Kickboxing

Kickboxing was originally developed as a form of full contact competition. Today, match formats are divided by degrees of contact. The different variations are Full Contact, Low Kick, Semi Contact, Light Contact and K1. In Finland, the main focus in competitions is in the K1 format.

An amateur kickboxing match consists of three two-minute rounds. The duration and number of sets of a professional match depends on the format of the match. At the professional level, the sets can be two or three minutes long with anywhere from 3, all the way to 12 sets of the championship match in the Full Contact format.

In an amateur kickboxing match, one of the most important goals is to protect one's integrity, and therefore the importance of the opponent's defense skills plays a big role. In an amateur match, knockouts are rare.

The ring judge's most important task is to monitor the safety of the contestants. Uneven matches are stopped well in advance. In amateur matches, the goal is always that the skill sets of the contestants match each other. When choosing match pairs, age, weight and experience are taken into account. The rules ensure the safety of the contestants. All competitors must have a license and insurance.

​​Kickboxing uses a belt ranking system. The belts around the trainees' waists darken as the level increases.