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Kickboxing

Focus	Striking
Hardness	Full-contact
Country of origin	Japan
Creator	Osamu Noguchi, Yamada Tatsuo
Famous practitioners	see list of kickboxers
Parenthood	Muay Thai, karate, boxing
Descendant arts	Shoot boxing

Kickboxing (in Japanese キックボクシング kikkubokushingu) refers to a group of martial arts and stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching, historically developed from karate, Muay Thai and western boxing.^[1][2] Kickboxing is often practiced for self-defense, general fitness, or as a contact sport.^[3][4][5]

Japanese kickboxing originates in the 1960s, with competitions held since the 1960s. American kickboxing originates in the 1970s. Japanese kickboxing developed into K-1 in 1993. Historically, kickboxing can be considered a hybrid martial art formed from the combination of elements of various traditional styles. This approach became increasingly popular since the 1970s, and since the 1990s, kickboxing has contributed to the emergence of mixed martial arts via further hybridization with ground fighting techniques from jujutsu and collegiate wrestling.

There is no single international governing body. International governing bodies include World Association of Kickboxing Organizations, World Kickboxing Association, International Sport Karate Association, International Kickboxing Federation, World Kickboxing Federation, World Kickboxing Network, among others. Consequently there is no single kickboxing world championship, and champion titles are issued by individual promotions, such as K-1, It's Showtime, Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, among others.

Terminology[link]

Low kick (roundhouse kick)

Kickboxing workout

The term "kickboxing" can be used in a narrow and in a wide sense.

• The narrow use is restricted to the styles that self-identify as kickboxing, i.e. Japanese kickboxing (with its spin-off styles or rules such as Shoot boxing and K-1), and American kickboxing.
• In the wider sense, it includes all stand-up combat sports that allow both punching and kicking, including Savate, Muay Thai, Indian boxing, Burmese boxing, Sanshou, styles of karate, etc.

The term kickboxing (キックボクシング) itself was introduced in the 1960s as a Japanese anglicism by Japanese boxing promoter Osamu Noguchi for a hybrid martial art combining Muay Thai and karate which he had introduced in 1958. The term was later also adopted by the American variant. Since there has been a lot of cross-fertilization between these styles, with many practitioners training or competing under the rules of more than one style, the history of the individual styles cannot be seen in isolation from one another.

The French term Boxe pieds-poings (literally "feet-fists-boxing") is also used in the sense of "kickboxing" in the general meaning, including French boxing (savate) as well as American and Japanese kickboxing, Burmese and Thai boxing, any style of full contact karate, etc.

Arts labelled as kickboxing in the wider sense include:

• The Indochinese family of kickboxing sports (also known generically as muay^[6]) including:
  • Khmer Pradal Serey – similar to Muay Thai with an emphasis on elbow techniques(Ring-wise).
  • Thai Muay Boran (Ancient boxing) – Predecessor of Muay Thai, allows the use of headbutts.
  • Thai boxing or Muay Thai – the modern Thai martial art with strong emphasis on knee and elbow strikes.^[7]
  • Burmese Lethwei, a traditional Burmese martial art of which has now grown into a popular kickboxing event with strong emphasis on knee, elbow strikes and headbutt. Any part of the body may be used to strike and be struck. It is also known as Bando kickboxing.
  • Laotian Muay Lao – Laotian boxing which is similar to Muay Thai
  • Filipino Yaw-Yan – Sayaw ng Kamatayan (Dance of Death) is the proper name for Yaw-Yan, a Filipino martial art developed by Napoleon Fernandez. The art resembles Muay Thai in a sense, but differs in the hip torquing motion as well as downward-cutting of its kicks.
• Indian Musti yuddha (also known as Muki boxing) and Adithada, a form of kickboxing that uses knee, elbow and forehead strikes in Southern kalaripayattu.
• French Savate, a historical sport which developed in the 19th century.^[8]
• modern competition-oriented hybrid martial arts that developed in parallel with Japanese and American kickboxing:
  • Any style of Full contact karate
  • Chinese Sanshou (Sanda) (Chinese boxing) – The applicable component of wushu/kung fu of which takedowns and throws are legal in competition as well as all other sorts of striking (use of arms and legs).^[9]
  • Shoot boxing – A Japanese form of kickboxing which allows throwing and submission while standing, similar to Sanshou.

History[link]

Overview[link]

Since kickboxing is a broad term that can be used both in a wide and narrow sense. This can make understanding the history somewhat difficult. Some of the earliest forms of kickboxing included the various Indochinese martial arts especially muay boran, which developed into modern muay thai.

However in terms of modern competition, it was during the 1950s that a Japanese karateka named Tatsuo Yamada first established an outline of a new sport that combined karate and muay thai.

This was further explored during the early 1960s, when competitions between karate and muay thai began, which allowed for rule modifications to take place. By the middle of the decade the first true kickboxing events were being held in Osaka.

By the 1970s and 1980s the sport had expanded beyond Japan and had reached North America and Europe. It was during this time that many of the most prominent governing bodies were formed.

• In Japan the sport was widely popular and was regularly broadcasted on television before going into a dark period during the 1980s.
• In North America the sport had unclear rules so kickboxing and full contact karate were essentially the same sport.
• In Europe the sport found marginal success but did not thrive until the 1990s.

Since the 1990s the sport has been mostly dominated by the Japanese K-1 promotion, with some competition coming from other promotions and mostly pre-existing governing bodies.

Along with the growing popularity in competition, there has been an increased amount of participation and exposure in the mass media, fitness, and self-defense.

