Nobody knows exactly when the first kickboxing club opened in Britain. But we do know about a crowd. 5,10
The Americans first
In the 1970s the , the American professional group, was the biggest kickboxing body not only in America but in Britain and much of Europe too. 5
Wembley
In 1980 WAKO's European Championships were held at the Wembley Centre in London. Great Britain came second on the medal table. 10
Three years later, on 22 October 1983, the WAKO World Championships came to Wembley too. 10
Two championships in one weekend
In 1985 WAKO split in two. Two rival world championships were held on the same weekend, one in London and one in Budapest, in Hungary. 10 The split was mended the next year. 10 And 1985 was the first year women competed at a WAKO championship. They competed at both events. 10
A world body run from Britain
The , the American group from chapter two, was run from Britain from 1994 under Paul Ingram. 4,58 Its headquarters moved to Birmingham in December 2016, and it has been run from New Zealand since December 2018. 4,58
came too. Its European rules name an office in Wolverhampton. 55
Kickboxing GB
For many years WAKO's British member was called WAKO GB. In August 2023 it became . 81 The UK sports councils recognise Kickboxing GB for England, Scotland and Wales, and for Northern Ireland. 89 ISKA, the WKA and the other groups are not recognised by the sports councils. 89
Most clubs belong to no group at all. On 8 October 2026, 293 of the 362 kickboxing clubs on EveryDojo's list were independent. 141
What kickboxing looks like inside the ring today was decided, once more, in Japan.