Most Terrifying Old School Kickboxer! | Unreal 90% KO Rate Explained

Hailing from New Brunswick, Canada, Theriault cut through opponents in a nearly twenty-year campaign where he accrued 61 knockouts in 69 victories. And if the 88% knockout rate didn’t already make it clear, Theriault was an incredibly dominant force of 80s and 90s kickboxing. He fought the who’s who of the Full-Contact era including names like Rick Rufus, Don “The Dragon” Wilson, Rob Kaman, and the eventual K-1 champion, Ernesto Hoost. And, while he didn’t leave the sport undefeated, he went unbeaten for over a decade (1980-91) and held the PKA Full-Contact Middleweight world title for a record 15 years.
But, Theriault wasn’t just your typical knockout artist. He was inspired by classic boxing battles like Ali-Frazier, thinking, “How much more awesome would it be if they were kicking, too?” And it was from that seed of inspiration that he blazed a trail, pushing kickboxing forward in a time that seemed hampered by a now-outdated ruleset.
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Additional historical research and writing prose by Coby McKinley.
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[@TheModernMartialArtist]

Skill Building E Books: www.modernmartialartist.com/technique-books-by-tmma-david-christian/ Skill Building Paperback: www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQSDWM1Y?binding=paperback Mortal Weapons Series www.amazon.com/dp/B07TNK4TQR?binding=kindle_ Discord (Server TMMA): discord.gg/szqdkbZd3Q

[@redundantfridge9764]

Theriault's facial hair and chest hair gave him additional strength.

[@TheModernMartialArtist]

You're not a real man until your facial hair and chest hair meet and create a super mane, like that of the mighty lion.

[@StreetBeefsFighter]

​@TheModernMartialArtist that's why my dad was so strong then.

[@TheNeorch]

​@@StreetBeefsFightermy dad got the hairs on his feet,prob why he's good at climbing mountains

[@goligogo923]

That's the stash of a man who can't feel pain...like a normal man. LoL

[@rayclam8079]

Facial hair blocks punches.

[@AlphaProto]

I have no idea why kickboxing never took off on TV. Every time it was on ESPN2 I would watch it. I often hear people complaining about the grappling in MMA. So this gives fight fans the stand up game they are looking for.

[@TheModernMartialArtist]

I feel like people are slowly realizing that. But they're more inclined to Muay Thai now. I'll take either becoming more popular! Wrestling is fun too but sometimes you just want to see a striking match!

[@AKlover]

Same with racing being in decline ........................ rules changes send the end product into decline. You don't see these flashy highlights when leg kicks are an option.

[@dennis1802]

It did the infamous K1 was pretty big back then but combat sports were just not popular plus people lived more without screens that came later the norm

[@jmgonzales7701]

If wrestling also had striking and resembled a bit more like wwe i think it would be the most popular sport ever​@@TheModernMartialArtist

[@workingman7587]

kicking is not really considered striking by most people. so yes while most don’t like wrestling we don’t necessarily want to see kicking as it’s. it considered a legitimate strike. of course can’t argue with results but it’s just not favored

[@forwardgrappling]

I've been going through some of these old school American kickboxers lately, it honestly feels like a treasure chest. I hope these people aren't lost to time because they're legit badasses and I think there's a lot of technique here that still translates to modern martial arts. Obviously big credit and thank you to you for preserving some of the history of these guys.

[@timephire]

Back when Men wore comfortable pants to hand out beatdowns! The Good Old Days.

[@TheModernMartialArtist]

Hahaha Real men know how to fight in slacks and some loafers.

[@trasen5626]

I love how disciplined his gaurd is while he punches.

[@davidf2244]

Good point! Yeah!

[@CB-rr9oh]

I gotta say this channels analysis videos are invaluable to me, when I was morbidly obease and wanted to lose weight I watched your boxing analysis videos and would practice what I learned on the bag, I used to box so I had a small understanding. I would eventually lose the weight and I started to get into mma. I joined my local muay thai/bjj gym and would train there as a beginner. I always had an unorthodox style due to my prior boxing experience, but that didn't prevent me from growing. With your detailed videos that I used to watch while eating I've learned so much. This is just a thank you mate and I hope you continue with creating these videos

[@ShingoF961]

Theriault trained and sparred with Gaetan Hart, a Canadian boxing legend. Gaetan said Theriault could have been a world class contender in pro boxing.

