How long does it take to learn kickboxing?
To learn the basics of kickboxing from the ground up to a level where you can spar safely can take between 3-12 months depending on your dedication.
Going from a complete beginner to having your first fight could be between 6 and 12 months or longer. Or even shorter depending on the individual.
Again this depends on how much time you are putting into your training and learning.
But, learning a skill, even a martial art is not mastering or becoming an expert in that skill for sure.
To become an expert in kickboxing or even a teacher or instructor could take 3 years plus, again this time can be shortened depending on how dedicated a person is.
Kickboxing: Complete Beginner to Sparring
As stated above in can take as little as 3 months to go from a complete beginner to sparring with higher level kickboxers safely.
Within that first 3 months the most foundational aspects of kickboxing need to be practiced continuously even to the point that it can become boring, but this is what it takes to become good at martial arts.
So the first 3 months for a beginner to kickboxing would include first off learning:
Stance & Footwork
The most important part of all combat arts is mastering stance and footwork.
Learning to stand and move with balance in all directions in the most protected posture i.e hands up, chin down is the very basic part of stance and footwork in kickboxing.
The “step and drag” footwork is the most commonly taught and trained footwork as it is the best way to advance, retreat or move sideways in kickboxing.
Basic Strikes
Following learning stance and footwork, basic strikes should be the next progression in learning.
This means covering all of the strikes in kickboxing which are:
- -Straight punches – Jab, Rear Straight/Cross
- -Round punches – Hooks and Uppercuts
- -Knees
- -Roundhouse kick – to the body, legs and head (in this order)
- (Elbows) – some kickboxing schools practice them some do not
Basic Defense
You will learn the basics of defense in the stance and footwork i.e keeping your hands up to protect the face as part of your stance and footwork.
But learning to block, parry and evade strikes are all defensive measures a beginner should learn fairly early on.
The basic defensive techniques should include:
- blocking and parrying punches
- blocking kicks to the body, head and low kicks
- using movement to avoid knees
Moving and Striking at the Same Time
Moving and striking at the same time is a slightly more advanced aspect to learn.
But in order to prepare for sparring for a beginner, it is important to learn and master early on.
But this is only after the very basics of stance and footwork are really nailed down for the beginner to be able to move and strike at the same time.
Moving and striking means moving not only forward while striking to gain entry, but also moving backward to lure an opponent in, as well as moving to the lead or rear side much like a check hook.
How Long Does it Take to Go from Beginner to First Fight?
This really depends on the individual to a large extent.
But other factors such as their experience in other martial arts or combat sports, their physical fitness and athletic ability can also shorten the time to go from beginner in kickboxing to your first fight.
If a beginner can really become proficient at the beginner aspects discussed above of:
- Stance & Footwork
- Basic Strikes
- Basic Defense
- Striking while Moving
And is also comfortable while sparring, able to execute their techniques and defend attacks with a good level of conditioning, then a first fight would not be too far away.
More advanced strategies of defensive footwork and countering need to be learnt and mastered also.
But with the basics down well, then adding in these more advanced aspects should not be a problem.
If a person is putting in 3-5 sessions per week of an hour or more and is moving well in safe ‘playful’ sparring, then a person could be ready to take their first fight within 8 months to a year of starting kickboxing.
How Long Does it Take to Become an Expert Kickboxer?
If we look at 10,000 hours at an art or craft in order to become an expert and apply this to kickboxing then someone training 5 days per week, 2 hours per session can reach 5,000 hours of practice in one year.
This is a high level of dedication and one which most people do not have.
But with this type of dedication, based on achieving 10,000 hours then it would not take more than 3 years of training 5 days per week to become an expert in kickboxing.
And actually closer to two years.
Kickboxing, generally is not like other martial arts that have a belt ranking system and which require regular testing in order to assess a students level and upgrade them to higher belt.
There are kickboxing and muay thai gyms and schools that do have rankings in colored belts or pra jiad (muay thai arm bands) to show a students ranking. But most do not.
Just by showing up to training each and every week and listening to your instructors and following their advice when it comes to sparring and fighting, you can become an expert and eventually an instructor yourself overtime.
How Long Does it Take to Learn Kickboxing? Wrap Up
For a complete beginner to go from knowing absolutely nothing to becoming proficient at the basics to where they can spar safely – this can take 3 months or longer and between 3-8 months is a good estimate.
But these estimate timelines can be longer or shorter depending on how often a person is training and their dedication to learning kickboxing.
To go from a beginner to having your first fight this is also very dependent on the dedication of the student.
But other factors such as their experience in other martial arts or combat sports, their physical fitness and athletic ability can also shorten the time to go from beginner in kickboxing to your first fight.
But even a very fit beginner from another combat art would still need at least 3 months to get the kickboxing basics down. And probably another 3-6 months of training for their first fight.
So between 6-9 months for a beginner to have their first fight.
To master kickboxing can take 3 years plus of dedicated training and practice of a minimum of 5 hours per week in order to attain 10,000 hours of practice in kickboxing.
So how long does it take to learn kickboxing?
It really depends on the individuals dedication as well as the ability of the instructor or teacher.
The students physical fitness and athletic ability and experience in other combat arts can also be very influential in how fast they learn kickboxing.