Japanese[link]

Tatsuo Yamada (left) and his master, Choki Motobu (right)

On December 20, 1959, a Muay Thai among Thai fighters was held at Tokyo Asakusa town hall in Japan. Tatsuo Yamada, who established "Nihon Kempo Karate-do", was interested in Muay Thai because he wanted to perform karate matches with full-contact rules since practitioners are not allowed to hit each other directly in karate matches. At this time, it was unimaginable to hit each other in karate matches in Japan. He had already announced his plan which was named "The draft principles of project of establishment of a new sport and its industrialization" in November, 1959, and he proposed the tentative name of "karate-boxing" for this new sport. It is still unknown whether Thai fighters were invited by Yamada, but it is clear that Yamada was the only karateka who was really interested in Muay Thai. Yamada invited a Thai fighter who was the champion of Muay Thai (and formerly his son Kan Yamada's sparring partner), and started studying Muay Thai. At this time, the Thai fighter was taken by Osamu Noguchi who was a promoter of boxing and was also interested in Muay Thai. The Thai fighter's photo was on the magazine "The Primer of Nihon Kempo Karate-do, the first number" which was published by Yamada.

There were "Karate vs. Muay Thai fights" February 12, 1963. The three karate fighters from Oyama dojo (kyokushin later) went to the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Thailand, and fought against three Muay Thai fighters. The three kyokushin karate fighters' names are Tadashi Nakamura, Kenji Kurosaki and Akio Fujihira (as known as Noboru Osawa). Japan won by 2–1: Tadashi Nakamura and Akio Fujihira both KOed opponents by punch while Kenji Kurosaki was KOed by elbow. This should be noted that the only Japanese loser Kenji Kurosaki was then a kyokushin instructor rather than a contender and temporarily designated as a substitute for the absent chosen fighter. Noguchi studied Muay thai and developed a combined martial art which Noguchi named kick boxing, which absorbed and adopted more rules than techniques from Muay Thai. The main techniques of kickboxing is still derived from Japanese full contact karate (kyokushinkai). However, throwing and butting were allowed in the beginning to distinguish it from Muay Thai style. This was later repealed. The Kickboxing Association, the first kickboxing sanctioning body, was founded by Osamu Noguchi in 1966 soon after that. Then the first kickboxing event was held in Osaka on April 11, 1966.

Tatsu Yamada died in 1967, but his dojo changed its name to Suginami Gym, and kept sending kickboxers off to support kickboxing.

Kickboxing boomed and became popular in Japan as it began to be broadcast on TV. By 1970, kickboxing was telecast in Japan on three different channels three times weekly. The fight cards regularly included bouts between Japanese (kickboxers) and Thai (muay thai) boxers. Tadashi Sawamura was an especially popular early kickboxer. In 1971 the All Japan Kickboxing Association (AJKA) was established and it registered approximately 700 kickboxers. The first AJKA Commissioner was Shintaro Ishihara, the long time Governor of Tokyo. Champions were in each weight division from fly to middle. Long time kickboxer Noboru Osawa won the AJKA bantam weight title, which he held for years. Raymond Edler, an American university student studying at Sophia University in Tokyo, took up kickboxing and won the AJKC middleweight title in 1972; he was the first non-Thai to be officially ranked in the sport of Thai boxing, when in 1972 Rajadamnern ranked him no. 3 in the Middleweight division. Edler defended the All Japan title several times and abandoned it. Other popular champions were Toshio Fujiwara and Mitsuo Shima. Most notably, Fujiwara was the first non-Thai to win an official Thai boxing title, when he defeated his Thai opponent in 1978 at Rajadamnern Stadium winning the lightweight championship bout.

By 1980 due to poor ratings and then infrequent television coverage the golden-age of kickboxing in Japan was suddenly finished. Kickboxing had not been seen on TV until K-1 was founded in 1993. In 1993, as Kazuyoshi Ishii (founder of Seidokaikan karate) produced K-1 under special kickboxing rules (no elbow and neck wrestling) in 1993, kickboxing became famous again.^[10][11]

North America[link]

Hook-punch

Count Dante, Ray Scarica and Maung Gyi held the United States' earliest cross-style full-contact style martial arts tournaments as early as 1962. Between 1970 and 1973 a handful of kickboxing promotions were staged across the USA. In the early days the rules were never clear, one of the first tournaments had no weight divisions and all the competitors fought off until one was left. During this early time, kickboxing and full contact karate are essentially the same sport.

The institutional separation of American full contact karate from kickboxing occurs with the formation of the Professional Karate Association (PKA) in 1974 and of the World Kickboxing Association (WKA) in 1976. The impetus of the WKA on world martial arts as a whole was revolutionary. They were the first organised body of martial arts on a global scale to sanction fights, create ranking systems, and institute a development programme.

In the eighties, many fighters defected to the rival World Karate Association (WKA) because of the PKA's policy of signing fighters to exclusive contracts; plus, the PKA sanctioned fights exclusively with what has become known as "full contact rules" which permit kicks only above the waist as opposed to the international rules advocated by the WKA which is similar to kickboxing promotions in Japan and other countries in Asia and Europe. Because of the cost vs. revenue contracts within the PKA, many of the promoters also left the organization and formed the International Sport Karate Association (ISKA) in 1985, and in the late eighties a struggle for control of the PKA developed between the Quines and equal partner Joe Corley, leading to the decline of the organization as a business entity.^[12] The right to use the organization title was afterward contested.^[13]

The International Kickboxing Federation (IKF) was founded in 1992. It is the most active kickboxing sanctioning body in North America and one of the top 3 worldwide organizations. The IKF also hosts the Largest All Amateur – Full Contact & Muay Thai – Kickboxing Tournament in the World, the IKF World Classic.

Europe[link]

American kickboxing was promulgated in Germany from its inception in the 1970s by Georg F. Brückner. Brückner in 1976 was co-founder of the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations. The term "kickboxing" as used in German-speaking Europe is therefore mostly synonymous with American kickboxing. The elbow and knee techniques allowed in Japanese kickboxing by contrast were associated with Muay Thai, and Japanese kickboxing went mostly unnoticed in German-speaking Europe before the launch of K-1 in 1993.

