Competition

The one thing every family should know: in the UK, children's kickboxing competition is mostly WAKO point fighting run by or for Kickboxing GB clubs: light, controlled contact, stopped after every score, with head guards and, for under 13s, face masks. Continuous light contact starts at 13 and full power ring formats at 15. WAKO's full rulebook dates from 2022; changes agreed in March 2026 apply now, and a new K1 Style rule applies from 1 January 2027. Other bodies run separate events with different rules, and since March 2026 WAKO has barred its members from events it has not approved. ^41,42,80,81

Which rulebook is current?

WAKO age groups

Age is counted by year of birth: a competitor is in the group they reach during the calendar year. Proof of age is required at championships. ⁴¹

All rows from the WAKO Rules of 2022, the 2026 categories and the 2026 changes. ^41,42,43

• Moving up. Children and cadets compete only in their own group. Under WAKO rules juniors may enter senior tatami categories, and older juniors senior ring categories only once 18. ⁴¹
• Kickboxing GB's stricter rule: since 3 August 2025, at all Kickboxing GB sanctioned events and for GB members competing abroad, a junior may enter a senior division only if 18 on the day. Kickboxing GB says this followed a parliamentary debate on children's safety in combat sports, and that it is asking WAKO to adopt the rule. ^81,82
• Weight classes, children: under 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33 and 36 kg and over 36 kg. Younger cadets: under 28, 32, 37, 42 and 47 kg and over 47 kg. Younger juniors in the ring, 2026: boys from under 42 kg to over 81 kg in 13 classes, girls from under 36 kg to over 60 kg in 8. ^41,43
• A beginner, under a year of training and at most five cups or opens, may have separate events at cups and opens, never at championships; a referee panel can disqualify a "beginner" who is clearly not one. ⁴¹

Referee commands, results and penalties

WAKO referees give every command in English: shake hands, fight, break, stop, stop time, time and out. ⁴¹ Results are recorded as P, win on points, KO, knockout, TKO, RSC, AB, abandonment, DISQ, disqualification or WO, walk over, and a bout can end early on a maximum score. ⁴¹ Penalties run from a caution through a verbal warning to an official warning, whose second and third bring a minus point and whose fourth disqualifies; each exit from the tatami in point fighting is a minus point. ⁴¹

Scoring and kit for each format are on the formats page.

Medical and safety rules

• Medical certificate: "fit to fight", at most a year old, signed by a doctor recognised by the national federation, renewed after any concussion, serious injury, KO or TKO; a parental consent form for minors is among WAKO's 2026 forms. ^40,41,44
• Minimum checks: medical history, a full physical examination and a resting ECG; a stress ECG from 41. WAKO is phasing in more tests, including blood tests for ring formats from 2028. ⁴⁴
• After a knockout or severe head trauma: examination by the event doctor, a head injury card, hospital if needed, and a minimum ban of 30 days without loss of consciousness, 90 days if unconscious for under a minute, 180 days if longer; 90 days after two such stoppages within 3 months; 12 months after three within 12 months. The ban covers training and sparring, and return needs a negative brain CT or MRI. WAKO's 2022 rulebook gives the shorter figure of "at least 4 weeks". ^41,44
• Anti-doping: WAKO follows the World Anti-Doping Code; Kickboxing GB has adopted UKAD rules for all licensed members. ^41,81
• Kickboxing GB applies WAKO's suspension periods to training and other sports, and adds the UK grassroots concussion guidance: nobody back in sport within 24 hours of a suspected concussion, no competition for at least 21 days. ^80,81,131

The UK competition structure

• Kickboxing GB (WAKO): entries through Sportdata; the GB Grand Slam series, in Bath, Barnsley, Crawley and Warwick in 2027; the British Championships in Sheffield on 27 and 28 February 2027; the National Open in Warwick on 24 and 25 April 2027; club opens such as the Bristol Open; and a Team GB summer camp at Lilleshall in July 2027. Medallists at the Nationals are invited to squad training, the first step in selection under Kickboxing GB's National Team Selection Policy; selected athletes go to WAKO World Cups and European and World Championships and must hold UK Anti-Doping certificates. ^80,81,85
• Kickboxing Ireland (WAKO): national championships and Team Ireland for the island of Ireland, including Northern Ireland. ⁸⁷
• Other bodies' events in the UK, from their own sites: ISKA title fights in England; WKUWORLD's Aberdeen Open on 8 November 2026 and English Open Midlands on 31 January 2027; ICO, WKA and other bodies' championships. ^54,60,62
• WAKO's 2026 rule on other organisations: WAKO members and their athletes may not take part in any event WAKO has not approved, and non WAKO athletes need written approval to enter WAKO events. How Kickboxing GB applies this is not confirmed. ⁴²

Other bodies' rules, examples

Amateur and professional

• amateur kickboxing, every WAKO championship, Kickboxing GB's amateur competitions and the World and European Games, uses head guards and short rounds. ⁴¹
• professional kickboxing has no single world championship: titles come from promotions (K-1, Glory, ONE Championship, Enfusion and others) and from bodies' professional arms (WAKO PRO, ISKA, WKA, WKUWORLD). Most large promotions use K-1 style rules with knees. ^1,7,54,58,60
• In the UK professional shows appear on Kickboxing GB's own calendar, for example a K1 show with a WAKO PRO British title in Newcastle on 28 November 2026. In England and Wales a public contest that combines boxing or wrestling with martial arts counts as boxing or wrestling entertainment under the Licensing Act 2003, as amended in 2013, so such shows need a local licence. ^80,90

Olympic and multi sport status

• Recognised, not on the programme. The IOC gave WAKO provisional recognition on 30 November 2018 and full recognition at the 138th IOC Session in Tokyo in July 2021; WAKO gives the date as 20 July 2021. Recognition makes WAKO part of the Olympic Movement; it does not put kickboxing in the Games. ^2,40,52,53
• Los Angeles 2028 shortlisted kickboxing in August 2022 but did not put it forward in October 2023. ^11,40
• World Games: invitational in Wrocław in 2017, then official in Birmingham, Alabama, in 2022, under K1 rules, and in Chengdu in 2025, with 12 events in K1 Style and point fighting. ¹¹
• European Games: 2023 in the Kraków region (full contact, light contact, point fighting) and Istanbul, 16 to 27 June 2027, with three formats; the qualifying event is the WAKO European Championships in Skopje, 6 to 15 November 2026. ^11,40
• Para kickboxing: WAKO published para kickboxing rules in November 2024, and Kickboxing GB reports Great Britain's first para kickboxing world title at the 2026 Youth World Championships. ^49,81