Mejiro Gym is a kickboxing gym headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. This gym is considered the “birthplace” of Dutch kickboxing.
What is Dutch Kickboxing?
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Dutch Kickboxing has a lot of similarities to Boxing and Muay Thai. It’s commonly believed that Dutch Kickboxing is simply a mix between the two. While not entirely wrong, that’s not the real story.
• Dutch Kickboxing really came from several Kyokushin Martial Artists. Kyokushin Karate is a devastating full contact martial art that UFC great, Georges St. Pierre earned his blackbelt in. Mas Oyama is the pioneer of this martial art. Before Mas Oyama passed, Cameron Quinn was one of his top students and his main translator.
• Several high level Kyokushin Karatekas fought in Thailand and found that their karate was being devastated by the Thais. They decided to train in Muay Thai and add the speed and agility of Kyokushin to the devastating power and clinch of Muay Thai. Later, they held several Muay Thai tournaments in Holland which began the Dutch Kickboxing we know today.
History of Mejiro Gym
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Mejiro Gym was founded in 1978 by Jan Plas (a Dutch kickboxer who is considered to be the father of kickboxing in The Netherlands) who learned kickboxing from Kenji Kurosaki (a Japanese martial artist who founded the original Mejiro Gym in Mejiro, Tokyo).
• With its well-known fighters including Peter Aerts and Rob Kaman, Mejiro Gym has become one of the most famous and accomplished kickboxing gyms in the world.
Notable fighters of Mejiro Gym
• Peter Aerts (born October 25, 1970)
Ñ A Dutch semi-retired super heavyweight kickboxer.
Ñ Known for his devastating high kicks, he earned the nickname “The Dutch Lumberjack”.
• Remy Bonjasky (born January 10, 1976)
Ñ A Dutch-Surinamese former super heavyweight kickboxer.
Ñ He is a three-time K-1 World Grand Prix champion.
Ñ Known for his flying kicks, knee attacks and strong defense, he earned the nickname “The Flying Gentleman”.
• Sem “Semtex” Braan (born October 6, 1979)
Ñ A Dutch Muay Thai super middleweight kickboxer.
• Erhan Deniz (born July 28, 1985)
Ñ A Turkish heavyweight kickboxer.
Ñ His nickname “Pitbull Attack” came from his passion on pit bull dogs.
• Rodney Glunder (born March 1, 1975)
Ñ A Dutch-Surinamese semi-retired professional kickboxer.
• Ashwin Balrak (born May 17, 1975)
Ñ A Dutch-Surinamese professional kickboxer and lawyer.
• Brice Guidon (born July 16, 1985)
Ñ A French Muay Thai kickboxer.
Ñ He is also known as “Nectar”.
• Rob “The Dutchman” Kaman (born June 5, 1960)
Ñ A Dutch retired 9 time kickboxing and Muay Thai world champion.
Ñ He is often called “Mr. Low Kick” because of his feared low kicks which he used to set up his devastating offensive attacks.
• Andre Mannaart (born November 2, 1960)
Ñ A Dutch former kickboxer and mixed martial artist.
• Robert “Bob” Schrijber (born March 3, 1965)
Ñ A Dutch former mixed martial artist and kickboxer.
Ñ He currently runs his own MMA and Muay Thai team in Wormer, Netherlands called Team Schreiber.
Ñ His most famous student at the moment is UFC fighter Stefan Struve.
Ñ He is internationally known as Bob Schreiber because the Dutch vowel ‘ij’ is very uncommon in other languages.
• Andy Souwer (born November 9, 1982)
Ñ A Dutch welterweight shoot boxer.
• Michael Duut (born January 22, 1990)
Ñ A Dutch light heavyweight kickboxer.
Ñ He is known for his aggressive and at times sloppy fighting style.
• Fred Royers (born March 15, 1955)
Ñ A Dutch former kickboxer who competed in the middleweight division.
Ñ He was known for his powerful low kicks, which is now a staple of Dutch kickboxing.
Prof. Renato Migliaccio from Sampa martial arts as a profound studier of martial arts likes to visit successful gyms around the world and find their communalities, Mejiro gym is without a doubt a place to be visited in the near future.
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