The world of martial arts contains a huge number of directions and branches, each of which can have many different masters and teachers. Nevertheless, from ancient times to this day, special attention has always been focused on such oriental martial arts as karate. Among the cohort of sensei, Holland's representative Jon Blooming occupies a special place. His fate and life will be discussed in this article.
Brief curriculum vitae
The future martial arts star was born on February 6, 1933 in the city of Amsterdam. According to the assurances of contemporaries, Jon Blooming is a living legend who made a tremendous contribution to the development of budo. Although at the same time all his actions in this direction cause extremely diverse assessments: from praise to very harsh criticism. At the same time, we can say with confidence that in any case, his activity does not leave anyone indifferent.
Childhood and youth
The early years of our hero's life proceeded in terrible poverty and fell during the Second World War. The hardest thing is that Jon and his sister independently provided for their existence, and this at a time when many people were simply starving to death right on the street.
At the age of 16, Blooming became a sailor, and a year later he joined the American 38th Infantry Regiment and volunteered for the war zone in Korea. The Dutchman was repeatedly awarded for courage and courage. He was wounded three times. But it was not in vain, because it was in this Asian country that he first came into contact with what would subsequently bring him worldwide fame and glory - with martial arts.
Development
While undergoing treatment at a Japanese hospital, Jon Blooming visited a judo tournament while resting. Having received a lot of positive impressions from this ancient eastern martial art, the Dutchman returned to his homeland and began to train hard in this direction. Thanks to his diligence and hard work, he was able to quickly reach the degree of black belt in 1954. After some time, he was able to become captain of the Dutch national judo team. Together with her, he received the gold award of the European Championship.
The second is given for this type of struggle, the Dutchman received in 1956. All the secrets of art, Jon Blooming comprehended, training together with such stars as William Ruska and Chris Dolman. Such hard work led to the fact that in 1957, a Japanese teacher named Tokyo Hirano personally handed Yon the third dan. This success was not accidental, because the Dutchman was able to conquer 75 opponents in 26 minutes during a summer training camp in the Netherlands. In 1959, Blooming, after a series of victories at various major tournaments, decided to go to Japan.
Life in the Land of the Rising Sun
On the Japanese islands, the Dutchman got the right to study martial arts together with twenty-five of the country's best judokas. Soon enough, Blooming was able to declare itself here. He managed to become the third in the ranking, losing the championship to only two local wrestlers.
Having a burning desire to get the most out of the fighting spirit of the Japanese, Jon, along with Don Draeger, becomes a member of the Kendo Association, where he simultaneously studies bo-jitsu and jujitsu. It goes without saying that karate was also given attention, which for Europeans was then something exotic.
The path of the "empty hand"
Kyokushinkai karate became for Blooming in the end the work of his whole life. His mentor was a great master named Masutatsu Oyama. After a short trip home to Holland, Yon returns to Japan and continues to strengthen his body and spirit in the Teng Yong dojo. In 1961, he receives a second dan from the hands of a Japanese mentor. Quite quickly, the entire Japanese world of karateka learned about the giant from Europe, but no one showed a desire to fight it. Jon Blooming, whose height is equal to two meters, inspired animal fear in Japanese by nature, stunted by nature. It was largely because of this that the Dutchman did not pass the famous Oyama test called hyakunin-kumite, which implies carrying out lightning-fast sparring with a hundred fighters in one day and without a break. Yona just did not find so many opponents.
Blooming, despite its impressive dimensions, moved rapidly and hit hard. It is a well-known fact that Masutatsu even promised a hundred thousand dollars to the one who goes on the tatami and defeats Jon. But those who wanted it were found, since in those days the victory was achieved in only one way - by knockout.
Return to Holland
Oyama blessed Blooming to develop Kyokushin karate on the European continent. Jon returned to Holland and at the beginning of 1962 established the European Karate Association.
On January 15, 1965, Blooming became the owner of the sixth dan. Such a reward made him the only person at that moment who had such a high degree of martial arts outside of Japan.
Soon, the first kekushin tournament in Europe, which was held in Amsterdam, took place. The first international meeting took place in 1967. The Netherlands and the United Kingdom took part in it. Team leaders were Jon Blooming and Steve Arneil.
Leaving from a leadership position
At the dawn of the 1970s, Jon Blooming (“From the Bully to the 10th Dan” - his autobiographical book) gradually abandoned the leadership of his organization and generally removed from the duties of a functionary. The development of karate in the Old World was continued by his students.
Most people who know the master well and intimately note his extremely complex character, as well as his directness in his statements, his inability to lie and flatter. Most likely, all these qualities did not allow Jon to take a leading position for a long time. The only thing Sensei continued to work hard on was the Kyokushin Budokai. This little school was able to grow into a large organization over time. However, such work nevertheless did not bear fruit immediately.
The Dutchman had a burning desire to combine karate striking techniques with judo wrestling skills, about which he had the courage to talk with Oyama. It goes without saying that the Japanese did not share Jon’s desire, and as a result, Blooming in 1980 opened a new trend - Kyokushin Budo Kai Kan. This combat system was equally effective and realistic.
Despite disagreements, Jon Blooming about Masutatsu Oyama always spoke extremely respectfully and never said a single bad word about his mentor.
As for some Kung Fu masters, the Dutchman did not like them too much. So, in particular, John Blooming about Bruce Lee was not very high opinion and considered him a complete drug addict. According to Sensei, Lee was a mediocre fighter, whose popularity came only thanks to films.
Some facts
So, describing the life of the great Dutch master, it is worth noting his regalia:
- Jon has won fourteen government awards.
- In the 1950s and 1960s, he was considered the most powerful and dangerous fighter on our planet.
- He starred in seven films. For the first time as an actor, he tested himself in the distant 1961, while working on the film "The Last Voyage."
- In 2009, Sensei completely debunked the entrenched opinion of ordinary people and many experts that Oyama allegedly killed fifty bulls with his bare hands. The Dutchman also said that the information that Steve Arneil and Luke Hollander passed the test called hyakunin-kumite, was absolutely unreliable, and called it the usual, unsubstantiated PR move.
- Perfectly owns a long and short pole.
- On September 4, 1994, Blooming received the highest possible degree in Kyokushin - the 10th dan. Such a decision was made by his long-time teacher Kenji Kurosaki and five more authoritative masters of Japan. This happened shortly after the death of the legendary Masutatsu Oyama.
Today, Blooming regularly holds various seminars and Dan tests throughout the world. Sensei has been to Russia several times. During his coaching age, he brought up a galaxy of great champions, which further characterizes him as a real teacher.