FREE Kickboxing Guide

free kickboxing guide

Download our free 10 page guide to kickboxing.

Starting Age

One common question is “what is the best age to start kickboxing?” or “what age is too old to start kickboxing?”. When it comes to kickboxing there is no absolute age level, kids as young as 6 can start to train, and we know some people in the 80’s who train more than once a week. It is true that kids can sometimes learn faster than adults, and they can quickly become comfortable with the skills and moves in kickboxing.

kickboxing-classOften kids who start off kickboxing drop out after a year or two. And thus they never really reach a level at where they can adequately perform in a sparring event or competition. We do see many adults returning in the twenties and even thirties, who had trained as a kid, and want to go back. But because there was a gap of multiple years, the skills will need to be relearned. So either as an adult returning back to kickboxing or as a new adult to the sport, you will still be able to pick the sport up. At the end of the day it comes down to your dedication at training. To take it to a competitive level it is necessary to train multiple times a week.

How often should I train ?

kick-boxing-glovesIt is recommended that people train at least once a week. For competitive kickboxers they can train up to 7 days a week, Olympic athletes or world champions would need to have this amount of dedication in order to compete at the highest levels. Even at national kickboxing levels students would compete four or five times a week. For children under the age of 16, it’s not recommended that they train more than twice a week, we would see that it is more important that a kid is more rounded and has other activities on their schedule , and not just kickboxing training. We have put together a kickboxing training plan which you might find useful.

Young kickboxers sparring

Many parents are frightened about their children sparring (we don’t call it fighting, as it’s always done in a controlled manner). Sparring is a great way for young kickboxers to practice their moves, but it’s certainly not obligatory. If kids decide to spar, it’s important that they are wearing the right kickboxing gear. Kids should have mouth protection, head protection and kneed pads. Teaching kids to have control in the ring is an important life lesson. They learn to focus on the task at hand, and not to allow their emotions drive them. When sparring occurs we always have a senior kickboxer umpiring.

Kickboxing age groups

As a rule of thumb full contact should not be done for young kids, even with protect gear on. Only the older age groups, from teenagers should be participating in full contact matches.