I get more and more requests for kickboxing lessons every day. These requests aren't from young 20 year old Bruce Lee wannabes, but mostly from women who are 30 plus. Clearly kickboxing for fitness is the new mantra for those serious about losing fat and improving health. I think that's great news, as intense workouts like kickboxing do much more for you in terms of fat loss than those boring long morning walks.

For years kickboxing was practiced as a combat sport, just like boxing, where young boys would compete to see who was the toughest. Broken noses, bloodied faces were a common sight at kickboxing competitions. The fear of an injury kept the general fitness population away from kickboxing classes. However, despite the risks involved, kickboxing has always been a great cardio workout that is much likelier to burn away the fat on your thighs and waist when compared to other forms of cardio like running. Check out the calorie comparison chart below to get an idea:

• Kickboxing - 863 calories burned in 1 hour
• Running (5.2 miles/hour) - 776 calories burned in 1 hour
• Bicycling (12-14 miles/hour) - 690 calories burned in 1 hour
• Aerobics (high impact) - 604 calories burned in 1 hour

Unlike sports kickboxing, fitness kickboxing does not contain any form of sparring where two practitioners face each other, or try to break each other’s noses. The participants simply practice the various kicks, punches, footwork drills, that are part of traditional kickboxing, sometimes on punching bags or in the air. Which would also mean that one should not equate such sessions with self defense practice. To be able to defend yourself, you must spar against a live opponent. 

If you too are interested and prepared to work hard to burn the fat, but do not have the time for joining classes or are more interested in training at home, here are the basics that you can practise for your own fitness kickboxing session, alone or with a partner.

Before that here are some precautions that should be first taken.

• Consult a physician before starting
• Never lock out the knees and elbows fully while executing a kick or punch
• If practicing on a hard surface then avoid high kicks, turnings kicks, and jumping kicks
• Always warm up before starting the session. Do some spot jogging, joint mobility drills, etc to warm up

The basic moves that are used in cardio kickboxing are-