[@jimmyconway8025]

Yeah I was thinking he coulda made tons of money in boxing

[@MichaelVLang]

He punches really hard from many angles. Wow.

[@FoxFlair]

got a chance to met JY Theriault. hell I got a chance to be trained by him when I went to his gym years ago. he is a really great guy. great teacher and a great fighter. was an honor to be improved by his knowledge. I still think about the time he saw my kicks and told me I do them well

[@cielvague]

I dont' know if I'm clueless or something, but I've been watching pro fights and fight analyses for years and yet I don't know if I've ever seen such a snappy fighter. This is unreal striking. It seems to come out of nowhere and land with such speed, power, and accuracy that I don't figure anyone alive would be able to properly respond to this.

[@wlphantom]

Would have love to have seen a Superfoot Wallace vs Theriault bout.

[@TheModernMartialArtist]

I just cannot believe that dude made up his nickname after seeing a hot dog stand lmao

[@jeffcastetter6122]

I got to see Bill “Superfoot” Wallace fight! Awesome!

[@richardhinckley9690]

@@TheModernMartialArtist "I just cannot believe that dude made up his nickname after seeing a hot dog stand lmao" From what I hear, the hot dog name came from some higher-up in the fight promotion organization or something like that, not from Wallace himself. I also hear he used to be called "Fast Billy", which he liked way better.

[@JimmySaint43]

Can't believe I've never heard of Theriault growing up in Canada, especially when I lived in his home province for a while. Love his style, the straight punch to head kick is one of top 3 favorite combos in kickboxing/MMA, so it was cool to find out he helped to pioneer it. Great video as always, thanks for bringing another Canadian legend back to light ❤

[@patrickmullin1205]

Cannot believe we're getting an Iceman video! Just showed one of my kids the Roufus fight the other day. Always thought JYT got jobbed on that one. Him and Wilson had such a great close fight.

[@NabilAbdulrashidComedy]

What’s crazier is at the height of this guy career he was only a yellow belt in karate (which was actually the background of most kick-boxers back then and not Muay Thai)

[@ShingoF961]

Theriault's martial arts background is actually jiu-jitsu (a Canadian variation anyway). He achieved his black belt long after he retired from the ring.

[@cashiusCon]

I really wanted to learn about this guy’s Style Thanks you

[@TheModernMartialArtist]

It's one of those fighters where I became more and more shocked I knew so little about them the more I researched!

[@rcangelanddemon2450]

@@TheModernMartialArtisthe still trains fighters to this day and he is still just as badass as when he was in his prime.

[@rcangelanddemon2450]

Jean yves is still a absolute badass after he retired he decided to train fighters and still does to this day and he is a amazing teacher

[@Rytin_99]

Smothering a guard with a kick is one thing. But to literally swipe their guard hand down purposefully with a Crescent kick to setup a upper-cut is WILDLY creative, and insanely difficult to pull off. Setting one up to work in general is difficult.

[@kaliduncanel3356]

I can't believe Lawrence Kenshin let you beat him to this

[@TheModernMartialArtist]

Looking forward to seeing the exact same thumbnail and title with one word changed :p Just being playful btw, we've talked before and don't have beef or anything.

[@matheuscerqueira7952]

That guy can only do MT worshipping

[@Tenchigumi]

If there's footage of a Muay Thai guy beating Theriault, Kenshin would be on it in a heartbeat. Otherwise, it's not on his radar.

[@jkdfighter4964]

@@matheuscerqueira7952 lol yup. Lawrence Kenshin worships muay thai way too much

[@drinfernodds]

​@Tenchigumi Kenshin is gonna be looking for the Kaman vs. Thierault fight lol

[@scotlan9144]

You cannot dispute this gentleman's boxing and Kickboxing ability... You cannot... An ambassador and a living legend and indeed a true Kickboxing Champion. It was a pleasure to have known him...

