1950's and 1960's

The information in this article has been the culmination of difficult research and time. I originally wrote this piece as an answer to another extremely popular Muay Thai site on the web written by a man I respect very much (Pop Praditbatuga). He is 100% pro Muay Thai and as everyone who knows me knows, I am 100% pro Muay Thai also. But upon reading many other sites on the web, I have become somewhat disillusioned. I have grown tired of all the "Muay Thai is superior to this or that style of ring fighting" and more so of 'seeing supporters of one Martial ring discipline trash all the rules, athletes, and the history of the alternative Martial ring disciplines. They do this with disrespect and even go as far as blaming the shortcomings of their favorite ring discipline on the others and their participants.. To top it off and support these fallacies and erroneous statements, I feel 'fairy tales' have been used to support some of their embarrassingly one sided arguments and opinions. As such, I felt it was time for someone to release authentic facts instead of making statements I felt/know were relying on heresay or information that has been twisted and turned around over the years. To all of those partisan Muay Thai supporters who criticise those Full Contact and Kickboxing athletes who came years before Muay Thai competition was allowed in North America, give credit where credit is due. May I make this clear, this article is NOT an attack on Muay Thai, as I live and love the Art. But I thoroughly believe the Art is strong enough to rest on it's laurels without having to promote it through fallacies, misinformation or personal attacks at those who came before. Full Contact and Kickboxing rules (low kick) competition opened the door so we could finally progress to Muay Thai competition in North America. I will concede some in the position of power and influence in Full Contact rules and Kickboxing rules (sanctioning bodies) have done some questionable tactics to keep Muay Thai down in North America. But I do not agree with the Partisan Muay Thai supporters taking one bad apple and blaming it on the whole bunch. In completing this article I do not in any way claim either ring discipline is better, superior, or my favorite (which they are not) over Muay Thai. As such, I feel one should be mature and address the facts by being truthful and unbiased.

Even though I meant for this article to only cover North America there are some key points involving other parts of the world that are important to support and understand the history of these Martial ring disciplines (even Arts or sports as some view them) here. For me to cover the history of these disciplines throughout the whole world would require my research to become a full time job (and a very exhaustive one at that). I concede there will probably be many points that I have missed (I am sure) and mistakes, but in general I have reported facts from what the research turned up. It has been and still is very demanding and exhaustive work which I am sure will take me much more time to fully complete (if that will ever be possible).

Due to linguistic problems and difficulties in my research, I now totally understand why there has been so much misinformation and misunderstanding in these disciplines. Addressing this problem, I have made statements and presented facts so most of this article I can back up with concrete proof. If there is no proof or nothing concrete and some one disputes a statement (with proof) I will change the statement in this article. I hope this article opens a few eyes and I get some responses with cold hard evidence to support and/or refute some of the statements in this article. Please e-mail me at [email protected] I look forward with great enthusiasm to the things I may still learn because I too have many questions.

Some of the things I have spoken of in this article are considered 'taboo'. I discuss them as historical points from the information I have been able to dig up and that is all. By no means has this been meant to cause any embarrassment to anyone or any organization. You as the reader can look at what I have turned up and then you can make your own intelligent conclusions. All of the information as well as this page has been copyrighted and may not be reproduced without written consent from me. Please respect this. If you intend to use some of the facts presented here, it would be greatly appreciated if you again would acknowledge where you got the information from. Many people have taken a lot of my research and put it onto their own web pages. Please be kind and give some credit where credit is due.

In the last quarter century plus, 'Kickboxing' has grown worldwide. It is now no different than boxing in the last few decades. There is an alphabet soup of organizations governing the disciplines. Opinions and hostilities crop up when asking which organizations are the most credible. Some of these organizations were strong in the past, some are strong now and a bunch will really never be viewed as legitimate sanctioning bodies. I will leave this up to your own opinions (if everybody saw eye to eye, there would not be such a multitude of organizations in the first place). The placement of sanctioning bodies is done alphabetically, being first by no means being the most credible organization! Past sanctioning bodies - FFKA, IMF, IMTA, KICK, PKA, PKC, WKC. Present sanctioning bodies - IKF, IMTO, ISKA, WAKO, WKA, WMC, WMTA, WPKL. These are some organizations that have a recorded history behind them. In regards to other sanctioning bodies, there are a lot more in the alphabet soup, but I could use a whole page in the article to list them all!

