John Lelong, creator of Free Boxing

John Lelong created Free Boxing in Marseille in 1993. A martial artist since childhood, a title-winning competitor and a trainer of security professionals, he has chaired the International Mix Fighting System Federation since 2019. The federation keeps the discipline alive in several countries.

The roots: judo, kung fu and karate

Between the ages of 8 and 18, John Lelong trained in judo, Hakka-style kung fu and Shidokan karate. These three disciplines are the roots of Free Boxing. Their names even come up among the questions asked at every grading.

1993: a method is born

During his military service in 1993, he started building his own way of fighting. Back in civilian life, he opened a first club in Marseille and taught self-defence there. He called his method Poing Instinctif Self-Défense (Instinctive Fist Self-Defence), with three strands: Free Boxing, self-defence and weapons work.

The first Free Boxing tournament took place in Marseille in 1995, with fighters from some twenty different disciplines. John Lelong later brought his methods together under the name Mix Fighting System, to welcome martial artists and combat sports athletes from all over the world.

Competitor and trainer

With his students, he fought in official championships at regional, national and international level. He also took up sambo and kali escrima. He holds national and international titles in a wide range of disciplines:

• kung fu sanshou and sanda
• karate-do, Shidokan and Kyokushinkai
• viet vo dao and judo
• full-contact fighting, grappling contact and japan boxing
• kobudo, kali escrima and point fighting

He has trained private security firms, close protection training centres, the mobile squads of the French customs service, the French National Police club based at L’Évêché, Marseille’s police headquarters, and the Marseille anti-crime squad. He later joined the French National Police.

Today

John Lelong runs courses and seminars, and has chaired the International Mix Fighting System Federation since 2019. Boxe Libre, Free Boxing and Mix Fighting System are trademarks registered in his name with the INPI, the French intellectual property office.

He appointed Olivier Blanco to lead Free Boxing and its development in France.

Source: history of the International Mix Fighting System Federation.