EveryDojo

Chapter 5 of 7 · 2 min

What happened when Japan built K-1?

A karate teacher turns kickboxing into a stadium show, and its rules spread around the world.

Read the version for teenagers and adults

In 1993 a Japanese karate teacher called Kazuyoshi Ishii started a professional promotion called K-1. 1,7 It filled huge arenas, and its rules became the rules of most professional kickboxing in the world. 1,7

A lit ring at the centre of a huge packed arena, with a man in a suit watching from ringside.

K-1 rules

allow punches, kicks, low kicks and knees. They allow no elbows, and very little holding. 1,7 WAKO calls its own version . 41

Three ring formats

WAKO has three ring formats. All of them are full power. The difference is what the legs may do. 41

  • : above the waist only, at least six kicks a round, long trousers. 41
  • : the same, plus kicks to the thigh, in shorts. 41
  • K1 Style: kicks to any part of the leg, plus knees and the spinning backfist. 41
A fighter in a head guard driving a knee into an opponent's body in a ring.

From 1 January 2027 K1 Style fighters may not hold each other at all. 42

Amateur and professional

Every WAKO championship is amateur. Everyone wears a , and rounds are short: three rounds of two minutes in the ring. 41 Fighters aged 15 and 16 are stopped after two knockdowns instead of three. 41

Professional kickboxing has no single world championship. Titles come from promotions like K-1 and Glory, and from the professional arms of the bodies. 1,7,54,58,60

An empty lit ring under coloured stage lights in a dark arena, with a walkway leading to it.

What a knockout costs

The ring is where a can happen, and WAKO's medical rules take it seriously. After a knockout a fighter is checked by the event doctor and must rest for at least 30 days, longer if they were knocked unconscious. 44 They may not train or spar during that time. 44

A competition hall with a blue mat on the left and a boxing ring on the right, both in use.

Mat and ring, amateur and professional. The next chapter asks the question families ask most. Is kickboxing in the Olympics?

Quick quiz

Three questions, just for you. Nobody is keeping score.

1. Who started K-1?

2. Which WAKO ring format allows knees?

3. What must every fighter wear at a WAKO championship?

Next: Is kickboxing an Olympic sport?
Previous: When did kickboxing come to Britain?

Written from checked sources, listed on the sources page. Pictures are drawn, with computer help, under our direction; none shows a real child. Recorded chapters and words are read by a computer voice; a word not yet recorded uses your device's own voice.