To make the reading more enjoyable, I have added in some old, rare and difficult to find magazine covers, book covers and hard to find photographs. I have thousands of Martial Arts magazines from around the world from the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's, and it has been a chore to find and decide which ones to use that are in their own way pertinent to this article. There are so many but I picked these few because they seem to help support my point and illustrate the history of the disciplines in this article. I have also included information from many renowned and respected Martial Arts and Kickboxing Pioneers who speak with knowledge and authority by actually being a part of the history that I address. To these friends and peers of mine, to the Muay Thai web page that gave me the inspiration to continue working on this piece, thank you for the assistance and motivation to 'finish' (Ha! This is going to be continually upgraded as I find more information) this article. To the Martial Artists around the world who have given me many facts, people including (but not limited to) Bill Wallace, Joe Lewis, Benny Urquidez, Jim Harrison, Tong Trithara, Bob Wall, Dale Floyd, Panya Kraitus, Alex Tsui... and the list just goes on and on, thank you for your input. To the readers around the world (Shingo - thanks!), thank you for the feedback as well as the additional information!

Finally, I have spoken about the history in Canada by itself (even though Canada is geographically bigger than the USA, the population is smaller and thus theoretically, it should be easier to find out the history of the disciplines in Canada but this has been far from the case). As I am from Canada, I am also interested in our countries history. Finding concrete information about Canada at times has also been like pulling teeth. I have provided information that I have uncovered or can support. I know there will be more being added in here as well.


THE CONFUSION OVER THE NAME OF 'KICKBOXING!'
The sport of Kickboxing in North America has had a short (when compared to Boxing) but very interesting history. During the few short decades of the sports existance on this continent, it's history is filled with many unpredictable twists, turns and surprises. This is mainly due to the sports early history which was not properly recorded and/or contains misinformation, fallacies, linguistic problems, and a heap of politics, coupled with the current history which contains people who all have different opinions as to where the disciplines should be. The result of all this has created mixed feelings between the different ring oriented Martial Arts disciplines (different because of each type of 'rules' each discipline allows or follows in competition: Full Contact Karate - only allows kicks above the waist, Kickboxing - which allows kicks into the legs, Muay Thai - which follows several sets of rules allowing punches, kicks and knee attacks, to also allowing the use of elbows as weapons). The mixed feelings have resulted in less than die hard support from the media (there have been memo's sent out at some of North America's largest television channels to avoid programming any Full Contact / Kickboxing / Muay Thai). This is why "Kickboxing" is not seen as often on television as it was in the late 1970's and 1980's. In terms of ticket sales, even the general public does not support the disciplines the way promoters would like. At times, the infighting between the disciplines seems to be a vicious circle; with each discipline criticizing the other(s) to try and benefit their own. After some investigation, the initial problem arises over the generic use of the term "Kickboxing", but whose fault is this? The North American media groups all different Martial Arts styles using boxing gloves under the heading of "Kickboxing". Major North American Martial Arts magazines (such as Black Belt, Inside Kung Fu, etc.) use the term "Kickboxing" in many imaginative ways: Full Contact Karate Rules (American Kickboxing), San Shou (Chinese Kickboxing), Bando (Burmese Kickboxing), Boxe Francaise- Savate (French Kickboxing), Muay Thai (Thai Kickboxing), and now there is even Cardio- Kickboxing* and the Lord above forbid, Tae Bo (hilarious isn't it? By the way, Mr. Blanks was never a 'World Kickboxing Champion' and to his credit, he only claims to be a 'World Martial Arts Champion'. I still have video of him in his professional boxing career. No disrespect, but I understand why he has stuck with Tae Bo). Today there is also a myriad of watered down aerobic Kickboxing programs taught by unqualified, soft bodied, and self-proclaimed "Kickboxers" who have never done a serious thing in or for the sport and different disciplines. There are so many Kickboxing (to get into shape) videos, that it is now embarrassing. There are even claims by these videos male and female hosts that they are so 'deadly in the ring' that after one fight they proclaim themselves to be 'The Kickboxing Guru' for all to follow. The fad has also now meant a quick and easy buck for those claiming they can certify people to become 'Kickboxing', 'Cardio-whatever' instructors. Most doing the certifying have no formal training in Kickboxing and/or have no certification themselves. There is one huge certification organization that comes to mind in Florida USA for prostituting the disciplines for a quick buck (but believe me they are not the only one guilty of this). For a fee, one can participate with a large crowd of people for a few hours in a workshop and voila - become a 'certified' Kickboxing instructor. The problem is, claim to be a instructor in any style of Karate after a few short hours in a workshop atmosphere and you will be criticized by authentic Karateka (practitioners) for not having put your time in, graded and followed the curriculum to earn the right to be an 'instructor'. Talk about a double standard now that the 'shoe is on the other foot', it is now all right by the Karateka and some organizations (not by me and many other partisan Full Contact/Kickboxing and Muay Thai instructors) to prostitute the Kickboxing disciplines (for the big buck!).

