Netherlands was the first country to adopt modern kickboxing from Japan. It quickly established global dominance and became home to the best training facilities, coaches, and world champions, all of whom played very influential roles in making it a very popular sport in the Netherlands.
STRIKING ARTS
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.
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.
Golden Gloves boxing started in 1923 in Chicago to promote amateur boxing tournaments. Since then, they have organized boxing events in various regions across the U.S., providing opportunities for amateur boxers to ultimately test their skills against one another to become the national champion.
ISKA stands for “International Sport Kickboxing Association.” It is a major sanctioning and regulatory body for kickboxing events worldwide and also hosts its own ISKA kickboxing events.
Okinawan karate refers to the earliest karate forms created in Okinawa. When Japan took over the Okinawa islands, Okinawans developed karate to protect themselves from cruel rulers. Karate eventually spread to Japan, and these Okinawan forms became the basis for various styles of karate.