By contrast, in the Netherlands kickboxing was introduced in its Japanese form, by Jan Plas and Thom Harinck who founded NKBB (The Dutch Kickboxing Association) in 1976. Harinck also founded the MTBN (Dutch Muay Thai Association) in 1983, and the WMTA (World Muay Thai Association) and the EMTA (European Muay Thai Association) in 1984. The most prominent kickboxing gyms in Netherlands, Mejiro Gym, Chakuriki Gym, Vos Gym and Golden Glory, were all derived from or were significantly influenced by Japanese kickboxing and kyokushin karate.

Dutch athletes have been very successful in the K-1 competitions. Out of the 18 K-1 World Grand Prix championship titles issued from 1993 to 2010, 15 went to Dutch participants (Peter Aerts, Fabio Martella, Ernesto Hoost, Remy Bonjasky, Semmy Schilt. The remaining three titles were won by Branko Cikatić of Croatia in 1993, Andy Hug of Switzerland in 1996, and Mark Hunt of New Zealand in 2001.

Individual rulesets[link]

Japanese kickboxing[link]

Japanese kickboxing is combat sport created by the Japanese boxing promoter Osamu Noguchi and Tatsuo Yamada (Karate practitioner). It was the first combat sport that adopted the name of "Kickboxing" in 1966, later termed "Japanese kickboxing" as a retronym. Japanese kickboxing has developed into K-1 in 1993.

These rules are almost same as Muay Thai rules:

• Similarities
  • Time: three minutes × five rounds
  • Allowed to kick the lower half of the body except crotch
  • Allowed to do neck-wrestling (folding opponent's head with arms and elbows to attack the opponent's body or head with knee-strikes, but only depending on the rules of clinch and knees)
  • Allows knee strikes
  • Head butts and throws were banned in 1966 for boxers' safety.

• Differences
  • No ram muay before match
  • No Thai music during the match
  • Interval takes one minute only as same as boxing
  • Point system:

    In Muay Thai, kicking to mid-body and head are scored highly generating a large number of points on judges' scorecards. Moreover, kicking is still judged highly even if the kick was blocked. In contrast, punching is worth fewer points. In kickboxing punches and kicks are held in closer esteem.

American kickboxing[link]

In the full-contact sport the male boxers are bare-chested wearing shorts and protective gear including: mouth-guard, hand-wraps, 10 oz (280 g). boxing gloves, groin-guard,butt-guard and optional shin-pads, kick-boots, protective helmet (usually for those under 16). The female boxers will wear a sports bra and chest protection in addition to the male clothing/protective gear. In international kickboxing, where kicks to the thigh are allowed using special low-kick rules, use of Thai shorts instead of long trousers is possible. In addition, amateur rules often allow less experienced competitors to use light or semi-contact rules, where the intention is to score points by executing successful strikes past the opponent's guard, and use of force is regulated. The equipment for semi-contact is similar to full-contact matches, usually with addition of headgear. Competitors usually dress in a t-shirt for semi-contact matches, to separate them from the bare-chested full-contact participants.^[14]

These are the rules used in American full contact karate.

• Opponents are allowed to hit each other with fists and feet, striking above the hip
• Using elbows or knees is forbidden and the use of the shins is seldom allowed.
• Bouts are usually 3 to 12 rounds (lasting 2–3 minutes each) for amateur and professional contests with a 1-minute rest in between rounds.

This is in direct contrast to Muay Thai, where the use of elbows and knees are allowed. In fact, some Muay Thai practitioners consider American kickboxing a "watered down" version of Muay Thai. Fighters and promoters can agree to various rules including kicks only above the waist, kicks anywhere, no knee strikes, knees only to the body, and so on. American kickboxing is essentially much a mixture of Western boxing and traditional karate.

The round durations and the number of rounds can vary depending on the stipulations agreed to beforehand by each fighter or manager. A winner is declared during the bout if there is a submission (fighter quits or fighter's corner throws in the towel), knockout (KO), or referee stoppage (technical knock out, or TKO). If all of the rounds expire with no knockout then the fight is scored by a team of 3 judges. The judges determine a winner based on their scoring of each round. A split decision indicates a disagreement between the judges, while a unanimous decision indicates that all judges saw the fight the same way and all have declared the same winner.

International ruleset[link]

The "international kickboxing" ruleset by the International Kickboxing Federation contrasts with the American kickboxing rules in that it allows also low kicks.

These are the rules for international rules kickboxing.

• Opponents are allowed to strike their opponent with punches and kicks, including kicks below the waist, except for the groin.
• Knees, elbows or clinching are not allowed.
• Bouts are 3 to 5 rounds for Amateurs and 3 to 12 rounds for professionals, all rounds lasting 2 minutes each. Each round has a 1-minute rest in between rounds.

Other kickboxing styles[link]

Semi contact:

• See "IKF Point Kickboxing"

Semi-contact is a fighting discipline where two fighters fight with the primary goal of scoring greater points using controlled legal techniques with speed and focus. The main characteristics of semi-contact are delivery, technique and speed. The competition in semi-contact should be executed in its true sense with light and well-controlled contact. It is a technical discipline with equal emphasis put on hand and foot techniques from an athletic viewpoint. Techniques (punches and kicks) are strictly controlled. At each valid point (a point that is awarded, with a legal part of hand or foot to legal targets and with legal technique), the central referee halts the fight and at the same time as the two judges, shows with his/her fingers the number of points in the direction of the fighter who is being awarded points. Fighters will enter the tatami and touch gloves. They will then step back and assume a fighting stance and wait for the command FIGHT from the referee. The time will only be stopped on the command of the referee, by calling TIME toward the area control table. Time is not stopped to award points or penalties unless the referee feels it is necessary. A fighter may have one coach and one second in his corner during the match.