(* My apologies to Mr. Frank Thiboutot and his innovative work to promote the discipline of Kickboxing through his fitness program called 'Cardio-Kickboxing'. He has a long history of involvement in the Full Contact Rules scene in North America. For the readers information, Cardio-Kickboxing is trademarked and copyrighted in the USA and Canada, but many people still are using the term illegally. Mr. Thiboutot does not teach aerobics with a few 'Kickboxing' moves, but teaches a genuine method of learning Kickboxing without having to be involved in the competitive aspect. But on the down-side, Cardio-"what ever you want to call it" seems to be the in thing for fitness (which is great only because it is getting people exercising) but it has also produced a multitude of individuals who now teach the discipline to the masses this way, and in selling themselves, sprouted a million new but still false claims of "Kickboxing Champions" from individuals who have never seen the inside of the ring. I (as most people who love Muay Thai, Kickboxing and Full Contact competition) am tired of seeing the ring oriented Kickboxing disciplines raped!

MUAY THAI BOOK FROM THE 1970'S: (Above left photo) Muay Thai The Art of Siamese Unarmed Combat (1976): One of the first books on Muay Thai in the USA. Has information on the Muay Thai lineage I am part of. Out of print.

MUAY THAI HIT AMERICA FIRST! Though this statement is true, it is somewhat misleading. The fact is that any style of Kickboxing and/or Full Contact Karate did not exist at this time in North America's history, but Muay Thai did. The history of Muay Thai in the USA is quite well documented. In 1950, Muay Thai was introduced to America, but only a precious few people saw Surachai Looksurin and Somsri Tiemkamhaeng demonstrate the sport in gymnasiums and even circuses on about seven occasions. Consider Karate was a foreign word to the American masses at this time. It seems ironic that a 2000 year old Art (age is open to speculation because historical documents would be destroyed by invading aggressors throughout history) would be highlighted in a circus. Even Kyokushinkai Master Mas Oyama demonstrated Karate in the USA during this time at wrestling events and small demonstrations as well. Is not wrestling a 'circus' (a little lighthearted humor here)? The Thai men had come to America to spread Muay Thai but they failed. The Art was viewed as too brutal. The tour sponsors pulled out leaving both men stranded in America until the Thai embassy stepped in and paid for the group to return to Thailand. Three other Thai boxers successfully toured the US for about 6 months in 1951; they were seen in Hawaii, California and Texas. It was not until 1962 that members of the world population were treated to its first official demonstration of Muay Thai (the Art actually received an official billing), complete with musicians at the Seattle World's Fair (Bruce Lee's stomping grounds at the time. Wonder if the Kung Fu Master took in the event? A point of interest is that Bruce Lee did adopt Muay Thai technique to his JKD arsenal when he was filming his first (Chinese) Kung Fu movie in Thailand, "The Big Boss" or as it was called here "Fists of Fury").

THE FIRST ATTEMPTS AT 'CONTACT' IN AMERICAN KARATE Tracing the complete history of 'Contact' Karate is almost as impossible as tracing the true origin of the Martial Arts themselves. Count Dante* (aka John Keehan) was blackballed by the American Martial Arts community for allowing contact into tournament Karate. In 1967, the 'Father of American Tae Kwon-Do' Jhoon Rhee exclaimed, "I am totally against such a tournament personally and I will not send any of my students to compete. I know this type of contest will hurt Karate in America tremendously in a very short time." Ironically, Rhee�s innovation from the early 1970's Safe-T equipment gear would be used as staple equipment in the early years of Full Contact Karate in the same way boxing gloves are used in boxing contests. The gear was never made for contact but was used to increase the safety and encourage numbers of athletes to spar. In another ironic note, Rhee in the early '70's becomes involved with the World Professional Karate Championships in Los Angeles with his student Jeff Smith's involvement. From there, Rhee then is responsible for the development of 'team' full contact competition (World Black Belt League).

