K-1 AND GLORY KICKBOXING RULES
K-1 rules are not traditional Muay Thai. K-1 was founded in Japan in 1993 by Kazuyoshi Ishii, and its rules trace to the Seidokaikan karate organisation, whose rules began as knockdown karate rules and moved gradually closer to kickboxing. GLORY Kickboxing publishes its own rulebook. The two are close in many respects, but they differ on the clinch, the count after a knockdown and the knockdown limit, so this page separates them where they differ.
AT A GLANCE
- Rounds
- 3 × 3 minutes (GLORY title fights 5)
- Punches
- Allowed
- Kicks
- Allowed
- Knees
- Allowed
- Elbows
- Prohibited
- Clinch
- GLORY: one knee then release. K-1 Japan: holding is a foul
- Knockdown rule
- Three in a round ends the fight
- Count
- GLORY: eight count. K-1 Japan: count to ten
- Scoring
- 10-point must, per round
ROUND STRUCTURE
Both K-1 and GLORY fights are three rounds of three minutes. GLORY may approve a five-round fight, and GLORY title fights are five rounds of three minutes. If a three-round fight is a draw, one extra round decides it (three minutes at K-1; GLORY calls it a Sudden Victory Round, and its judges may not score that round even). In a GLORY title match between champion and challenger, a draw leaves the defending champion in place.
NO ELBOWS
Elbows are prohibited under K-1 rules and under GLORY rules. This is the largest single departure from Muay Thai and changes close-range strategy. Fighters who rely on the elbow as a cutter or as a counter must adapt.
CLINCH IS HEAVILY RESTRICTED
Under GLORY rules a fighter may grab only to throw one legal knee strike, then must release the clinch immediately. K-1 (Japan) rules go further and treat holding, including the neck clinch, as a foul. Sustained clinch fighting is not possible under either.
KNOCKDOWNS AND COUNTS
Three knockdowns in one round ends a fight at both K-1 (which calls it a KO) and GLORY (which calls it a TKO). GLORY also ends a single fight at four knockdowns in total, and in tournament fights other than the final, two knockdowns in a round end the fight at both K-1 and GLORY. GLORY gives a mandatory eight count after a knockdown, and a standing eight count when a hurt fighter is still on their feet. K-1 (Japan) runs a count to ten. At GLORY, a knockdown is called when, as the result of a damaging attack, any part of a fighter's body other than the feet touches the floor.
SCORING
Both K-1 and GLORY use the 10-point must system, round by round. GLORY's scoring order is knockdowns, then damage, then clean strikes, then aggression or ring domination, and its rules say spectacular techniques (flying and spinning techniques) are prioritised over normal techniques.
SOURCES
Rules checked against the published rulebooks on 24 October 2026.