WCL

Team Kickboxing

　

Chuck Norris is not only an actor and home exercise equipment expert. He also is the spokesperson for the World Combat League, or WCL. This novel idea turns Full Contact Rules (FCR) into a team sport. When first announced, pitchman Chuck Norris had 15 – 20 year old footage of pro FCR knockouts as a backdrop. Many early questions raised had little relevance to WCL as a result. No, Ernesto Hoost would not participate. The anticipation of team kickboxing brought back memories of tag-team kickboxing discussions among those of us with more distant memories. Unlike tag-team kickboxing, the WCL had a star spokesperson and a committed backer. In other words, this form of team kickboxing actually managed to get off the ground. One of the interesting novelties is the raised platform. Like the sumo dohyo, it has no view obstructions (posts or ropes). Having watched a bout or two from the post-side seat, I can appreciate the effort to make every seat under the roof a clear view seat. About 10 years ago, I marveled upon seeing a six-sided ring. I still appreciate the innovative mind that conceived a hexagon ring, but adding 2 more posts pushes the sport to TV only status. The raise platform, on the other hand, is very spectator friendly. No matter how successful the WCL becomes, its current arrangement is destined to failure. Kickboxing is not a team sport. When a fighter scores a KO, he knows he won the fight. No league can convince him or the fan with the most basic understanding of the game that said fighter could in fact lose due to poor performance by teammates. In team sports, individual achievements, though appreciated and even celebrated, never outweigh the team accomplishments. The best player in a league playing for the worst team accepts that he will not be in the playoffs. Kickboxing is different. One spirited fighter can go all the way. His “team” consists of his trainer, cornermen, sparring partners, sponsors, etc. This article is not to present the WCL in a negative light. On the contrary, they are bringing attention to the sport while displaying real techniques and sportsmanship. This is not the Harlem Globetrotters of kickboxing. This is not Bob Sapp fouling opponents. These are top class amateurs breaking ground where the pros have not. At this point in WCL history, we haven’t seen any of the inevitable signs of weakness. We haven’t seen a fighter leave his team for the K-1 or another promotion with better money. We haven’t seen purse negotiations for a team and a fighter go to arbitrage negotiations. We haven’t seen a fighter demand to be traded to a winning team. The WCL is a young league with a novel idea that will give it and perhaps the sport a shot in the arm. When they eventually collapse, they will either struggle to keep kickboxing a team sport or accept that KB is an individual sport and adapt appropriately. For now, enjoy the fights if you get the chance. See you ringside! Click here for video clips.