low. Kids spend most of their time rolling on the ground in a controlled environment, and all the moves that increase the risks of injuries are left out of the learning syllabus.
Taekwondo has a bad reputation because it focuses too much on kicking skills, making it a one-dimensional art, and also because of its emphasis on rules and competition over self-defense. As a result, taekwondo has lost its reputation as a combat art and is now primarily perceived as a sport.