A lot of competitive combat sports focus on both ground and stand up techniques. Anything goes with street fighting, but strict rules are required to govern a match with combat sports.
The rules are essential, especially when considering how the scorecards are managed and tallied. These sports also offer different types of competitions and platforms in which they are performed. Martial arts schools all over the world have continued to evolve their styles to include more effective striking, you don’t need to look any further than your local martial arts academy, or sites like waima.com.au to see how schools are now training in multiple styles to evolve with modern-day combat sports. Below, you will find some of the best striking arts in combat sports:
Lethwei
At first glance, Lethwei tends to look a lot like Muay Thai. This is rightly so because Lethwei is a form of kickboxing from Burma. It is also referred to as Burmese Bare-Knuckle boxing, and yes, it is bare-knuckle! Competitors wear hand wraps without any gloves. The geographical proximity of this martial art is what makes it very similar to Muay Thai, as Maynar is on the northern border of Thailand. But unlike Muay Thai, headbutts are allowed in Lethwei.
This is why it is also known as the Art of Nine Limbs. Hence, just by the allowance of headbutts in Lethwei, it is one of the best striking martial arts.
Muay Thai
This kickboxing art from Thailand has earned its spot in the sports world because of its diverse striking. Muay Thai allows striking with elbows, knees, fists, and feet, which is why it is also known as the Art of Eight Limbs.
It is widely practiced in combat sports because it is an insanely useful martial art. It focuses more on the practical techniques like leg kicks aimed at the inside of the knee joint or lower thigh areas.
It is also one of the few martial arts that include blocks for low kicks, commonly known as checks. It is also a diverse striking art that consists of both punches and kicks and much more. This combat sport teaches extensive work in the clinch like wearing your opponent down with the elbows and knees.
Boxing
The most popular combat sport is boxing, and most people know about this sport. Boxing has been on-going for centuries as a competitive combat sport since the early 1600 BC.
It is the martial art of punching, which means that there are no kicks, strikes, back-fists, or open-palm strikes. It is more about hitting without getting hit because you need to be in close range to box and not kick. Boxers know how to block or absorb hits because they are so used to taking hits. The boxer’s main interest is to absorb the hits with minimal damage. They also tend to practice head movement more than in other combat sports because it is useful in avoiding punches to the head.
Karate and Taekwondo
Karate is more like the parent style of Taekwondo but with a few significant differences. It is also more competitive than Taekwondo. Compared to Taekwondo, Karate is more about punching. Karate uses body kicks, which includes the devastating spinning back kick.
Taekwondo, on the other hand, is derived from Karate, which is why they tend to have similar styles. Taekwondo is more focused on speed and less on the person you are striking. It is known for the fast kicks and relative lack of punching.
It tends to rely more on kicks than punches. The best way to generate power with Taekwondo is by spinning kicks and jumping kicks.