Light contact (or medium-contact)
Competition in Light Contact kickboxing should be executed as its name implies, with well-controlled techniques. In light contact competitors fight continuously until the central referee commands STOP or BREAK. They use techniques from full contact, but these techniques must be well controlled when they land on legal targets. Equal emphasis must be placed on both punching and kicking techniques. Light contact has been created as an intermediate stage between semi and full contact kickboxing. It is carried out with running time. The central referee doesn't judge the fighters, but only makes sure they respect the rules. The fight could be held in a tatami or in a ring.

Techniques[link]

Punching[link]

Punching techniques are essentially identical to boxing punches, including

• Jab – straight punch from the front hand, to either the head or the body, often used in conjunction with the cross
• Cross (Straight punch)
• Hook – rounded punch to either the head or body in an arching motion, usually not scored in points scoring
• Uppercut – rising punch striking to the chin.
• Short straight-punch usually striking to the chin
• Backfist usually from the front hand, reverse-back fist and spinning back-fist both usually from the back hand – are strikes to the head, raising the arm and bending the arm at the elbow and then straightening the arm quickly to strike to the side of the head with the rear of the knuckles, common in “light contact”.
• Flying-punch struck usually from the rear hand, the combatant hops on the front foot, kicking back with the rear foot and simultaneously extending the rear hand as a punch, in the form of "superman" flying through the sky.
• Cross-counter a cross-counter is a counterpunch begun immediately after an opponent throws a jab, exploiting the opening in the opponent's position
• Overhand (overcut or drop) – a semi-circular and vertical punch thrown with the rear hand. It is usually when the opponent bobbing or slipping. The strategic utility of the drop relying on body weight can deliver a great deal of power
• Bolo punch – a combination of a wide uppercut/right cross/swing that was delivered seemingly from the floor.
• Half-hook – a combination of a wide jab/hook or cross/hook
• Half-swing – a combination of a wide hook/swing

Kicking[link]

The standard kicking techniques are:

• Front kick or push Kick/high Kick – Striking face or chest on with the heel of the foot
• Side kick – Striking with the side or heel of the foot with leg parallel to the ground, can be performed to either the head or body
• Semi-circular kick or forty five degree roundhouse kick
• Roundhouse kick or circle kick – Striking with the front of the foot or the lower shin to the head or the body in a chopping motion

There are a large number of special or variant kicking techniques, including spinning kicks, jumping kicks, and other variants such as

• Hook kick (heel kick) – Extending the leg out to the side of the body, and hooking the leg back to strike the head with either the heel or sole
• Crescent kick and forward crescent kick
• Axe kick – is a stomp out kick or axe kick. The stomp kick normally travel downward, striking with the side or base heel.
• Back kick – is delivered with the base heel of the foot.
• Sweeping – One foot or both feet of an opponent may be swept depending upon their position, balance and strength.

Spinning versions of the back, side, hook and axe kicks can also be performed along with jumping versions of all kicks

Knee and elbow strikes[link]

The knee and elbow techniques in Japanese kickboxing, indicative of its Muay Thai heritage, are the main difference that separates this style from other kickboxing rules. See ti sok and ti khao for details.

• Straight knee thrust (long-range knee kick or front heel kick). This knee strike is delivered with the back or reverse foot against an opponent’s stomach, groin, hip or spine an opponent forward by the neck, shoulder or arm
• Rising knee strike – can be delivered with the front or back foot. It makes an explosive snap upwards to strike an opponent’s face, chin, throat or chest.
• Hooking knee strike – can be delivered with the front or back foot. It makes a half circle spin and strikes the sides of an opponent
• Side knee snap strike – is a highly-deceptive knee technique used in close-range fighting. The knee is lifted o the toes or lifted up, and is snapped to left and right, striking an opponent’s sensitive knee joints, insides of thighs, groin

Defense[link]

There are three main defensive positions (guards or styles) used in boxing. Within each style, there is considerable variation among fighters, as some fighters may have their guard higher for more head protection while others have their guard lower to provide better protection against body punches. Many fighters vary their defensive style throughout a bout in order to adapt to the situation of the moment, choosing the position best suited to protect them.

• Slip – Slipping rotates the body slightly so that an incoming punch passes harmlessly next to the head. As the opponent's punch arrives, the boxer sharply rotates the hips and shoulders. This turns the chin sideways and allows the punch to "slip" past. Muhammed Ali was famous for extremely fast and close slips.

• Bob and weave – bobbing moves the head laterally and beneath an incoming punch. As the opponent's punch arrives, the boxer bends the legs quickly and simultaneously shifts the body either slightly right or left. Once the punch has been evaded, the boxer "weaves" back to an upright position, emerging on either the outside or inside of the opponent's still-extended arm. To move outside the opponent's extended arm is called "bobbing to the outside". To move inside the opponent's extended arm is called "bobbing to the inside".

• Parry/Block – Parrying or blocking uses the boxer's hands as defensive tools to deflect incoming attacks. As the opponent's punch arrives, the boxer delivers a sharp, lateral, open-handed blow to the opponent's wrist or forearm, redirecting the punch.

• The cover-up – Covering up is the last opportunity to avoid an incoming strike to an unprotected face or body. Generally speaking, the hands are held high to protect the head and chin and the forearms are tucked against the torso to impede body shots. When protecting the body, the boxer rotates the hips and lets incoming punches "roll" off the guard. To protect the head, the boxer presses both fists against the front of the face with the forearms parallel and facing outwards. This type of guard is weak against attacks from below.

• The clinch – Clinching is a rough form of grappling and occurs when the distance between both fighters has closed and straight punches cannot be employed. In this situation, the boxer attempts to hold or "tie up" the opponent's hands so he is unable to throw hooks or uppercuts. To perform a clinch, the boxer loops both hands around the outside of the opponent's shoulders, scooping back under the forearms to grasp the opponent's arms tightly against his own body. In this position, the opponent's arms are pinned and cannot be used to attack. Clinching is a temporary match state and is quickly dissipated by the referee.

