Why has Kickboxing never had the same kind of popularity as boxing

Discussion in 'MMA Forum' started by Moggy94, Jan 14, 2022.



  1. Dubblechin

    Dubblechin Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Kickboxing was NOT huge in America in the 1980s.

    Kickboxing has never been HUGE in America.
     
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  2. Aydamn

    Aydamn Dillian Da Dissappointment Full Member

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    Maybe on this website it isnt popular but it does have a global following especially since Pride and K-1 days and now Glory.

    There are quite a few fans on here and I am a massive fan.

    I’ve watched a lot of kickboxing, Badr Hari, Tyrone Spong, Melvin Manhoef, Ghokan Saki, Ernesto Hoost, Mirko CroCop, Nieky Holzken, Ramon Dekkers some of my favourites.

    these guys are legendary fighters, the arenas are always packed and more lively than boxing fights imo.

    I used to watch UFC a lot between 2007 - 2015 but I got sick and tired of the lack of discipline and inconsistency of fighters. Fights ending in random ways. So I stopped watching it... but watch some big fights when they are on. I dont keep up to date with UFC anymore.

    Kickboxing and boxing for me.
     
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  3. FrankinDallas

    FrankinDallas Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Throughout human history, especially military history, it had been considered feminine to kick someone else, while punching another man is a masculine move. It's only recently as Western men "get in touch with their feminine side" that kickboxing has drawn fans.

    It's sad, really.
     
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  4. Aydamn

    Aydamn Dillian Da Dissappointment Full Member

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    Kicking is more effective than boxing.
     
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  5. Dubblechin

    Dubblechin Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    I remember tuning in to watch some kickboxing fights on ESPN in the early days. And I recall seeing some K1 fights here or there ... the Pluto app on Roku also shows a lot of older K1 fights.

    I think it never took off in the U.S. for ONE basic reason. I don't mean this at all as an insult. It was just ingrained in everyone's head as I grew up and in the generations before me (not so much now).

    When I was growing up (70s, 80s,) if you kicked in a fight you were called a "girl" or a "sissy." Fighting was with your fists. You squared up to fight someone anywhere - playground, bar, gym - if your opponent tried to kick you everyone watching would get mad and call him a sissy.

    Girls kicked. Guys didn't. If you were a guy and you were in a fight and you started kicking, that meant you were losing. It was a cultural and a generational thing. It meant you couldn't win a fair fight. You had to kick.

    And kicking usually meant you were trying to kick him in the balls.

    People kicked in Karate. Karate was popular in the 70s. But it was something people did for fun or people did to defend themselves if someone tried to fight them. It wasn't for the people who "liked" to fight. Unlike Bruce Lee movies, people didn't do Karate moves when a fight broke out somewhere.

    So, when you turned on kickboxing and two guys came out and instead of punching, one of them started trying to kick a guy in the leg or the stomach, culturally, people here would look at it and just instinctually go "what is that guy doing?"

    This generation coming up now don't call people sissies. MMA is popular. But you still hear older people say they look gay rolling around on the floor like that. My son-in-law loves MMA. He studies martial arts. He's won competitions in the Marines. To tease him a bit, if we're watching MMA and they start kicking, sometimes I'll say "what a bunch of sissies." And he rolls his eyes.

    Maybe it's why I hate women's boxing but like women's MMA. Growing up, when girls fought, you expected them to kick, wrestle and punch each other. It looks normal. Guys didn't kick.

    Basically, this country's culture historically has always been you "stand up and fight like a man." And fighting like a man didn't include kicking.
     
    Last edited: Jan 14, 2022
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  6. Dubblechin

    Dubblechin Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Just saw this. Thank you. That's what I was trying to say.
     
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  7. FrankinDallas

    FrankinDallas Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    That's why it's easier for women to kick someone else.

    BYW, using a gun is the most effective deterrent to someone trying to hurt you, not slapping and kicking.
     
  8. Sheikh

    Sheikh Well-Known Member Full Member

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    Great question. I'm also curious
     
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  9. Puroresu_Fan

    Puroresu_Fan Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    K-1 in its prime was quality!!!!
     
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  10. Aydamn

    Aydamn Dillian Da Dissappointment Full Member

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    Thats true. Just kill them and you’ll feel better in the morning for it lol
     
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  11. FrankinDallas

    FrankinDallas Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Never bring a foot to a gun fight.
     
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  12. Moggy94

    Moggy94 Active Member Full Member

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    Nothing feminine about a head kick or getting leg kicked to the point you can't stand
     
  13. Aydamn

    Aydamn Dillian Da Dissappointment Full Member

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    Well I live in the UK and we don’t have a great many guns here. We do have kitchen knives though.
     
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  14. Moggy94

    Moggy94 Active Member Full Member

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    Yes but we don't want to have to use a gun or end up in prison don't we?
     
  15. FrankinDallas

    FrankinDallas Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    An iron frying pan is effective. BYW I dont own a gun and never have. But I can slap like a little girl.
     
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