THE SPORT OF KICKBOXING
Kickboxing is a highly effective striking martial art that mainly uses punching and kicking techniques. The style of Kickboxing we teach at SHIDO is a mixture of different martial art styles, which includes styles like Boxing, Karate, Taekwondo, Muaythai and more. Over the years, SHIDO has created over 50 champions, and our style of Kickboxing has been highly effective in both competition and self-defence situations.
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Our Kickboxing classes will make you fitter, stronger and faster than you've ever been before! Forge yourself into a human weapon while learning more about yourself as you embark on the SHIDO journey of self-development and self-discovery. Become healthier and join a group of like-minded individuals that will help you to unlock your full potential!
Join now and be part of the welcoming, supportive, fun family of SHIDO martial artists!
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For more information on the unique SHIDO Curriculum, click here.
KICKBOXING COMPETITIONS
Competing in Kickboxing tournaments are not compulsory, however, in order to grade higher than Orange Belt, you need to compete in any mode of Kickboxing. Your instructors will guide you and should you choose to compete, they will let you know when you are ready. Keep in mind that we have a very strict standard and we do not let anyone compete if they are not ready.
We are affiliated to the South African Kickboxing Association (SAKA) and in SAKA there are two main “styles” of Kickboxing, they are Point Fighting and Continuous Fighting. Here are brief explanations of what each of them consists of:
​POINT FIGHTING
Point Fighting, also called Semi Contact Kickboxing, is completely different in comparison to Continuous Kickboxing. It's also very similar to Sports Karate; the stance and way of executing techniques differ greatly from Continuous Kickboxing. The purpose of this style of Kickboxing is to score points with an emphasis on speed and technique.
In competition, the contact is controlled and once a point is scored the bout will be stopped, the referee will then award the point, reset the fighters to their starting position and then the fight will continue. The bouts are held on a tatami (mat area), and you achieve victory by scoring the most points over the duration of the rounds, or if a fighter has a 10-point difference over his/her opponent.
Fighters can score by using a variety of punches and kicks, all techniques must be above the waist and foot sweeps are also allowed. The gloves in Point Fighting are also different; these gloves are commonly referred to as “Semi Gloves” or "Point Fighting Gloves" and are shaped differently from normal Boxing Gloves which are used in Continuous Kickboxing.
Fighters competing in Point Fighting must wear long Kickboxing pants, shirt, Head Gear, Mouth Guard, Semi Gloves, Shin Pads and Foot Pads, also male and female fighters must wear Groin Guards and female fighters must wear breast protectors. All equipment can be ordered through us.
CONTINUOUS KICKBOXING
This style of Kickboxing is what most people think of when you use the term Kickboxing, the main difference between Continuous and Point Fighting is that once a fighter scores a point the fight will not be stopped, the fight carries on until the referee stops the bout. All Continuous bouts must be fought with Hand Wraps and Boxing Gloves.
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There are various Continuous modes that are used in competitions:
LIGHT CONTACT
In competition, these bouts are also fought on a tatami (mat area) and are commonly fought after the Point Fighting divisions. The fighters are allowed to score points with various punching and kicking techniques above the waistline, foot sweeps are also allowed. Only clean techniques that are landed with sufficient power on legal target areas will be scored, however, the contact must be controlled. The fighter that accumulates the most points over the duration of the rounds will then be the winner, the same clothing and protective gear must be worn as with Point Fighting.
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LOW KICK LIGHT
Similar to Light Contact, except you are allowed to execute kicking techniques to your opponents inner and other thighs. The same clothing and protective gear must be worn as with Light Contact, except instead of the long Kickboxing pants, fighters must wear short Kickboxing pants.
FULL CONTACT
The rules in Full Contact are similar to Light Contact, except instead of fighting on the tatami, Full Contact Kickboxing is fought in a Boxing Ring, and excessive contact is allowed. The object of Full Contact is to finish your opponent by either knocking them out of having the referee stop the fight due to injury or because your opponent is no longer intelligently defending him/herself. If neither fighter could finish one another, the judges will determine the winner based on points similar to Light Contact. The clothing and protective gear are similar to Light Contact, except male fighters do not wear shirts during the bout and female fighters must wear sports tops.
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LOW KICK FULL CONTACT
Similar to Full Contact, except you are allowed to execute kicking techniques to your opponents inner and outer thighs. The same clothing and equipment will be used as in normal Full Contact, except the Shin Pads are different, instead of fighting with a Shin Pad + Foot Pad, you will now fight with a Shin Pad that covers the instep of the foot. Fighters must also wear short Kickboxing pants instead of long Kickboxing pants.
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K1 KICKBOXING
Similar to Low Kick Full Contact, except there are differences in a few rules: You are allowed to catch your opponent's kicks and counter immediately, you are allowed to kick the whole leg of your opponent (including the calf area), you are also allowed to grab hold of your opponent for 5 seconds and execute one Knee Strike, the Spinning Back Fist technique is also allowed in K-1.
In order to become a Black Belt at SHIDO you need to be skilful in all the above styles of Kickboxing.
We only compete at SAKA sanctioned events.
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For a detailed list of SAKA Kickboxing events for 2023 CLICK HERE.