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kickboxing

• List of male kickboxers
• List of female kickboxers

Footnotes[link]

Sources[link]

• Muay Thai Kickboxing – The Ultimate Guide to Conditioning, Training and Fighting, Chad Boykin, 2002, Paladin Press, Boulder, Colorado. ISBN 1-58160-320-7
• Thai Kickboxing For Beginners, Peter Belmar, 2006, Lulu Press. ISBN 978-1-4116-9983-0

Books and articles[link]

• Willem Brunekreef, The Golden Kyokushin and K-1 Encyclopedia, ISBN 978-90-812379-1-8
• (French) "A History of Full Contact Karate
• "A History of kickboxing" – « black-belt »
• (French) Delmas Alain, Callière Jean-Roger, Histoire du Kick-boxing, FFKBDA, France, 1998
• (French) Delmas Alain, Définition du Kick-boxing, FFKBDA, France, 1999
• Miles Mikes, site An interview with Joe Lewis, 1998
• http://www.kickboxermag.com.au/

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Badr Hari بدر هاري
Born	(1984-12-08) December 8, 1984 (age 27) Amsterdam, Netherlands
Other names	The Golden Boy The Bad Boy The Cobra
Nationality	Dutch Moroccan
Height	1.97 m (6 ft 5 1⁄2 in)
Weight	106 kg (234 lb; 16 st 10 lb)
Division	Super Heavyweight
Style	Muay Thai
Team	Mike's Gym (2005-present) Chakuriki Gym (2000-2005) Sitan Gym
Trainer	Mike Passenier Thom Harinck Naazim Richardson
Years active	2000-present (Kickboxing)[1]
Kickboxing record
Total	101
Wins	90
By knockout	78
Losses	11
By knockout	7
Mixed martial arts record
Total	1
Wins	0
Losses	1
By submission	1
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
last updated on: January 28, 2012

Badr Hari^[2] born December 8, 1984^[3] in Amsterdam, Netherlands is a Moroccan-Dutch ^[4] super heavyweight kickboxer from the Netherlands, fighting out of Mike's Gym in Amsterdam. He is a former K-1 Heavyweight champion (2007—2008)^[5] and K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 finalist.^[6] As of May 2011, Hari is ranked the #2 heavyweight in the world by LiverKick.com.^[7] Hari has been a prominent figure in the world of kickboxing and considered one of the best kickboxers in the world,^[8] however he has been involved in a number of controversies relating to his "unsportsmanlike conducts" in the sport and alleged crimes of violence outside of the ring.^[9]

He was disqualified in the final match of the K-1 World GP 2008 Finals due to "unsportsmanlike conduct" against Remy Bonjasky.^[10] In May 2009 he knocked out Semmy Schilt in the first round and became the first ever It's Showtime World Heavyweight champion.^[11] However he lost this title when he was again disqualified after another unsportsmanlike conduct against Hesdy Gerges at the It's Showtime 2010 Amsterdam.^[12] Aside from the sport, he has been arrested multiple times since 2006 on various assault charges against others.^[13]

Hari has been officially praised by the king of Morocco, Mohammed VI, since 2009 for his outstanding accomplishments in the sport.^[14]

In late 2011, Hari announced he would leave kickboxing as of 2012, to pursue a career in boxing.^{[citation needed]} His farewell match was on January 28, 2012 against Gokhan Saki, whom he knocked out in the first round.^{[citation needed]} Hari will move to Philadelphia to train with Naazim Richardson, and is anticipated to become a contestant for the heavy weight world champion title.^{[citation needed]}

Early life[link]

Born in Amsterdam, Badr Hari began practicing kickboxing at the age of seven, under the guidance of former World Champion Mousid Akamrane. As a teenager he trained at the Sitan Gym. When the Sitan Gym moved to Rotterdam, he joined the famous Chakuriki Gym ran by Thom Harinck.^[15] Under Harinck, Hari developed into one of the greatest kickboxing talents of the Netherlands. Badr Hari was fighting under the Dutch flag till he lost his match against Stefan Leko in 2005. It was the first time his parents attented one of his fights and he asked for the microphone to say some words to the Dutch audience. Hari couldn't be understood as the audience proceeded to boo him, after which Hari was quoted saying "I thought to myself, I have never witnessed such ungratefulness". From that day Hari decided to represent Morocco and stopped working with Tom Harinck. Mike Passenier became his new coach.^[16]

Kickboxing career[link]

Early career[link]

Under Harinck's coaching, Hari suffered few losses. In 2003 he replaced Melvin Manhoef with only a few days notice, to fight Alexey Ignashov. Hari, outweighed by more than 18 kg, lost the fight by knockout (body punch), but gained a lot of respect for stepping up to such an opponent under those circumstances.

In January 2005, Hari left the Chakuriki Gym and joined Simon Rutz's It's Showtime team. After a few months' training at the Mejiro Gym he returned to Harinck's, but left again a couple of weeks later. Since then he has been coached by Mike Passenier, who has also trained Joerie Mes, Bjorn Bregy and Melvin Manhoef.

Road to K-1[link]

Hari's road to fame began with a pair of matches against Stefan Leko in 2005. The first took place at the It's Showtime 2005 event in June 2005. Hari, who was generally known for his big mouth and slow ring entrance started some trash talk between them before the fight, making the hype even greater. Hari's long ring entrance took longer than the actual fight, where Hari was knocked out by Leko's trademark spinning back kick.