[@johndarcangelo6893]

Having pads on the feet is another interesting element to these old school kickboxing fights. They get a lot of KOs with kicks that might otherwise break your foot.

[@jonw.3886]

Those PKA guys had unbelievable precision with their kicks. Many of them could land a kick square on the opponent's jaw. It didnt matter if it was a front kick, side kick, or jump spinning back kick, these guys could land any kick wherever they wanted.

[@mohammedalishaikh3950]

What is pka ?

[@jonw.3886]

​@@mohammedalishaikh3950Professional Karate Association.

[@benjaminphipps8325]

Your defense book helped a lot and now I’m set to make my amateur mma debut around November of this year

[@Khaiouh]

good luck man

[@jimmyconway8025]

Undefeated for over a decade! Thats insane!

[@Desh681]

We delving into 80s kickboxing now? Epiccc. Any chance for “Bad” Brad Hefton?

[@ddarkknight13]

One of the greatest to ever do it. The "Iceman" had amazing skills in the ring.

[@martiallife4136]

American kickboxing didn't allow leg kicks because of safety, not because of a lack of efficiency. Commentators believed that and some of the fighters. American Kickboxing/Full Contact Karate used to allow throws and even grappling but it depended on the venue and over a very dhort period of time, the rules were created to just allow kicking above the waist and punching.

[@armandoramos2887]

I've always thought that American Kickboxing inherited traditional point Karate rules of kicking above the waist since most of the proponents and the early participants came from that background.

[@martiallife4136]

@@armandoramos2887 I used to have a very large collection of magazines from Black Belt Magazine and other martial arts magazine companies. I have read some very interesting old articles about the so called Blood and Guts era of karate point fighting and early kickboxing. One of the very first kickboxing/full contact matches allowed throws and pins on the ground. Point karate of the 50's-early 70's was full power but no contact. However, some articles pointed out that some organizations would allow contact and only disqualified people if they drew blood and others would penalize people for the smallest amount of contact. Full contact karate was born out of the desire of many karate people to use their skills to their full potential.

[@sylvainlaurence1554]

Kickboxing now looks more like MT

[@TheModernMartialArtist]

Oh yeah I'm sure a lot of them knew, but I heard the commentators go on about how ineffective it was a few times watching his fights when someone broke the rules to leg kick. I think I might have kept the audio on to mark that clip in the edit but then lost it. Believe it or not there were a number of great fighters who didn't know just how powerful it was as well, that's why they got destroyed fighting Muay Thai guys. Figured they could just power through and didn't know how to defend it.

[@armandoramos2887]

@@TheModernMartialArtist Was Muay Thai and even Kyokushin Karate were known in America back in the 60's and 70's? Because all I know is that point Karate was super popular during that time period and American Kickboxing aka "Full Contact Karate" was created for point Karatekas to have a platform for them to test themselves in full contact fighting. Since American Kickboxing was started by such people then they couldn't really have a lot of experience throwing effective low kicks and how to deal with them simply because point Karate styles don't really allow it or teach it.

[@jordansmith8348]

I knew a guy who trained with him...he said he was an absolute gentleman outside the ring, but his philosophy was to see his opponent as someone who was trying to take away his livilyhood and capacity to support his family... that's a superpower.

[@davidradovsky5354]

Loved the old pka karate days on ESPN. It was big back in the 80’s

[@-xirx-]

That man's style is terrifying

[@DedicatedSpartan]

The original Iceman

[@Tenchigumi]

This man has some crispy boxing technique for a kickboxer. Tight, good rotation, great balance during combinations, and clear impact.

[@gregmann2001]

The real ‘ ICE MAN ‘ , watch him in Toronto in early 80’s, great night thanks Lou

[@Brakkultury-lf1ii]

Do Branko Cikatic next

[@CSGraves]

Wasn't expecting a vid on a fellow New Brunswicker.

[@jasonellis9777]

I remember that rule when I was a kid boxing! The kick-boxers were basically boxing and just tried to get the kicks out of the way. This was back in the 80’s, lol.

[@tsuchinoko9417]

I think leg kicks and the a pierera style check coulda saved this sport. Modern kickboxing is cool but, its nice to see head movement and textbook boxing in a kicking sport.

