Graciela Casillas (born 1957) is an American former boxer and kickboxer who competed in the

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. B ...

division. After training in several traditional martial arts, Casillas began competing as a kickboxer in 1976, and in 1979 she became the first fighter to hold world titles in both boxing and kickboxing by taking the World Women's Boxing Association's and the

World Kickboxing Association The World Kickboxing Association (WKA) also known as World Kickboxing and Karate Association, is one of the oldest and the largest amateur and professional sanctioning body for kickboxing and Karate. History In 1976, the WKA was founded by Ho ...

's bantamweight championships. Although Casillas' Boxrec record is 5-0, Black Belt Magazine reported in May 1984 that she had 27 boxing matches, winning 15 by KO up to that point. Noted for her

punching power Punching power is the amount of kinetic energy in a person's punches. Knockout power is a similar concept relating to the probability of any strike to the head to cause unconsciousness or a strike to the body that renders an opponent unable to c ...

and also as one of the first American fighters to incorporate

low kick A low kick (also known as a leg kick) is a kick in which the attacker uses their leg to strike the opponent's lower body (thigh or calf) with the shinbone or foot. This type of kick, under different names, is utilized in numerous full-contact ma ...

s into their arsenal, Casillas retired undefeated in 1986. She is considered a pioneer of women's combat sports.

Early life

Casillas was born as one of eleven children to Mexican parents in

Oxnard, California Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. On California's South Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the 22nd-most-populous city in California. Incorporated in 1903, Oxnard lies approximately west ...

. She took up

taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

at the age of fifteen when the church she attended began offering self-defense classes. After the classes were discontinued, she began training in

Hwa Rang Do Hwa Rang Do, also known as "The Way of the Flowering Knights" () is a comprehensive Korean martial art that was developed in the 1960s by Joo Bang Lee and his brother Joo Sang Lee. Hwa Rang Do as a martial art has multiple areas of focus includ ...

and then American Kenpo karate. It was at her karate school where she was introduced to kickboxing.

Career

After going 6-0 with all of her wins by knockout as an amateur, Casillas turned professional in 1977. On June 13, 1979, after winning her first eight professional full contact karate fights, she defeated Karen Bennett by

unanimous decision A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighte ...

at the

Grand Olympic Auditorium The Grand Olympic Auditorium is a former sports venue in southern Downtown Los Angeles, California. The venue was built in 1924 at 1801 South Grand Avenue, now just south of the Santa Monica Freeway. The grand opening of the Olympic Auditorium ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

to win the

WWBA WWBA (820 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station that airs a talk/ sports radio format. Licensed to Largo, Florida, it serves the Tampa Bay area. The station is currently owned by Genesis Communications of Tampa Bay, LLC, and operated by NIA ...

World Bantamweight (-53.525 kg/118 lb) Championship in what was her professional boxing debut. Later that year, on December 23, she beat Irene Garcia to take the WKA Women's World Bantamweight (-53.5 kg/117.9 lb) title in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

. This made her the first person to hold world titles in boxing and kickboxing simultaneously. In a controversial bout in

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on October 6, 1981, Casillas went the distance with Cheryl Wheeler. Initially, it was announced that Wheeler won on the judges' scorecards to take the WKA bantamweight title but it was later overturned to a win for Casillas. She retired undefeated in 1986 with a record of 31-0, 18 KOs. After, retirement Casillas taught martial arts at Oxnard College. She also pursued a different career route when she decided to go into the counseling department at Oxnard College. Now, Casillas is the Counseling Dept Chair at Oxnard College, and occasionally teaches courses in the PE Department.

Personal life

Casillas has spent the years following her retirement from competition developing her own eclectic martial art of Shen Chun Do, "the way of the warrior spirit". Originally a student of

and full-contact karate she earned a 3rd degree black belt in Kenpo as well as Kodenkan Jujitsu. Casillas trained under Grandmaster Angel Cabales and became the first woman instructor for Cabales Serrada Eskrima. She later studied

Jeet Kune Do Jeet Kune Do is a primarily wing chun kung fu inspired eclectic martial arts philosophy heavily influenced and adapted by the Taoist personal life philosophy and experiences of martial artist Bruce Lee. Overview and philosophy Jeet Kune Do ...

under Sifu

Dan Inosanto Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoi ...

and

Arnis Arnis, also known as Kali or Eskrima/Escrima, is the national martial art of the Philippines. The three are roughly interchangeable umbrella terms for the traditional martial arts of the Philippines (" Filipino Martial Arts", or FMA), which ...

under Grandmaster Bobby Taboada and her husband Sensei Ernie Boggs. She has been President of the United States Sport Jujitsu Trade Association and an assistant coach to the USA Jujitsu Team. She was awarded

Black Belt Magazine ''Black Belt'' is an American magazine covering martial arts and combat sports. The magazine is based in Valencia, California, and is one of the oldest titles dedicated to martial arts in the United States. History and profile The magazine w ...

's and Inside Kung-Fu Magazine's "Woman of the Year" in 1989 and inducted into the Martial Arts Hall of Fame. In 2020, she was inducted into the International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame. She has been credited as the designer of the Boxing Skirt. In 1996 Casillas designed a knife known as the Ladyhawk, manufactured by Masters of Defense (MOD) as a collaboration with Microtech Knives and marketed as a self-defense knife designed for women. Impetus for this design came after Casillas stabbed one of two attempted rapists, using the thug's own knife after disarming him. Casillas has appeared in the films ''Full Impact'' (1993) and ''Fire in the Night'' (1986).

Championships and awards

Boxing

*World Women's Boxing Association **WWBA World Bantamweight (-53.525 kg/118 lb) Championship

Kickboxing

**WKA Women's World Bantamweight (-53.5 kg/117.9 lb) Championship

Boxing record

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Paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in parad ...

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San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

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Kickboxing record

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Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

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Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

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Crystal Lee Crystal Lee is a co-founder of the Silicon Valley startup LifeSite. Lee was the first runner-up in the Miss America 2014 pageant, Miss California 2013, Miss Chinatown USA 2010, and Miss California's Outstanding Teen 2008. She is currently t ...

, , , , , , TKO , , , , , - , - , colspan=9 , ''Legend'':

References

External links

Graciela Casillas
a
Awakening Fighters
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Casillas, Graciela 1957 births Living people American women boxers Boxers from California Bantamweight boxers American female kickboxers Kickboxers from California Bantamweight kickboxers American Jeet Kune Do practitioners American jujutsuka American female karateka American Kenpo practitioners American female taekwondo practitioners Sportspeople from Oxnard, California American sportspeople of Mexican descent Sportspeople from Ventura County, California