Hari got his chance for revenge in November 2005 when he entered the K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 tournament as a reserve fighter against Leko, making his K-1 World GP debut at the age of 20.^[17] Hari knocked Leko out by a spinning back high kick to the jaw at 1:30 in the second round.^[18] After all the bad blood between both fighters, Hari helped his opponent up and escorted the dazed German to the corner.

[edit] K-1 New Zealand 2006

In 2006 Badr Hari was scheduled to participate in the K-1 World Grand Prix 2006 in Amsterdam on May 13, 2006, but fought in the K-1 World Grand Prix 2006 in Auckland, in New Zealand, instead as a last minute replacement. His opponent in the first round was Australian Peter "The Chief" Graham. Hari once again showed his bad boy reputation by abusing Graham and starting a street fight at the press conference. In the actual fight Hari was knocked out by Graham's trademark "Rolling Thunder". The heel hit Hari hard on the head and knocked him out cold. Graham's kick broke Hari's jaw in multiple places and sidelined Hari for several months.^[19]

Return to K-1[link]

Hari returned to the ring at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2006 Final Elimination in Osaka, Japan against Ruslan Karaev. Karaev hurt Badr with a straight right that left Hari slouching over in the corner, then Karaev delivered a kick to Hari's face; Hari was counted out by the referee but immediately he and his corner protested, claiming the kick was a foul. When the referee did not respond, Hari and his cornermen caused a commotion and refused to leave the ring until they were escorted out by K-1 officials. Hari left in anger and trashed his changing room. Six months later, Hari was awarded a rematch against the Russian. After being knocked down by Karaev in the second round, Hari stood back up, slipped a punch and delivered a KO blow with a straight right to Karaev.^[20]

Despite being knocked out, Hari was once again picked as a reserve fighter in the K-1 Grand Prix 2006 Finals against Paul Slowinski. He won the fight by unanimous decision.^[21] Hari then fought the Danish Nicholas Pettas at the K-1 Premium 2006 Dynamite!! extravaganza and broke Pettas's left shoulder in the second round with a right high kick.^[22]

Hari got his revenge against Karaev at the K-1 World GP 2007 in Yokohama. Karaev and Hari's matchup was one of two bouts to qualify for the first K-1 Heavyweight Title Match, scheduled on April 28, 2007 in Hawaii. Hari was knocked down in the second round and was just able to make it to his feet when Karaev intended to finish the fight with a swinging punch which Hari ducked, and landed a right cross to score a KO.^[23]

K-1 Heavyweight champion[link]

On April 28, at K-1 World GP 2007 in Hawaii, Badr Hari and Yusuke Fujimoto fought for the newly introduced Heavyweight belt. Hari won the fight in 56 seconds with a kick to the chin. With the knockout Hari became the world's first ever K-1 Heavyweight champion.^[24]

Hari got his chance for revenge against Peter Graham, whose turning kick broke his jaw in 2006, in Hong Kong at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2007 in Hong Kong.^[25] He dropped Graham with a body punch and won by unanimous decision. After the bout, Hari and Graham seemed to bury the hatchet, hugging each other, although the two started taunting each other again at the post-fight press conference.^[26]

In September 2007 at the K-1 World GP 2007 Final Elimination, Badr Hari beat the K-1 World GP 2007 in Las Vegas tournament champion, Doug Viney, by a second round KO and qualified for his first K-1 World GP Final, held on December 8 in Yokohama, Japan.^[27] His winning streak came to an end with a decision loss to Remy Bonjasky, during quarter final.

2008[link]

[edit] K-1 World GP 2008

All of Hari's wins in 2008 were by knockouts, by beating Ray Sefo in Yokohama, Glaube Feitosa (whom he defended his heavyweight title) in Fukuoka and Domagoj Ostojic in Hawaii. On his next fight in Seoul he qualified for the K-1 World GP 2008 Final by TKO win over the Korean giant Hong Man Choi.

Hari facing Remy Bonjasky in the K-1 World GP 2008 Final

In the quarterfinals on December 6, Hari defeated three time K-1 World champion Peter Aerts by TKO in the second round. In the semis he knocked out Errol Zimmerman and headed to his first K-1 Final against Remy Bonjasky. After suffering a knockdown in the first, Hari was disqualified in the second round for unsportsmanlike conduct by stomping and punching an already downed Bonjasky. First the referee Nobuaki Kakuda issued a yellow card and one point deduction. Meanwhile Hari proceeded to Bonjasky’s corner shouting, and quarreled with his opponent's trainer Ivan Hippolyte who then also approached Hari aggressively, but the officials prevented any further physical contact between them.^[28] After the five-minute recovery time elapsed, the doctor reported Bonjasky was seeing double and could not continue. Hari was issued a red card and Bonjasky was declared the K-1 World GP 2008 champion.^[10]

In later interviews Hari claimed Bonjasky was acting, and that "Remy's corner was screaming at him to stay down".^[29] At a press conference before the K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 in Yokohama, where Alistair Overeem attended along with Bonjasky, Overeem handed Bonjasky a statue which looked exactly like the statue of Oscar, implying Bonjasky was acting.^[30]

Although numerous Japanese media sources assumed that K-1 would suspend Hari indefinitely,^[31] he was not suspended,^[32] but he received the most severe punishment ever in the history of K-1.^[33] K-1 stripped him of his heavyweight title, his runner-up title in the tournament, his prize money from the tournament and the full amount of his fee for participation in the tournament.^[34]

[edit] Dynamite!! 2008

While there were many rumours of his and his opponent's participation, it was finally announced that Hari would face MMA Heavyweight Alistair Overeem in a K-1 rules match on K-1's New Year's Eve extravaganza Dynamite!! 2008.^[35] Hari lost the fight by a left hook KO at 2:02 in the first round.^[36] After the match, Hari commented that this would be the last time he would participate in the Dynamite!! series, and that he would stick to stand-up fighting so he would never have an MMA rules match with Overeem.^[36]

2009[link]

