WKA - Helping build our future

The World Kickboxing Association (WKA) recently held the 2012 WKA North American Combat Sports Championships in Virginia. Grappling and MMA was part of the agenda, but of course what we are interested in was the Muay Thai and Kickboxing which is what the WKA is known for. In addition to regulating professional combat sports in a number of states in the Eastern US, it is with tournaments like the North American Combat Sports Championships that the WKA is helping mold the future of Muay Thai and Kickboxing in North America.

Amateur fighters from Canada, Mexico and the United States compete for top position/ ranking in different divisions and weight classes. Amateur Muay Thai and Kickboxing is fairly regional in North America. If you are on the west coast you mainly fight in California, Las Vegas and Arizona. If you live on the east coast then New York, Florida, New Jersey, Atlanta and Eastern Canada are the places you’ll likely find the chance to compete. Occasionally, top level amateurs are fortunate enough to find promoters willing to fly them from farther locations out because they are going to want their services as a professional. With that said how do you get to be a top amateur? A good showing at the WKA’s helps. With So many fighters from across North America participating, any amateur fighter looking to put his name on the map knows a win at the WKA’s is a huge stepping stone. The WKA’s have become an important part of the amateur Muay Thai and Kickboxing culture in North America.

Full Rules Muay Thai in New York, Alex Berrios vs. Ben Case headline Friday Night Fights Muay Thai January 20th, 2012

Muay Thai in the state of New York has been under fire from fans and fighters alike for not having full rules Muay Thai. Well, the longest running Muay Thai promotion in New York is about to change that. Friday Night Fights Muay Thai will feature the first full rules Muay Thai event in the state of New York on January 20th, 2012, with the evening’s main event featuring a bout between Florida's Alex Berrios and New Jersey's Ben Case.

While the state of New Jersey implemented full rules Muay Thai in July of this year, it seemed that this would be the closest full rules Muay Thai would come to the big Apple, the East Coast’s Muay Thai epicenter. We caught up with the President of Friday Night Fights Muay Thai, Justin Blair to discuss the recent development of full rules in New York and his organization being the first to do it: