If you can't beat your computer at chess, try kickboxing. At least, that's what traditional wisdom says. Think cricket you have Sachin Tendulkar. Think golf you have Jeev Milkha Singh. Think tennis you have Leander Paes. But think kickboxing and we don't have a name. As a sport, kickboxing hasn't percolated to the national level in India.
With no government support coming its way, the sport has been in limbo. However, there are independent clubs spread across India, which promote kickboxing and provide lucrative career options to professional kickboxers. There are numerous theories to the origin of kickboxing. There are different formats of kickboxing. American kickboxing as a sport and martial art was developed in the late sixties and early seventies whereas Muay Thai originated in Thailand where fighters from different villages settled scores through fighting. Chinese kickboxing developed in the Shaolin temple and French kickboxing or 'la Savate' is the French answer to kickboxing.
Although kickboxing in India is still a nascent sport, it's gradually climbing its way up to be at par with other form of martial arts such as karate, taek-won-do, boxing, aikido and judo to name a few. When it comes to complete self-defence and beating stress, it has its hand in both the pies. Says Daniel Isaac, CEO, Tigers International Fight Team: "In India, kickboxing is very popular as a martial art used for self defence and an equally effective cardio workout system known as 'cardio kickboxing' which is one of the fastest growing aerobic workout systems worldwide." Tigers International promotes amateur and professional kickboxers in India.
Kickboxing being a full contact sport is a perfect art to learn to protect oneself. Master J Keshav, founder of All India Pro Muay-Thai and Kickboxing Association in Chennai, feels that kickboxing is all about knocking out your enemy. "People who learnt Karate realised that they can't protect themselves on the streets because of a certain code of conduct. There are no such inhibitions in kickboxing as such and it's a great stress-buster too," he says. All India Pro Muay Thai Association will be hosting a national championship in Chennai in April next year.
It may be high on popularity but that fizzles out due to a dearth of professional trainers. "Kickboxing is popular in metropolitan cities like Mumbai and Delhi, but the Indian kickboxing standard is not good as there are hardly any qualified trainers with a requisite certification. Apart from just teaching the sport, a trainer should also have physiological and anatomical knowledge of the human body," says Naresh Sharma, chief instructor at Taisei-Kai Karate-do India.
Adds Isaac: "Because kickboxing has become a 'popular brand' within the Indian fitness industry, many trainers who don't have any genuine kickboxing expertise have ventured into this field and, if not anything, they are causing more damage to the development of the sport."
Industry trainers feel that there is hardly any government support to promote kickboxing in India and a lot needs to be done to alleviate the sport. "Kick boxing is an expensive sport. In karate competitions, it takes around Rs 200-300 to earn a belt. Though there is no belt system in Kickboxing, you have to shell out around Rs 3,000-4,000 per match. Moreover, if you are a boxer you could get a job with the Indian railways. For a kickboxer, there is no such support from the government," laments Master J Keshav.