In May 2009 at the It's Showtime 2009 Amsterdam, Hari fought Semmy Schilt in a long-awaited bout for the newly introduced It's Showtime World Heavyweight title. Hari came out very aggressively and knocked Schilt down twice in the first round. The fight was stopped after the second knockdown and Hari took the heavyweight title in 45 seconds.^[11] Simon Rutz, the president of It's Showtime, has referred to this as one of his favorite bouts in the history of It's Showtime.^[37]

In September 2009 at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 Final 16, Hari again used his trademark right body shot to score a first round knockout over Zabit Samedov.^[38]

At the selection for the K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 Final Hari chose to fight Ruslan Karaev for the third time. He ran through the tournament with first round knockouts over Karaev and Alistair Overeem in a rematch, to make it to the World Grand Prix Final for the second year against Semmy Schilt. In their rematch Hari lost by KO after being knocked down 3 times in the first round.

2010[link]

His first fight in 2010 was at the It's Showtime 2010 Prague in the Czech Republic, where Hari defended his Showtime heavyweight title with a second round knockout over Mourad Bouzidi.^[39] In April Hari defeated Alexey Ignashov in the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 in Yokohama.^[40] The fight went to decision, Hari's first non-knockout win in 3 years.

[edit] It's Showtime 2010 Amsterdam

Hari's Showtime title was again on the line against his former Chakuriki fellow Hesdy Gerges in Amsterdam in May. Before the match, he claimed in a press interview that his opponent at the event was originally planned to be Remy Bonjasky but Bonjasky refused to fight Hari, stating Bonjasky was afraid to lose.^[41]

Hari in 2007

The It's Showtime 2010 Amsterdam event took place at the Amsterdam Arena in May 2010.^[42] Hari dominated most of the first round, hitting Gerges many times and having him on the ropes. Hesdy surprised everyone on the night for taking the punishment. In the second round Gerges came forward, Hari counter-attacked forcefully and Gerges fell, when Gerges was standing up Badr Hari kicked him in the face. Badr was again disqualified and did not speak in the ring after Gerges was announced the winner. Instead, training partner Melvin Manhoef apologized to the fans on Badr's behalf but was booed by the crowd because of Badr's unsportsmanship Gerges became the new "Its Showtime" Heavyweight champion.^[43]

2011[link]

After the Gerges fight, Hari took a year off from kickboxing.^[44] He stated that it was his own choice.^[45] He made his return to the ring at It's Showtime 2011 Lyon against French Kickboxer, Gregory Tony. Rather than using the catwalks for his entrance he decided to walk through his adoring fans, to where the fight was actually delayed because he was unable to get to the ring without security holding his fans away. What was expected to be a great warm up fight for Hari, turned out to be one-sided as Hari, with ease, won by TKO in round one with 3 quick knockdowns.

Though the biggest interest was for Badr to rematch Hesdy Gerges for the Showtime heavyweight title it was announced that he would fight Romanian Daniel Ghita in September. Ghita has been ranked as one of the best 5 kickboxers in the world and lost a decision against Gerges earlier in the year, but many feel he was robbed and is viewed as a tough opponent for Hari.^[44]

The fight never materialised, however, and he instead announced that he would retire from kickboxing and transition to boxing. He stated that he will compete in the 2011 K-1 World Grand Prix in October and December, and then face Gökhan Saki in the Netherlands on January 28, 2012 as his final match.^[46] The K-1 World Grand Prix was cancelled, however, due to financial difficulties.

2012[link]

Hari faced Gökhan Saki at It's Showtime 2012 in Leeuwarden on January 28, 2012 in his latest kickboxing match. He defeated Saki by scoring three knockdowns in the first round before the referee stopped the fight, which earned him a TKO victory. He dropped Saki for the first time with a right uppercut. The second knockdown came from a right hook. Finally, he landed a right uppercut which dropped Saki and ended the fight.

In April 2012 the new organization K-1 Global Limited President, Mr. Mike Kim, announced that Hari will make his comeback in K1. Hari's first fight will take place on May 27 in Madrid, Spain. If he wins, he will also participate in the final qualifications in October in Asia and the K-1 World Grand Prix Final in New York in December. ^[47][48]

Titles[link]

• 2009 K-1 World Grand Prix runner up
• 2009-2010 It's Showtime Heavyweight world champion +95 kg (1st title defence)
• 2008 K-1 World Grand Prix runner up (Disqualification-Illegal kick)
• 2007-2008 K-1 Heavyweight champion -100 kg (1st title defence)
• 2002 WPKL Dutch Muay Thai champion

Kickboxing record[link]

