Kickboxing kit by discipline

What "kickboxing" covers

WAKO groups its fighting disciplines in two. The tatami (mat) disciplines are point fighting, light contact and kick light; the ring disciplines are full contact, low kick and K1 Style.

Point fighting is controlled, with stop-start scoring. Light contact and kick light are controlled but continuous, and kick light also allows kicks to the thigh. Full contact is fought at full power with kicks above the waist. Low kick adds kicks to the thigh, and K1 Style allows kicks to the legs and knee techniques (WAKO Rules 2022, Chapters 2 to 10).

WAKO has approved a change to K1 Style from 1 January 2027: clinching and holding will be banned, and knee techniques allowed without limit. The kit list stays the same. WAKO has also said that a full revision of its rules is nearing completion (notice of 23 April 2026), so check the current rules before you buy for competition.

Who sets the rules in the UK

Kickboxing GB describes itself as the national governing body for kickboxing in Great Britain, affiliated to WAKO. It runs British Championships and open events, and its policies page points to WAKO's rules; we found no separate kit rules of its own.

Other organisations run kickboxing in the UK too, including ISKA, and their rules differ. This guide describes WAKO's rules and notes where ISKA Europe's 2018 rules differ (their current status in the UK is not confirmed). Always check your club's kit list and your event's rules.

Your first classes

Some clubs lend pads, gloves and sparring kit to beginners. The University of Bath's student kickboxing club, for example, says it provides the pads, gloves and sparring safety kit you need, but requires a gum shield before you spar.

A sensible order is to start with a mouthguard, then add hand wraps, gloves and a groin guard. As you start sparring, add shin guards, a head guard and, for the tatami disciplines and full contact, foot guards. Ask your coach which discipline the club trains, because that decides the leg and foot kit.

The kit for each WAKO discipline

WAKO requires the following in competition (WAKO Rules 2022, Chapter 1, Art. 2.3, and the discipline chapters). Every fighting discipline also requires a mouthguard, groin protection for men and women, and hard-plastic breast protection for female older cadets, juniors and seniors. Training kit lists are set by clubs and may differ.

Point fighting

Open-palm point-fighting gloves (8oz), a head guard - with a face mask for children and younger cadets - elbow pads, shin-only guards and foot guards. Hand wraps are optional. Competitors wear long pants and a V-neck top.

Light contact

10oz kickboxing gloves over hand wraps, a head guard, shin-only guards and foot guards. Competitors wear long pants and a round-neck T-shirt.

Kick light

The same protective kit as light contact, worn with shorts and a sleeveless T-shirt.

Full contact

10oz gloves over hand wraps, a head guard that covers the top of the head, shin-only guards that are not sock-type, and foot guards. Competitors wear long pants; men are bare-chested and women wear a sport top.

Low kick and K1 Style

10oz gloves over hand wraps, a head guard that covers the top of the head, and shin guards that cover the shin and instep and are not sock-type. There are no foot guards: foot wraps are optional and must be covered by an ankle support. Competitors wear shorts; men are bare-chested and women wear a sport top.

Gloves

Under the WAKO Rules 2022 (Art. 2.3.1.4), point fighting uses open-palm gloves that:

• cover the first half of the fingers and the thumb;
• have the thumb attached;
• have a self-adhesive wrist strap, with no metal or plastic buckles;
• weigh 8oz in total.

The other five disciplines use kickboxing gloves that cover the whole fist, with an attached thumb and self-adhesive strips at the wrist; WAKO does not allow gloves with laces. In official competition they weigh 10oz, with the weight clearly marked (Art. 2.3.1.4).

For classes, many people train in boxing-style training gloves, often used for kickboxing classes; one UK university club advises 14-16oz for training. Choose hook-and-loop over laces so you can put them on yourself. A training glove is not a competition glove: WAKO competition uses WAKO-labelled 10oz kickboxing gloves or 8oz point-fighting gloves.

Legs and feet

Shin guards are required in every WAKO fighting discipline, but the shape differs. In the tatami disciplines and full contact, the guard covers the shin only, from under the knee to the top of the foot, and is worn with foot guards. In low kick and K1 Style it covers the shin and the instep. Either way it is fixed on the calf with two self-adhesive strips, with no metal, wood or hard plastic. Sock-type guards are banned in low kick, K1 Style and full contact (WAKO Rules 2022, Art. 2.3.1.9; Chapter 7, Art. 5.1.1).

Foot guards are required in point fighting, light contact, kick light and full contact - not in every form of kickboxing. WAKO describes the required guard as one piece covering the instep, both ankle bones and the heel. It has an open sole, covered toes, an elastic toe strip and a self-adhesive strap above the heel (Art. 2.3.1.10). Boxing boots are not foot protection.

Low kick and K1 Style kit lists include no foot protection. Foot wraps are optional there and must be covered by an ankle support; an ankle support is otherwise optional (Art. 2.3.1.5 and 2.3.1.11).

