Can You Learn Kickboxing By Yourself?

How To Teach Yourself Kickboxing

Whether you want to be able to defend yourself against an attack or you just want to get in great shape, learning the art of kickboxing will get you there. An experienced instructor can help demonstrate technique and provide feedback, as well as provide a sparring partner—but that doesn't mean you can't go it alone. There are plenty of print and online resources you can use to build a strong foundation.

Find A Space

You can learn the basics of kickboxing right in your living room, as long as you have enough room to throw some punches and kicks. Depending on the amount of equipment you decide to invest in, you may need a larger dedicated space, such as a basement, rec room or garage.

If you are going to hang a heavy bag, for example, choose a space with plenty of clearance, with ceilings that are high enough and sturdy enough to support the weight. If you plan to use videos to learn techniques, set up a TV or laptop in an area that is visible but not in danger of being damaged by errant kicks or jabs.

Equip Yourself

You can learn the basics of kickboxing without any equipment. Shadowboxing is an effective way to practice punches, kicks and footwork. However, having some equipment will help you take your training to the next level.

For basic training, you need athletic clothing that provides support while allowing you to move freely. You need a cross-training shoe that provides stability but has a light and flexible sole that enables you to be quick and agile.

If you plan to spar with a partner or punch a bag, you'll need hand wraps and/or kickboxing gloves. Hand wraps provide support and light protection for your hands and wrists, while kickboxing gloves provide stronger protection. Other safety items for sparring include shin guards, head guards and mouth guards.

A heavy bag is a major investment but it will really help you develop speed, power and hand-eye coordination. You can also spar with a partner using focus mitts and strike shields which your partner holds for protection.

Learn The Basic Moves

There are a few foundational punches and kicks that are essential to know from the get-go. Learn these, then spend some time practicing your technique before moving on to more advanced combinations.

Fighting Stance

Your fighting stance is the foundation for all your kicks and punches. A strong fighting stance provides stability and power. Stand with your feet staggered, one in front, one behind. Bend your knees slightly and lift the heel of your back foot. Bring your arms up with your elbows next to your ribs and your fists near your chin, palms facing in. Close your fists and curl the fingers in tightly. Place your thumb over your first two fingers.

This is the form you'll start from when executing the following moves. You also want to keep your core muscles contracted by pulling your navel in toward your spine.

Basic Punches

Throwing a powerful punch is crucial for beating an opponent or fending off an attack. From a fitness perspective, throwing punches works the muscles of your upper body and core and, when done for an extended period of time, provides an effective cardio workout.

Jab: Stand with your right foot forward. Rotate your right hip forward and extend your right arm as you twist your forearm so your palm faces the ground. To throw a jab with your left hand, start with the left foot forward.

Cross: Stand with your right foot forward. Rotate your left foot, knee, hip and shoulder as you extend your left arm out, twisting the forearm faces down. Cross with your right arm by starting with the left foot forward.

Hook: Stand with your left foot forward and bring the heel of the right foot to the floor. Pivot on the ball of the left foot, rotating your knee, hip and shoulder to the right. Extend your arm across your body, keep your elbow bent and your forearm parallel with the floor. Start with your right foot forward to throw a hook with your left arm.

Upper cut: With your left foot forward, drop your right arm slightly and rotate your hips to the left. Punch your right fist up, with your palm facing you.

Basic Kicks

The large muscles of your lower body generate a great deal of power. Harnessing that power to throw sharp kicks and sweeping roundhouses makes you a force to be reckoned with. Executing these moves also takes a lot of strength and stamina, so you'll burn fat and build muscle.

Front kick: Stand in fighting stance with your left foot forward. Transfer the weight into your right foot and pull the left knee up to your chest. Pull the left heel in toward your glute and flex the foot. Kick straight out, keeping the foot flexed.

Side kick: Stand with your left foot forward. Rotate your hips to the right and point your right toes out slightly. Keep the left foot flexed as you bend the knee and bring it in toward your chest. Kick the left leg forcefully out to the left, leaning your weight to the right to balance.

Roundhouse: Stand with your right foot forward. Bend the right knee and bring it in toward your glute. Pivoting on the left foot, rotate your hips left as you strike with the right leg in an arc from right to left. Extend the kick from the knee with your toes pointed.

How Long Does It Take To Learn Kickboxing?

If you’re interested in kickboxing, but you don’t feel that you have the time to learn it, there are many ways that you can learn kickboxing quickly.

Obviously, as it does with any new skill, it would take longer to master. However, if you put your mind to it, you can learn the basics in no time.

