Kickboxing: The Future of Contact Sports
Insight written by Brittney Walker, originally published on September 7th, 2021.
Kickboxing can be defined as a combat sport that involves the use of physical activity, such as kicking and punching. It carries a stigma that it is an aggressive sport, however, kickboxing is less about hurting an opponent and more about teaching self defense, while getting a workout in. A studio that is able to exemplify this ideology is ILKB in Norwood, MA. Through their loyal community, the trainers and members all support the continuous growth of the kickboxing market. Studios share an emphasis on community and hope all members become a better version of themselves each day.
With COVID-19 disrupting in-person gatherings and kickboxing being a high contact sport, the kickboxing market has seen a drastic change over the past two years. Since kickboxing classes use punching bags and require members to partner up during rounds, social distancing requirements have forced kickboxing studios to rethink their business strategy.
Studios such as ILoveKickboxing (ILKB) began to offer classes everyday over Zoom, prompting members of the studio to make a decision; they could take classes and do “shadow boxing,” where they throw punches into the air, or they could purchase their own punching bag. The purchase of a new bag was the most popular option. The high demand for punching bags has resulted in an expansion of the equipment market, as individuals are still choosing to take classes over Zoom rather than to go back to their studios. The demand affected the industry as a whole and in February 2021, projections showed that the kickboxing equipment market will reach $169.7mm by 2025. The continued annual growth rate (CAGR) of the market is projected to be 2.3% which also shows that the industry will continue to grow over the next few years.
Although vaccination rates are increasing everyday and there is an anticipation of studios opening in the near future, many participants are deciding to remain at home since COVID left many with a greater sense of social anxiety. After being trapped inside for nearly a year it seems as though more and more individuals have become accustomed to zoom classes and are more comfortable taking classes at home. It will be interesting to see if zoom classes become the new norm and how kickboxing studies, along with other sport industries, react to these social changes.
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Brittney Walker is a senior from Walpole, MA pursuing a degree in Accounting and a minor in Text, Business Writing and Digital Studies. On campus she is actively involved with Alpha Kappa Psi where she holds a position as Vice President of Membership. Brittney is looking forward to her third semester in the fund expanding her knowledge of venture capital and angel investing.