*COUNT DANTE - JOHN KEEHAN
Controversial self-appointed Master of the 'Death Touch'. Very outspoken and even somewhat prejudiced towards Oriental Martial Arts Masters claiming they were capitalizing on the mystique of the Martial Arts. In the 1960's and early 1970's he was involved in disputes with other studios in the Chicago area, one of which resulted in the stabbing death of Jim Koncevic (1970). Dante died in 1976 under somewhat suspicious circumstances. His student Frank Ryan took over the helm of Dante's organization as well as adopted Dante's self-proclaimed title as 'The World's Deadliest Man Alive!'

1962
Ray Skarica opens the American Kickboxing Club in Astoria. Skarica claims to have annual fight tournaments at his facility into the 1970's. Who fights on these events? His students only? Who gives them their titles? His student Anthony Johnson is a so called contender for the Lightheavyweight championship of the world. But under which organization?

BANDO COMES TO AMERICA
1963
After travelling the world, Burmese Bando expert Maung Gyi*, ended up in Washington DC and founded the American Bando Association on March 9th, 1963. Gyi was a highly regarded tournament official and was the referee for the historic Full Contact rules match between Bill Wallace and Joe Corley in 1975.

*DR. MAUNG GYI
Maung Gyi is a prominent practitioner of Burmese Bando. The young Gyi learned from experts such as Saw Ni, Bo Mein Sa and Saya Zaw Min. In 1953, Gyi organized a small group and put on some of the earliest Kickboxing exhibitions in Tokyo. Gyi was pleased by the fact that by the late 1960's and early 1970's Kickboxing is the number one sport in Japan. Gyi had trained hard in international boxing and had even set his sights on the 1956 Olympics. He was disqualified in an elimination match for getting excited and using a Bando technique. In June 1971 Gyi defeated a middleweight boxer by TKO in the 3rd round. In December 1971 he battled a larger Lightheavyweight boxer in a 6 round brawl. He knocked his opponent out with a series of punches and kicks after being badly injured. In 20 years of fighting (under 3 names; Kobayashi, Maung Maung, and Maung Gyi) he compiled a record of 66 KO wins and 30 losses. He himself was knocked out 15 times. 9 of the knockouts were at the hands of Burmese opponents in 1956.

AMERICAN 'CONTACT' KARATE CONTINUES
1963
John Keehan (Count Dante) held the 1st World Karate Championships at the Chicago Fieldshouse on July 28, 1963. In 1967, In Chicago he promoted what was supposed to be the first bare knuckle full contact event ever conducted in the US. It was reportedly supported by only 8 black belt contestants.

1967
John Ryther wins the '67 World Professional Martial Arts Championship. It was a no holds barred knockout contest where the victor walked away with $10,000. Whether this is true or not has been debated since the date it supposedly happened.

MUAY THAI BOOK FROM THE 1970'S:
(Above photo) Muay Thai - The Most Distinguished Art of Fighting (in Thai) (1976): The first extensive manual on Muay Thai published in Thailand. The book is authored by Acharn Panya Kraitus, who my Muay Thai lineage falls directly under. Out of print.

1968
Future American Muay Thai proponent Surachai Sirisute* starts quietly teaching Muay Thai in the USA in 1968.

*SIRISUTE, SURACHAI
Founder of the Thai Boxing Association of the USA. Came into more prominent recognition in 1982 thanks to his high profile association with Bruce Lee�s student Dan Inosanto. Part of credentials list him as the Thai Champion of Thailand's Don Stadium or Don Muang Stadium. No one in Thailand has heard of this stadium. His record of professional fights is reportedly ranging in the 70 bout number.


EARLY KICKBOXING IN JAPAN In Japan a new hybrid of Martial Art taking techniques from Muay Thai, Judo, Karate, and Shorinji Kempo becomes popular. Actually there is nothing new about it except in the way all the elements are combined. The Japanese have borrowed from Muay Thai and called their new sport 'Kickboxing'. The same tactics are used as in Muay Thai but it is not uncommon to see gloved 'chops' and judo throws. The art originated in the very early 1960's and started in Tokyo but swept throughout Japan.

