The sweet science…with kicks!

I’ve heard it time and again. “I hate MMA. Who wants to see two grown men roll around on the ground together?” It’s a pretty invalid point, particularly since those men are trying to either break one or more of their opponents limbs or disconnect them for their consciousness with a choke while they’re “rolling around” on the ground, but that’s neither here nor there. But lets face it, not everyone is going to appreciate the grappling aspect of mixed martial arts and no one is forcing them to. “I like it better when they’re striking,” is another gripe often echoed by detractors of MMA. Often times, specifically at a bar or other space for social gathering, when I hear this brought up usually I ask a pretty simple question: “Do you watch kickboxing?” You can imagine what the answer is. A resounding no. In terms of full contact stand up striking, kickboxing is certainly the most intriguing sport to witness, even more so than boxing. That’s right boxing purests. Though boxing is the sweet science and a great sport, the fact that a combatant can’t use kicks, knees, or elbow strikes kind of takes away from the legitimacy of boxing being the ultimate striking art. For those very same reasons, kickboxing is definitely a sport that fans of striking should be partaking in. So many casual MMA fans love the stand up aspect of the sport yet never find their way to watching some quality kickboxing. If I’m being honest, kickboxing events aren’t exactly readily available for American fans, but there’s a little thing called the internet that should be able to provide what television can not. With kickboxing you get all the great action from a stand up fight in mixed martial arts with none of the ground work to “muddle” things up. The wrestling and grappling aspects of MMA certainly make things much more interesting, simply because you’ll never know exactly how a fight will conclude. Striking sports can end in only a few ways: either a knockout, technical knockout from accumulated damage to a nasty cut, or judges decision, all of which is induced by an individual striking a blow against their opponent. The fact that there can be submissions, knockouts both standing and on the ground, and many other methods of victory within MMA make the sport more tantalizing. But if you’re adamant about seeing some terrific striking then try your hand at some kickboxing and maybe you’ll second guess buying that next over priced boxing match. In fact, since I’m trying so hard to convince you, check out this fight below and try and tell me you wouldn’t consider watching more kickboxing. https://youtu.be/ZK_5_EfTSAg?t=127 Thinking about becoming a kickboxing fan? Let us know in the comments and forums. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron MMA on Facebook and Twitter.