How long does it take to learn the basics of kickboxing? If you just want to learn the basic punches and kicks then it does not take but 6 months to a year. This would be based on how much you train or practice each week. To master it would take many years of training.

Once you decide what you are looking to get out of kickboxing, you just need to work to achieve it.

If you simply just want to know the basics, then all you have to do is get in the right mindset. Then you need to set time aside to train.

If you are looking to master it, just know that it is definitely going to take much longer.

You may also want to fight in kickboxing matches. This type of training will be more intense and require hard work.

Kickboxing is just like normal boxing or any form of martial art you get what you put into it.

The time it takes to learn it will also depend on how you are training.

It depends on whether you are teaching yourself, learning online, or learning from an actual instructor.

Here are some tips on kickboxing and learning it in a timely manner.

What Exactly Is Kickboxing?

Kickboxing is known as a combat sport that is standing up and using kicking and punching. It is basically karate mixed with boxing.

Kickboxing is mostly used for fitness, self-defense, and generally as a combat sport.

When looking at kickboxing in the broader sense many other martial arts fall under the kickboxing umbrella.

Muay Thai and other martial arts are considered by many to fall under kickboxing.

Here are a few kickboxing sanctioning websites:

• IKF Kickboxing
• WKF
• WAKO

Learning Kickboxing Online

There are several great resources online to learn kickboxing. If you simply type in how to learn kickboxing in your search engine you will see your options.

There are many options for learning kickboxing, Muay Thai, karate, Krav Maga, Jiu-Jitsu, and other specific forms.

Some are just free videos on YouTube while others do require a monthly membership to access.

This site actually has an online training area where you can sign-up to learn for free kickboxing techniques.

You can check out some of the YouTube training on the basics before joining a gym or signing up for our free online training.

Learning kickboxing online is something that you can easily do and the cost is free or at least much cheaper than going to a local gym.

What Equipment You Need To Learn Kickboxing At Home

If you are interested in learning kickboxing at home, it is important that you are first equipped with the right gear. First, make sure that you actually have the place to practice in your home.

After that some basic things that you may need include athletic clothing, cross-training shoes, hand wraps, punching bag stand, boxing gloves, and a punching bag.

The hand wraps or boxing gloves are important because they provide protection for your hands and wrists.

Boxing gloves obviously provide more protection but the hand wraps will give you some additional protection.

We use hand wraps all the time because my hands will hurt after training if I do not use them.

You can also train lightly when hitting the punching bag or kicking it. To protect your hands just do not punch it at full force all the time.

Hitting the bag lighter will preserve your hands but still give you the training you need.

Learning Kickboxing With An Instructor

There are usually kickboxing studios in most cities that offer classes. This is ideally the best way to go about learning a new skill.

Most places will either charge monthly or by the lesson. Also, clubs and organizations will let new members attend free for a week to test out the classes.

This is a great way to just try it out to see if you would like it.

Most instructors will tell you that you should easily be able to learn the basics within three to twelve months.

This is actually pretty quick considering that most martial artists spend their whole lives devoted to training.

You could even ask your friends to go to the classes with you as well.

There are two types of gyms for kickboxing. The first gym may only offer cardio kickboxing like Title Boxing clubs which is a franchise in the US.

You also have an actual martial art gym that teaches you kickboxing the sport or martial art.

The cardio kickboxing gyms teach basic punching and kicking. You then use those basics to get a good workout on the punching bags.

This is a great workout and will help you burn calories. You can also learn the basics of boxing.

Kickboxing training in a gym that actually teaches sport fighting or the martial art side is going to be different.

The goal is to get a good workout but you are training with actual instructors that know the fighting aspect.

This is going to be different than just using a cardio gym like Title Boxing.

Learning Kickboxing On A College Campus

If you are currently in college, odds are that there are some classes you can take to learn kickboxing.

Many colleges include kickboxing on their list of classes for certified instructors to teach to students.

Utilize your resources at school and attend one of the classes. Also, look out for what I mentioned earlier about clubs and organizations.

A popular social night for many clubs has been to rent out a kickboxing studio and have a beginner kickboxing lesson.

If you are interested maybe mention this idea to one of your clubs or organizations.

This would at least show you if you like kickboxing or not and if you do then you have the opportunity to learn it when it is convenient for you and for free or discounted.

Get Conditioned

It is important to realize that you will be able to train hard in kickboxing if you are already in shape. So this means that it would be a good idea to get in shape before doing kickboxing.

This is why kickboxing is great for fitness because it encourages you to stay fit even outside of your lessons.

You don’t need to go to the gym every day it simply just means that doing some cardio a few times a week is a good idea.

If you are going to classes with an instructor, they will probably tell you the same thing.

