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Most martial arts involve the use of kicks and punches and,
therefore, are often described as Kick boxing in English.
Martial arts of China
traditionally emphasise throwing and seizing as well as using hand,
elbow, knee, shin, foot, head, shoulder and hip as striking weapons.
Official contests were arranged yearly in order for the best
candidate to be recruited by the ruler to serve the country. Unofficial
contests also took place in order for the combatants to test their mental
and physical effectiveness and to improve the correctness of their
training and understanding. However serious injury and death often
resulted from these contests.
In modern days, safety rules have become necessary for the contests
to serve society. Many dangerous techniques of Chinese martial arts,
although still practised in traditional systems, are prohibited.
Boxing gloves have also been introduced to prevent injury. For
these reasons, you will see only Jab, Cross Hook and Uppercut commonly
used in competition, where leg techniques are Front, Side and Round Kick
in conjunction with throwing techniques.
The measure of how well these techniques are mastered can be
observed in full-contact competition or semi-contact competition, where use of force is
regulated, and the intention is to score points by executing successful
strikes past the opponent's guard.
To do well either in full-contact competition or
semi-contact competition, the combatants are required to have sound
functioning of the heart, blood vessels, lungs, and muscles. As the body
must have the ability to function efficiently and effectively all of the
following are an important part of our training:
1.
Body composition
2.
Balance
3.
Coordination
4.
Flexibility
5.
Agility
6.
Strength
7.
Stamina
8.
Speed
9.
Reflexes
10.
Cardiovascular
endurance, as well as mental and emotional health.
Many have taken up Kickboxing for these benefits and its
effective calorie
burning as a
substitute for the monotonous miles spent on a bike and
treadmill or jogging rather than for the purpose of competition or self
defence.
However, when you have mastered the skills of using your body
efficiently you may decide that you do want to participate and help to
improve the School’s record in international competition. So far we have
only achieved a
Bronze and a Gold Medal in Full
Contact competition at the World Championships plus a silver medal at
Full Contact World Cup competition run by IWUF(plus a few from the
European Championships run by EWUF).
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