America and Great Britain could fight against fighters from the East i.e. Japan and Thailand using a system of rules and regulations which were acceptable to both parties. This action started a trend which we are familiar with today. Thus we have a system whereby fights are arranged all over the world following rules laid down by various Kickboxing Associations etc. These fights take place under Kickboxing Rules (fighters are allowed to kick to the inner and outer thigh along with kicks above the waist and normal boxing punches. No knee and elbow strikes), as well as Full Contact Rules (fighters must kick above the waist along with normal boxing punches. No knee and elbow strikes). These matches are held in a Kickboxing Ring over a set period of rounds determined by the level of importance of each match i.e. A novice fight may be only 2 or 3 rounds up to a world title fight of 10 or 12 rounds. These will then be decided by either a knockout, a technical knockout (referee stops the fight to avoid more punishment for a fighter), or a points decision delivered by the ringside judges. Other styles of fighting i.e. Light Continuous and Semi Contact are not really associated with Kickboxing but are more closely related to Freestyle Karate, Kung Fu, Tae Kwon Do etc. Having said this you will still find associations that have these styles within their rules and regulations.