[@jaxboro]

His punches look like sledgehammers.

[@noahstewart6181]

one of my favorite old school kickboxers, love the video :)

[@christianshreve3461]

Another superior review. Just superior.

[@NWDB]

Trained under the man on multiple occasions, thanks for this. I learned my same side left jab, left high kick, from him.

[@caeserromero3013]

They called him the 'Ice-man'....because he held the bucket of ice water in the corner of the ring 😂😂

[@robbybee70]

wish I could see all his fights now

[@rlemoyne007]

channel Jean-Yves Theriault

[@JC-ft5or]

I love this guy. I was given his book as a teenager when I was really interested in kickboxing and Muay Thai

[@NateSmith87]

Beautiful kickboxing strategy in motion.

[@TimKerman]

Used to read about Therault in the. early 80's. He's a very inspiring martial artist.

[@user-ci2mn1oy3w]

it takes a few months to get your toes to curl up enough to protect them. Then ball of the foot kicks cause MANY times as much pain and damage as even shin kicks, much less top of the foot kicks.

[@TheModernMartialArtist]

I still don't curl my toes, just pull them back. Always worked fine for me since I was a kid, no stubbed or broken toes. But now I'm curious if curling them is better!

[@martyleyeti]

His footwork seems to be on point. Mixing a great strkier w Ali's fw, that's what it's all about. Now, Theriault also has some Tyson-like moves, open stance stuffs, which also means a pinpoint accurate fw. To me it's all footwork and chain movement. Dope video for sure

[@markchapman2585]

As a Canadian i never heard of him. But definitely going to look him up.

[@sylvainlaurence1554]

Still lots of video on KZbin

[@moontan91]

it was a time when the sport was dominated by Canadians in almost all the weight classes: Jersey Long, Darrel Hannigan, JYT, Michel Rochette, maybe a few more i'm forgetting.

[@vlada]

Haven't heard that name in a while. I saw Darrel at St Mary's hospital nursery in Montréal when we went to see our new niece about 30yrs ago. Nice guy. Huge guy.

[@Kickboxing1601]

Paul Biafore. Best of all time sugar foot Cunningham

[@robertfeiner7409]

This is awesome and brings back so many memories for me. I used to do ring set up for uskba events all over NY and NJ and just hearing “get your kicks in and then you can unload” still makes me cringe to this day. Thank you iceman for pushing it forward!

[@abubakr4401]

This guys punch power is insane.

[@BooboosANDBloodshed_95]

Goddam, I love this channel so much! Keep up the great work.

[@dsizzle49]

Can we get a don "the dragon" Wilson video.

[@Zach-ku6eu]

Golden gloves kickboxing is where I started. After fifteen years old and fighting multipes at a time daily since eight( without loses). We weren't well liked apparently... But it was good prep before a military career.

[@anjoLas]

What a beast!

[@The-Dom]

his upper body barely moves when he throws kicks, its quite remarkable.

[@Cereal_Killer007]

DO "BAD BRAD HEFTON"

[@ajak4262]

My background was wrestling and judo. Trained in Japan for a year, did some karate, which I thought wasn’t great, most judo guys could easily handle most karate guys. When I got home tried some jujitsu, karate, wasn’t impressed. I trained at Theriaults for several months, he’s the real deal, nobody could cope with his skills. I would have loved to see how he’d do in modern MMA. He’s really smart and quick and easily would’ve developed a ground, submission, and takedowns. I truly believe he would’ve been same rarefied air as GSP

[@joaoguilhermebastos519]

What a monster

[@kenis77]

Its amazing how good his boxing was for a guy who came from karate. Interesting to think how far he would have made it if he would have chosen boxing alone. His punch quality is excellent.

[@Charismaniac]

The guy was a genius.

[@bentoncushing8693]

One of the greatest of all time,,,and nice man...

[@HasbiksRightHand]

kickboxing is a gem. Keep it underrated.

[@j.l.4054]

Crescent kick into an uppercut is not something I ever thought I would see lol that was spectacular.

[@DedicatedSpartan]

I'd like to see a deep breakdown of Mike "Iron" Zambidis.