The shin guards we list for kickboxing all cover both the shin and the instep, which is the low kick and K1 Style shape. If you train for a tatami discipline or full contact, the WAKO competition set-up is a shin-only guard plus foot guards. ISKA Europe's 2018 rules differ: foot pads are worn in full contact but cannot be worn in freestyle, oriental Muaythai rules or K-1 matches.

Head, mouth, groin and chest

A head guard is required in every WAKO fighting discipline. It must cover the top of the forehead, the top and back of the head, the temples, the upper jaw and the ears. It must also fasten without metal or plastic buckles (hook-and-loop is allowed under the chin and at the back). A guard that covers the face or reduces the field of vision is not allowed (Art. 2.3.1.1). Children and younger cadets in point fighting also wear a face mask (Art. 2.3.1.2).

A mouthguard is required in every fighting discipline and every age category. It can be upper only, or upper and lower; any colour; made of soft, pliable rubber-plastic or silicone; and must not stick out of the mouth. WAKO does not allow a mouthguard over braces without a dentist's certificate, and with lower or both braces it requires a double guard (Art. 2.3.1.3). If you wear braces, check with the maker that a guard suits them before you buy - not every guard does.

Groin protection is required for men and women in every discipline. It must be hard plastic, as a cup covering the genitals or a guard covering the entire abdomen (Art. 2.3.1.8). Check the maker's description of the shell before you rely on a guard for a WAKO bout. ISKA Europe's 2018 rules require groin protection for male fighters, call an abdominal guard preferable to a cup with an athletic supporter, and require women to wear foul-proof breast protection.

Female competitors from older cadets upwards must wear hard-plastic breast protection, in one or two pieces, in every fighting discipline (Art. 2.3.1.7). Elbow pads are required in point fighting only (Art. 2.3.1.6).

What to wear

WAKO sets the clothing by discipline (Art. 2.3.2). Point fighting, light contact and full contact are fought in long pants. Kick light, low kick and K1 Style are fought in shorts that cover half to three-quarters of the thigh, with the knees visible. Tops are a V-neck in point fighting, a round-neck T-shirt in light contact and a sleeveless T-shirt in kick light. In the ring disciplines, men are bare-chested and women wear a sport top.

WAKO's labels document requires competition clothing to carry the WAKO label at World Cups and Continental and World Championships from 1 January 2025, and at all WAKO events from 1 January 2026.

Entering a WAKO competition

WAKO's rules say that makers of safety equipment must get their products approved by WAKO (Art. 2.3.1). Its labels document goes further: from 1 January 2025, only WAKO-approved safety equipment is permitted at all WAKO international and national events.

Under the labels document, the WAKO label is required on:

• head guards and face masks;
• gloves (point fighting and kickboxing);
• elbow pads;
• shin guards and shin-instep guards;
• foot protection;
• competition clothing.

Mouthguards, breast protection, groin protection, hand wraps and ankle guards need no label.

WAKO Europe announced in March 2026 that from 1 January 2026, equipment at WAKO competitions at every level, from local to world, must be WAKO-approved and WAKO-labelled. The labels document still lists mouthguards, breast and groin protection, hand wraps and ankle guards as items that need no label.

At World and Continental Championships only the Platinum sponsors' equipment is used: the sponsors supply the organiser, who lends kit to competitors who have none.

WAKO publishes its approved equipment in its Equipment Book. The edition we read is revision 6, from May 2022. WAKO says the current book is on its website, and its approved list may have changed since. WAKO Europe says the label rules apply at every level from 2026. Whether every UK event enforces them is not confirmed, so read your entry pack and ask the organiser.

We never describe a product as WAKO approved ourselves. Where WAKO's 2022 Equipment Book names a model, or a maker or retailer claims approval, the product page says which. Either way, check the label on the item you receive.

Training kit: pads and skipping

Kick shields and Thai pads are different tools. A kick shield is a single, large shield held by handles or an arm holder; Thai pads are worn in pairs on the forearms. Makers market kick shields across striking sports. RDX, for example, calls its T1 an MMA kicking pad, and Venum says it designed its Absolute Long with strikers from Muay Thai to MMA.

Thai pads suit pad work for low kick and K1 Style, where kicks to the legs are allowed; Venum, for example, sells its paos as "Kick Boxing 2.0" paos.

Skipping ropes are general conditioning, footwork and warm-up tools rather than kickboxing kit. We found no kickboxing-specific guidance on choosing one, so we do not list skipping ropes for kickboxing; if your club skips in warm-ups, ask what it uses.

Kids

WAKO's rules add kit for younger competitors:

• children and younger cadets in point fighting wear a face mask (Art. 2.3.1.2);
• female competitors wear breast protection from older cadets upwards (Art. 2.3.1.7);
• the mouthguard rule applies in every age category (Art. 2.3.1.3).

Junior sizes vary by maker, so check the size run before you buy: Century, for example, lists Child and Youth sizes for its C-Gear Determination Kicks foot guards. Your club may have its own rules for junior sparring, so ask the coach first.