Home › Guides

Kickboxing guides

Encouraging, practical, and written to actually help — whether you are here to get in shape, lose weight, throw your first punch, or train to compete. Learn what classes really cost, the difference between cardio and competitive kickboxing, what to expect at your first session, what to wear and which gloves to buy, and how kickboxing compares to muay thai and boxing. Read up, then use the best-of rankings or browse by state to find your gym.

How much does kickboxing cost?

Every price tier, honestly — monthly memberships (about $50–200), drop-ins ($15–35), class packs, what 9Round, CKO and TITLE-style franchises charge, glove and gear costs, and how to start on an intro deal. Plus the Cost Index.

Cardio vs competitive kickboxing

The big fork: fun cardio kickboxing (bag work, no contact, pure fitness) versus traditional and competitive kickboxing and muay thai (technique, sparring, fights). Who each is for, and whether you can cross over.

Kickboxing for weight loss

The workout people fall in love with — roughly 600–900 calories an hour, full-body and beginner-friendly. What a class feels like, a realistic results timeline, and why it beats the treadmill for so many women.

Kickboxing for beginners

First-class nerves, answered: no, you do not need to be fit; in a cardio class nobody hits you; what to wear and bring, how to breathe, and exactly what happens in class one. All levels welcome.

What to wear + which gloves

Just athletic clothes to start — plus the truth about hand wraps and gloves (bag vs boxing, oz sizing), when you actually need shin guards, what to buy first, and whether the gym lends gloves.

Kickboxing vs muay thai vs boxing

A clear side-by-side: punches, kicks, knees, elbows and the clinch, the rulesets, fitness versus fighting, and which to pick for your goal — with links to the muay thai and boxing pages.

Is kickboxing good for self-defense?

An honest take: the striking fundamentals it builds, how a no-contact cardio class differs from real technical training, how it stacks up against grappling, and why awareness always comes first.

Kickboxing for kids: age guide

What age to start (often around 5–7), the confidence, focus and anti-bully benefits, how gyms keep young classes light and safe, and what to look for in a kids kickboxing program.

City guides

Start with the directory

Every guide links back to the listings, because the guide only gets you halfway — the gym is the decision. Browse the kickboxing class types from cardio and beginners to kids, women's and competition, beginner-friendly gyms, kids kickboxing, gyms offering a free trial or intro class, the big kickboxing and boxing-fitness franchises, the other martial arts each gym teaches, or the kickboxing statistics page if you like numbers.