[@Chounubis]

Please do one on Rick Roufus! Undeservedly dismissed by Thai fanboys, and the one guy who could utterly shut down the likes of Rob Kaman (hellishly tricky monster; Dutch god of tricky footwork) and many, many others.

[@redrangerrobin271]

My father has had the great pleasure of training with Johnny Theriault, Johnny and my first martial arts teacher were great friends.

[@DS1150]

I remember him from the martial arts mags from the 80s.

[@DerWutendeMetzger]

So this was chuck liddell before he went to UFC?

[@j0van87]

This is like a brand of Old School karate and boxing! And I think you would be even more effective if he was allowed to throw leg kicks

[@Kickboxing1601]

Jean eves was a wonderful fighter. Paul biafore from Toronto’s twin dragon was also a great kick-boxer same era similar style.

[@jfethier5604]

The Hoost fights: Ernesto was lacking his most feared weapon the leg kicks. The fight against Tasis Petridis is the best fight I ever saw live. The was rumours that he would face Roberto Duran in a boxing bout but that never materialised

[@johno5605]

This is exceptional as my opinion of American kickboxing is that while aesthetically beautiful. It lacks combos and most importantly leg kicks.

[@the-marker-nate-ah]

Deep dive into him pretty please!!!

[@nickvledder]

Rob Kaman is simply the best. It is Rob who taught JYT a lesson and made JYT look like a novice in the ring.

[@jfethier5604]

Thériault had back injury and that was late in his career

[@TastelessSoftware]

He has good hands for a kickboxer.

[@orlandocarrasquillo4481]

He didn't teep, that's a front kick not a push kick. There's no pivoting on the foot of the base leg to make it a teep kick.

[@Rasheed9957]

Monster

[@kylechristian6902]

Look how even farther than the leg kick the calf kick has kinda ruined a lot of potentially great mma fights? I think kickboxing like this was far more action.

[@MikeD-hn9hf]

This dude may be at least partially responsible for the 'don't slip in Muay Thai lest you get decapitated by a roundhouse' trauma that still haunts the scene today

[@dunrossb]

After the 69th win he became the Nice Man.

[@carlinlentz6849]

I'm from New Brunswick!

[@MichaelMassie]

Yes, finally!

[@MichaelMassie]

He knew how to put his whole body into a punch, an art that was lost on most of the karate point fighters who crossed over into kickboxing in that era.

[@oddysixl]

Need a video on DP brother

[@user-tp1us6sq9j]

u think chuck liddell was nicked named after this guy? i know he had a kick boxing background

[@Viernes13punto5]

How do you feel about Benny the jet

[@covingtoncreek]

Y'all didn't know Freddie Mercury was a kickboxer on the side.

[@robertbachelor6993]

Did he ever fight Steve Shepherd?

[@ilitardo160]

The ice man?????😱😱😱

[@lancewalker6067]

Tapped into his in Chuck Norris.

[@clown9791]

Hey first viewer what an honor

[@wipkpremium5691]

I honestly think American Kickboxing is the most exciting form of kickboxing. I wish it would takeoff again.

[@joshuapatrick682]

the scariest canadian of all time...

[@nikmani5349]

Это же Вова Адидас, рожа автоматная 😂

[@EliosMoonElios]

He was a boxer so he can hit 2~3 times harder than the real kick boxers.

[@rlemoyne007]

Where were Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee?

[@user-dc1xk9lt7m]

Did he fight Benny the Jet?

[@martiallife4136]

Benny is not in the same weight class.

[@user-dc1xk9lt7m]

@@martiallife4136 Shame , That would have been a proper fight. Ramon Dekkers too. Just full frontal aggression.

[@thebaneking4787]

Most icemen have blue eyes. His are brown plus he sleeps people. He’s the Sandman.

[@jakebasa1517]

the fact that Roufus was KOd by this guy made my day and made my coffee taste even better in the morning. Less skill leg kick LMAO!!!!!!!! Thank you as always TMMA for uploading very informative videos!

[@GoodGame-du4ps]

Well Roufus wasn't really ko'd by Theriault but he did get knocked down. Although Roufus got up and won a close decision against Theriault.