Women have participated in kickboxing since the 1960s in Thailand.[1] But there has been a superstition and prejudice women have often being prevented from participating in the major tournaments in Thailand.[2][3][4][5]
 | |
| Focus | Striking |
|---|---|
| Hardness | Full-contact |
| Famous practitioners | see list of female kickboxers |
| Parenthood | Karate, Muay Thai, Boxing |
| Descendant arts | Shoot boxing |
The World’s Muay Thai Angels is one of the first organisations to be a place for women to participate in and the first tournament was won by Chommanee Sor Taehiran.[6][7]
Women's kickboxing in Australia has a small but devoted following. In the 1970s women in the United States took up kickboxing as they were prevented from taking part in women's boxing.[8] In the UK kickboxing has a growing following according to the WMC.[9]
In May 2016 the kickboxing organisation Glory announced the creation of a women's division built around Tiffany van Soest.[10]
In 2021 the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium finally allowed women to compete in Muay Thai.[11][12][13]
In popular culture
In Stieg Larsson's book The Girl Who Played with Fire (2006) and its film adaptation, Lisbeth Salander, her friend and lover Miriam Wu, and their friend Paolo are kickboxers. Lisbeth adopted her kickboxing ringname, "The Wasp", as her hacker handle and has a wasp tattoo on her neck.
See also
References
- ^ "Jennifer Gampell". Gampell.com. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
- ^ Fuller, Thomas (2007-09-16). "Sugar and Spice and a Vicious Right: Thai Boxing Discovers Its Feminine Side". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
- ^ Green, Thomas A.; Svinth, Joseph R. (11 June 2010). Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia of History and Innovation. Abc-Clio. p. 322. ISBN 9781598842449. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
- ^ Gampell, Jennifer (July 14–16, 2000). "Weekend Journal: Thailand's Boxing Babes- Women Make Their Way Back into the Ring". The Asian Wall Street Journal.
- ^ "100 Women: The Muay Thai fighters excluded from the ring for being female". October 25, 2017 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ Newhall, Lindsey (2015-02-13). "The World Muay Thai Angels: Marketing the Women Fighters of Thailand | FIGHTLAND". Fightland.vice.com. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
- ^ "Chommanee wins World Muaythai Angels". Muaythaitv.com. Archived from the original on 2016-04-01. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
- ^ Smith, Malissa (2014). A History of Women's Boxing. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 124. ISBN 9781442229952. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
- ^ Matthews, Christopher R.; Channon, Alex (29 April 2016). Global Perspectives on Women in Combat Sports. Springer. ISBN 9781137439369. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
- ^ "Glory announces Grand Prix tournament to launch new women's division". bloodyelbow.com.
- ^ "Meet the Women Fighters Making History in Male-Dominated Muay Thai". www.vice.com. 20 September 2021. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
- ^ "Women Fight at Legendary Muay Thai Stadium for First Time (Maybe)". Black Belt Magazine. 2021-09-21. Archived from the original on 2022-02-20. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
- ^ "Saenajan Wins First Ever Female Muay Thai Fight At Lumpinee Stadium". Fight Record. 2021-09-19. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
Bibliography
- Global Perspectives on Women in Combat Sports:Women Warriors around the World, Alex Channon, Palgrave Macmillan, August 2015, ISBN 9781137439352