Kickboxing record
90 Wins (78 (T)KO's, 12 decisions), 11 Losses Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time 2012-05-27 Win Anderson Silva K-1 World MAX 2012 World Championship Tournament Final 16, Super Fight Madrid, Spain Decision (Unanimous) 3 3:00 2012-01-28 Win Gökhan Saki It's Showtime 2012 in Leeuwarden Leeuwarden, Netherlands TKO (Referee Stoppage) 1 2:44 2011-05-14 Win Gregory Tony It's Showtime 2011 Lyon Lyon, France TKO (Ref Stop/3 Knockdowns) 1 2:43 2010-05-29 Loss Hesdy Gerges It's Showtime 2010 Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands DQ (Kicked downed opponent) 2 0:48 Lost his It's Showtime World Heavyweight title. 2010-04-03 Win Alexey Ignashov K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 in Yokohama Yokohama, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 3 3:00 2010-02-13 Win Mourad Bouzidi It's Showtime 2010 Prague Prague, Czech Republic KO (Right uppercut) 2 2:55 Defends his It's Showtime World Heavyweight title. 2009-12-05 Loss Semmy Schilt K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 Final Yokohama, Japan TKO (Ref Stop/3 knockdowna 1 1:48 Fight was for K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 title. 2009-12-05 Win Alistair Overeem K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 Final Yokohama, Japan TKO (Referee Stoppage) 1 2:14 2009-12-05 Win Ruslan Karaev K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 Final Yokohama, Japan KO (Right hook) 1 0:38 2009-09-26 Win Zabit Samedov K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 Final 16 Seoul, South Korea KO (Right body shot) 1 2:15 2009-05-16 Win Semmy Schilt It's Showtime 2009 Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands KO (Right cross) 1 0:45 Wins It's Showtime World Heavyweight title. 2009-02-08 Win Frederic Sinistra Fights at the Border presents: It's Showtime 2009 Antwerp, Belgium KO (Right Cross) 1 2:06 2008-12-31 Loss Alistair Overeem Dynamite!! 2008 Saitama, Japan KO (Left hook) 1 2:02 Fight was for K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 title. 2008-12-06 Loss Remy Bonjasky K-1 World GP 2008 Final Yokohama, Japan DQ (Illegal kick) 2 0:53 2008-12-06 Win Errol Zimmerman K-1 World GP 2008 Final Yokohama, Japan KO (Right Cross) 3 2:15 2008-12-06 Win Peter Aerts K-1 World GP 2008 Final Yokohama, Japan TKO (Referee Stoppage) 2 1:39 2008-09-27 Win Hong Man Choi K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Seoul Final 16 Seoul, Korea TKO (Corner Stoppage) 4 0:00 2008-08-09 Win Domagoj Ostojic K-1 World GP 2008 in Hawaii Honolulu, Hawaii, USA KO (Left cross) 1 0:19 2008-06-29 Win Glaube Feitosa K-1 World GP 2008 in Fukuoka Fukuoka, Japan KO (Right Cross) 1 2:26 Retains K-1 Heavyweight (-100kg) title. 2008-04-13 Win Ray Sefo K-1 World GP 2008 in Yokohama Yokohama, Japan TKO (Referee Stoppage) 1 2:43 2007-12-08 Loss Remy Bonjasky K-1 World GP 2007 Final Yokohama, Japan Decision (Majority) 3 3:00 2007-09-29 Win Doug Viney K-1 World GP 2007 in Seoul Final 16 Seoul, Korea KO (Right cross) 2 1:23 2007-08-05 Win Peter Graham K-1 World GP 2007 in Hong Kong Hong Kong Decision (Unanimous) 3 3:00 Wins K-1 Heavyweight (-100kg) title. 2007-04-28 Win Yusuke Fujimoto K-1 World GP 2007 in Hawaii Honolulu, Hawaii, USA KO (High kick) 1 0:56 2007-03-04 Win Ruslan Karaev K-1 World GP 2007 in Yokohama Yokohama, Japan KO (Right Cross) 2 2:46 2006-12-31 Win Nicholas Pettas K-1 Premium 2006 Dynamite!! Tokyo, Japan TKO (Arm injury) 2 1:28 2006-12-06 Win Paul Slowinski K-1 World Grand Prix 2006 Tokyo, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 3 3:00 2006-09-30 Loss Ruslan Karaev K-1 World Grand Prix 2006 in Osaka Opening Round Osaka, Japan KO (Right punch) 1 0:52 2006-03-05 Loss Peter Graham K-1 World Grand Prix 2006 in Auckland Auckland, New Zealand KO (Rolling thunder) 3 2:54 2005-11-19 Win Stefan Leko K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 Tokyo, Japan KO (Spinning Right High Heel kick) 2 1:30 2005-06-12 Loss Stefan Leko It's Showtime 2005 Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands KO (Spinning back mid kick) 1 1:44 2005-04-16 Win Vitali Akhramenko K-1 Italy 2005 Oktagon Milan, Italy Decision (Unanimous) 3 3:00 2005-03-11 Win Domagoj Ostojic Ultimate Nokaut 1 Karlovac, Croatia KO (Right hook) 2 0:10 2004-12-12 Win Gary Turner Rings Fightgala "Born Invincible" Utrecht, Netherlands Decision (Unanimous) 5 3:00 2004-10-10 Win Gokhan Saki 2 Hot 2 Handle Rotterdam, Netherlands TKO (Corner stoppage) 2 3:00 2004-05-20 Win Aziz Khattou It's Showtime 2004 Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands KO (Knees) 2 1:45 2004-03-21 Win Errol Parris Profighters Gala in Almere Almere, Netherlands KO (Right hook) 5 2003-09-27 Win Antoni Hardonk Rings Fightgala Utrecht, Netherlands Decision (Unanimous) 5 3:00 2003-06-08 Loss Alexey Ignashov It's Showtime 2003 Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands KO (Right cross) 3 2:55 2003-03-30 Win Dennis Strijbis Rings Fightgala Utrecht, Netherlands Decision (Unanimous) 5 3:00 2003-02-02 Win Ahmet Lakus Killerdome II Amsterdam, Netherlands TKO 4 2002-11-24 Loss Karim Mrabet Xena Sports Victory or Hell Netherlands Decision 3 3:00 2002-10-20 Win Ahmet Lakus Warriors Fight Night Dordrecht, Netherlands TKO (Doctor Stoppage) 5 2002-02-17 Win Willy Schneider WPKL Gala in Hogendorphal Amsterdam, Netherlands TKO (Doctor stoppage) 3 2000-11-19 Loss Rocky Grandjean WPKL Gala in Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands KO (Spinning heel kick) 1 1:39
MMA record
0 Wins, 1 Loss Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time 2002-05-12 Loss Edmunds Kirsis Lords of the Ring Gala Deventer, Netherlands Submission (Forearm choke) 1 0:22 Legend:       Win       Loss       Draw/No contest       Notes

See also[link]

• List of K-1 events
• List of K-1 champions
• List of It's Showtime champions
• List of male kickboxers

References[link]