Don’t get scared of video this is more hard core kickboxing training. This is how you train to get into fighting shape.

Set A Goal

The best thing to do when learning a new skill is to set the goal for what you want to achieve. If you set your mind to successfully learning a new skill it really helps the overall process.

Mindset is key.

Before you start you should write your goals down.

Writing your goals down will really solidify this in your mind and will help. Believe it or not, having an open mind is really a big part of the process of learning how to kickbox.

How Often To Practice

The average time to spend training in kickboxing is two to three days a week. Your muscles need time to relax.

However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t do some light cardio or weight lifting on your off days.

If you want to become a kickboxing fighter then you will have to train 6 days a week. Look to a gym that offers training for fighters. They will have a program already laid out.

Overdoing it is only going to hurt your muscles and end up you getting hurt. Give yourself the off days and work hard on the practice days.

Benefits

If you are looking for bettering your coordination kickboxing is definitely the way to go. No matter how unathletic or athletic you are, you will notice a huge improvement with your coordination.

It also gives you a chance to focus on honing your energy.

The different kicks and punches that are used in this specific martial art really focus on placing your energy in the right places.

Basically, there are so many different benefits from learning kickboxing. You are learning self-defense, increasing stamina, getting in shape and helping with balance.

Don’t let yourself miss out on all the great benefits you could get from learning this new skill.

Punches And Kicks Defined:

Fight Stance

In a proper fighting stance, your feet are shoulder-width apart and you have one foot rotated forward with your back foot behind you. Have your forward foot pointing with your toes toward the target.

Jab

A jab is the most basic punch in boxing and kickboxing. From a fighting stance, push off your back “planter” leg, extend your fist quickly to punch the body to the bag and snap your hand back. Keep your punching elbow in tight to the body and have your other hand up in a guarding “defense” position.

Cross

A cross is a punch that is thrown crosswise from the body. To throw a proper cross, start in a fight stance, keep your punching elbow at 90 degrees and swing your punch while rotating your hips and punch across your body from left to right or right to left.

Lead Hook

The lead hook is one of the 6 basic punches to learn. From a fighting stance, shift your weight to your front leg and your lead fist is striking upward with your elbow at 90 degrees below it.

Lead Kick

From a fighting stance, take your front leg and bend it at the knee. Shift your weight over your back leg while kicking your front leg 90 degrees to your target. The object is to strike your bag at the mid-”torso” area if that was an opponent.

Knee Kick

A knee kick is a standing strike with your front leg leading with your knee. To perform it properly, start with a fighting stance, bend your front leg at the knee and drive your knee upward to your target while you shift your weight from your back leg to your striking leg.

Lead Uppercut

Another one of the basic punches of boxing, a lead uppercut is a punch thrown in an upward motion. A lead uppercut is thrown by starting in a fight stance, using your front fist to strike upward from near the waist while shifting weight from your back leg to your front.

What Are The Benefits Of Kickboxing?

Kickboxing has several benefits beyond just a great workout. Here is a list of some of the effects a kickboxing workout can have:

• Increased Muscle Strength
• Improved Stamina
• Enhanced Balance
• Better Heart Health
• Weight Management
• Improved Mental Health
• Better Quality Sleep
• More Confidence

What Do You Need For Kickboxing At Home?

To start a kickboxing routine at home, the basic boxing equipment you will need is a punching bag. We recommend FightCamp’s free-standing punching bag as it is fully padded and sturdy enough to withstand both punches and kicks at all levels.

As many kickboxing workouts will include basic punch combinations, you will also need boxing hand wraps and boxing gloves for proper protection.

If you aren’t sure you are willing to invest in boxing equipment, you can always perform a kickboxing workout by shadowboxing. Although you won’t have a defined “target” to make contact with, you will still reap the benefits of the workout.

How Many Days A Week Should You Do Kickboxing?

In general, you should begin any exercise routine moderately and scale up with more intense exercises as you improve your grasp on the fundamentals and improve your overall conditioning.

We recommend getting started three days a week for 30 minutes. If you want more exercise ideas, we have a 7-day kickboxing technique workout you could try.

Conclusion

Overall you can successfully learn how to kickbox quickly. Learning any new skill takes time and effort.

Kickboxing in around 3 to 12 months you should know the basics and be pretty good at punching and kicking.

It also depends on what way you go about learning kickboxing, whether that is in person, online, or just on your own. All of these things may take the learning process at a different pace.

It is also important to realize that every person is different and will learn at different paces.

This is just how it goes with new skills and martial arts in general. It doesn’t mean they are any better or any worse, it just means that their minds and bodies work differently than yours.