The story of kickboxing

For teenagers and adults: age 12 and up. Switch to for younger readers.

1. 1Where does the word kickboxing come from?A Tokyo karate teacher plans a harder kind of contest, Thai fighters come to Japan, and a boxing promoter invents a word. · 2 min
2. 2Why did an American champion want a knockout?Joe Lewis wins at point karate and wants more, a world championship fills a Los Angeles arena, and a new body lets fighters kick the thigh. · 2 min
3. 3How did Europe get a world body?Georg Brueckner calls a meeting in Berlin, two Dutchmen found an association in Amsterdam, and a championship still called karate grows into the sport WAKO runs today. · 2 min
4. 4When did kickboxing come to Britain?A European championship fills Wembley, a world championship follows, a split puts two world titles on one weekend, and a world body is run from a British desk. · 2 min
5. 5What happened when Japan built K-1?A karate teacher turns kickboxing into a stadium show, its rules spread to every big promotion, and WAKO changes its own ring format for 2027. · 2 min
6. 6Is kickboxing an Olympic sport?The IOC recognises WAKO, Los Angeles says no, the World and European Games say yes, and WAKO declares itself the only governing body in the world. · 2 min
7. 7What is kickboxing like in Britain today?Volunteers build a governing body, a national circuit grows past 11,000 entries, a rule about age is written after a debate in Parliament, and a first class turns out to be pads, not punches. · 3 min

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.