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If you're here, on the IKF web-site,
and you've read thus far, chances are you're a fighter, trainer or promoter with
a passion for Kickboxing. Maybe you're a fan or an interested new-comer to this
popular but misunderstood sport of ours. The question remains, regardless of
your standing in this new American fascination; Why don't we see Kickboxing on
TV? How come we, the public at large, never get to hear the resounding SMACK of
a well placed kick echoing through the comfort our own living rooms? What MUST
be done to make this time-worn new sport popular? Or perhaps the most telling
question, "Isn't Kickboxing like that WWE stuff that all the kids love
so much?" (Asked by a students mother at a recent Karate event).
The answers can be found in statements like those.
Our sport is the misunderstood step-child of every Poorly-dubbed Chinese
Cinema export of the 70's. American film and our TV culture has miscast this
noble and robust sport as an errant off-shoot of anything Kung Fu. "You
mean HiYa-KiYai?" asked another innocent. NO! Dammit! This is Boxing!
With Kicks! We attempt to explain. But to no avail. It's not their fault. Nor is
it the fault of Chinese Kung Fu flicks. (Which we all know and love).
Kickboxing is not perceived by the mainstream media as a real sport. That's
a sad statement, but true. Take for example a recent call to the Sports Desk
Editor of a large metropolitan newspaper. "A local fighters just won
the IKF/TKO
USA National Tournament! Yes sir! Local Boys at that! You will?!?
A photographer AND a story? In the "neighbors" pull-out section of the
Thursday edition? Why not the Sports Page? This news is certainly is more
exciting than a tennis player demanding higher pay? Isn't it?".
It's scenes such as these that play out in our country's media centers
everyday. Editors and producers are a timid bunch and not prone to explore new
avenues of interest for viewers and readers. And so we read the same old stories
of salary caps in Major League Baseball and draft-picks in Football and we watch
the Shaquilles and the Kobys collect mad sums of money again and again. So what
in Sports is new?
There's an old adage; "If ya want somethin' done right, ya gotta do
it yourself." We need to take Kickboxing mainstream. Those very words
KICK and BOXING need to be brought in to popular American lexicon and
distinguished for it's fresh originality and understood for what it is.
Exciting, fast-paced, awe-inspiring, dynamic and indomitable. A "true
sport" requiring skill, precision, timing and heart. A viewer friendly
activity worthy of its popularity and capable of procuring a huge fan-based
income. A true "American sport". So how do we accomplish this
glorious feat?
Ask IKF president Steve Fossum.
He's got some answers. Just be quiet as you speak because right now, dear
reader, the cameras are rolling and it's quiet on the set of "Corner-Talk",
an IKF produced segment being filmed for
the new and glossy IKF TV Show soon to
broadcast on CSS (Comcast Sports
SouthEast). Production crews bustle busily around the IKF headquarters in Newcastle, CA, USA as IKF reporter, Johnny Davis prepares to
interview IKF World Middleweight Champion
Dave "Mad-Man" Marinoble (Above Right, ready for
his interview) and 4 time IKF
Lightweight Champion Robert Elledge.
The segment is short but concise. Information, routine, "How did
you get started", "What do you love about Kickboxing",
but it's in the answers that we see Kickboxing's profound nature. "What
do I love most about this sport? Having my hands raised in victory."
Replies Marinoble, one of Kickboxing's staunchest and earliest
proponents.
The interview is over in a few minutes. Nothing spectacular. However it is
simply a tiny part of a larger picture being presented to the public. A dose in
the cure for the ills of Kickboxing. A small step in the giant leap needed to
bring the focus of a mal-informed public to this under-rated sport.
The show can be seen on CSS every
Friday night starting this coming Friday, September 5th at 11:PM. Features
include both amateur and pro bouts, fighter interviews and more. But of course
the staple of the IKF Kickboxing TV Show
are the fighters doing what they do best. Throwing leather and launching kicks
in some of the best fights the IKF has to
offer. So trainers, promoters, and yes, you, the un-sung gladiator….Take
heart, and lift your eyes to your television screens because... Kickboxing
is finally going BIG TIME!
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