The birth of 'Japanese Kickboxing' started when Thai fans criticized Karateka on their speed and strength. Japanese boxing promoter Osamu Noguchi * was constantly criticized during his visits to Bangkok. Noguchi took all the caustic comments he could from his Thai detracters and decided to make the Thai's eat their words.

*NOGUCHI, OSAMU
The father of Japanese Kickboxing. Always quick to make a buck, he was one of the most prominent promoters of fights in Japan. In December 1959 he imported boxers from Thailand and the Philippines to try and revive the waning interest of Japanese boxing fans in International Boxing (conventional Boxing). Noguchi had 5 years of boxing behind him when he originated Japanese style Kickboxing. In January 1966 Noguchi formed the JKBA (Japan Kick-Boxing Association). In January 1967, Noguchi and representatives from South Korea, the Philippines and Thailand formed the Orient Kick Boxing Association.

MARTIAL ART MAGAZINE FROM THE 1980'S FEATURING KICKBOXING: (Above photo) Black Belt Magazine (November 1986): One of a multitude of Martial Arts magazines from the period featuring Surachai Sirisute on the cover.

Noguchi immediately saw a way of making money and on February 12th, 1963, he found 3 willing challengers for a team match of Muay Thai against Karate arranged the event. The Thai's were allowed to use only their kicking and punching techniques while the Karateka were allowed to stick to their traditional styles but had to be wearing gloves. Yondan (4th Degree Black Belt) Karateka Kurosaki faced Thailand's Rabi Dechashi. The Karate man lost. Second up was Nidan (2nd Degree Black Belt) Fujihira against Thai Howfai Lookwantang. The Karateka KO'ed his Thai foe in the 4th round. Japanese Nidan (2nd Degree Black Belt) Nakamura fought a Chinese by the name of Tan Charan. The Karateka KO'ed his foe before the end of the 1st round. Noguchi felt that Japan had made a credible showing even though the Thai's were not anywhere near Thailand's strongest.

In June 1963, Noguchi thought he discovered a champion in Tadashi Sawamura. He was a 3rd degree Black Belt and physically very fast and what he lacked in weight he made up for in fighting spirit. Sawamura stepped into the ring against Thailand's Sama S. Adisong, Thailand's no. 1 Thai boxer. During the match the Thai had floored the Japanese athlete no less than 16 times. On the 17th time, Sawamura was unable to get up and the Thai won by a 4th round KO.

In 1966 the Japan Kick-Boxing Association organized rules that closely followed those of the Thai's in terms of equipment the athletes were to wear. 3 weight divisions were established: lightweight - 124 lbs. and below / middleweight 124 lbs. to 149 lbs. / heavyweight 149 lbs. and above. Victories would be won by decision, a TKO, KO, an opponent's foul, or an opponents failure to appear. Contestants could punch, chop, elbow, kick, head butt and throw.

In Korea, joint locks and choking were allowed before they modified their rules at Noguchi's invitation to join the JKBA.

Noguchi learned many things including on how to modify the training to be more practical. He entered Sawamura against Orient Middleweight Champion Monkongtong Sweetkung. The fight was broadcast February 26th, 1967. For 2 rounds the athletes unleashed and exchanged evenly. In the 3rd round Sawamura blasted Sweetkung with a flying knee to the face and knocked the Thai out. Sawamura had won the title. Noguchi had 3 other champions at this time: Jun Nishikawa - the Orient Lightweight Champion, Isao Fujimoto - the Japan Heavyweight Champion and Shizuo Saito - the Japan Lightweight Champion. These champions trained out of the Mejiro gym in Tokyo.

During this time, Japanese Kickboxers number around 1500 but enthusiasts from Thailand, Korea and the Philippines swell the number of participants as well as spectators. Champions have their own fan clubs and average a bout a month on Japanese television. On July 3, 1968 20 entrants from Thailand, the Philippines and Japan go at it. The ambitious outing draws few spectators. A similar tournament is held 3 weeks later. In October 1968, the 1st annual World Kickboxing Tournament is staged in Tokyo.

Osamu Noguchi* promotes the the first series of World Kickboxing Tournaments in Japan. Many critics level criticism stating the sport looks like lethargic Karate. Competitors from South Korea, Thailand and the Philippines attend the event. Noguchi and his Japanese Kick-Boxing Association makes preliminary bouts to be fought over 3 rounds, semi main events to be fought under 4 rounds, and main events to be fought over 5 rounds.

Continued on the Next Page! - Japan continued, 1969 and 1970 -