12. Kaicho Jon Bluming – An In Depth Interview
A Classic Warrior by Jose Fraguas
[Jon Bluming] is a classic
man. And a legend. Far from pulling any punch in or out of the mat, this man
not only rolled shoulders with the best karate and judo masters the history of budo had, but he also knew them as individuals when they
were in their prime. A pioneer in many ways, Bluming
Sensei has become a rare breed of individual who looks to maintain the true
spirit of budo through fighting and proper etiquette.
“A true budo man knows how to behave, and he displays
all the true qualities of a warrior,” he says. “But as a warrior, he knows how
to fight and face death with no fear. Nice words should be spoken at the proper
time, but the sword should be drawn when necessary.”
A pragmatic and realistic teacher, Jon Bluming had the opportunity of being a disciple and sharing
lifetime experiences with the great scholar Donn F. Draeger, the man who truly brought budo
into the Western world. Today, this warrior exemplifies the all-power and
determination of the old samurai … qualities lost in the last decades
watered-down versions of martial arts. He talks the way he trained, and he
trains the way he lives. A right very few have won through blood and sweat.
Q: How long have you been
practicing the martial arts?
A: I began training during a pause in the Korean War.
The reason was I had to wait for more than six weeks before boarding the ship
that was going to bring me home. The name of the instructor was Yong Dong Po.
He had a little school with another man called Park. After all the action in
the war, those training sessions were very relaxed. I never heard from that man
or saw him again after I left. That was in August 1951, which it means I have
been involved in martial arts for more than 50 years.
I had to stop training for a very short period of
time, but I re-started in 1953, after my second tour of duty and my third time
in the M.A.S.H. unit. I had a serious knee injury. When I was in Holland, I saw
a poster of a judo club. It was called the “Tung Jen,” and it was in Amsterdam.
When I saw it, I thought about my days with Yong Dong Po and Park and became a
member immediately. When I went back to Japan in February 1959, I entered the Kodokan, where I met Peter Urban. He was from Yamaguchi Gogen’s dojo, and he had big knuckles. So I started karate
first with shotokan, but I found it weak. Later, I
was introduced to Mas Oyama’s
dojo. Then Donn F. Draeger
asked me if I wanted to know more about the background of budo.
The two of us went to the famous police sensei in jodo
and kusarigama, Shimizu Sensei. That was the place
where I also met his shihandai, Ichitaro Kuroda
Sensei, and started iai jitsu
and kendo under his guidance.
Q: Sensei, you have trained
under Mas Oyama and Kyuzo Mifune, both of whom are
legendary. What can you tell us about them?
A: I was Oyama Sensei’s
first foreign student and stayed with him — the first time — for almost three
years in the old dojo behind Rikyu University. In
1966, I trained with him again for six months. By then, I was the third man in
the kyokushinkai after my Sensei, Kenji Kurosaki, who
really showed me in those years how to fight for real. Mas
Oyama was like a father to me. He never let me pay
for anything and always helped me out when I was low on money. He was a
terrific teacher and really could raise my spirit when I felt really low. He
also could put the fear of God into his students when they did not train the
way he wanted them to train. It was the best years in my life. There were no
politics or anything like that. I was simply training and felt like a God. From
the start, he told me that he would put me a course to make me the European
president and leader of the European kyokushinkai
style. So, for all those years, I had very special training and the best
support a student could expect. I really admired Mas Oyama. It was very sad that he changed so much in the later
years. I was really shocked when he died. I felt like a very close family
member or friend passed away. I did my best to pay him back by organizing his
system in Europe. At that time, most budoka did not
know what karate was and none were in a real dojo in Europe. That was in the
1960s. I loved to go around and show them the kyokushinkai
style, and for those who didn’t believe in the style and challenged me, I had
to beat the piss out of them! What was funny is that most of them usually
became dedicated students of our style.
It was a strange story with Mifune
Sensei. It was almost like a predestination of life. When I was wounded the
first time during the Korean War — on February 13th — we were completely
surrounded by the Chinese. I went to Tokyo with two shots in my right upper
leg. During a tour of Tokyo, we visited the old Kodokan.
The old man was very small and frail, but I watched him threw some bigger man
around like old rag dolls. I thought, “Man, I wish we had something like that
in Holland because that is what I want to learn.” In 1958, I went to Canada to
make some money so I could fulfill my dream of going back to Japan. In February
1959, I arrived at the Kodokan and the feast started.
In November 1959, the President of the Kodokan called
me into his office while Draeger translated. He told
me that I had been chosen to join the kenshusei, a
class in which the 25 best Judoka from Japan all got together in a special
class. I was very honored, and who was the head teacher? Mifune
Sensei! I had a great time.
Q: Tell us some interesting
stories of your early days in judo and karate training.
A: It would take five big volumes to recollect all the
great stories and anecdotes I have of those wonderful years. There are too many
funny and serious stories to write. However, there is one that is always
hanging in my mind.
When Mifune Sensei turned 75
years of age, I was invited to his house with several others. When I entered
his beautiful garden, I saw him standing by a tree in his kimono. He was
holding a little tool that he was using to prune that tree. My life-long friend
and brother, Bill Backhus, whispered in my ear, “Man,
if I am getting that old and feeble, I hope you shoot me!” Mifune
Sensei died a few years later. Many years after that, when I was myself a 10th dan from Japan, I found myself working in my Japanese
garden and trimming my tree! I started to laugh loudly and my wife said,
“What’s the matter with you?” I told her about the story in the garden so many
years ago. Friends, we are all getting there, it just depends how and when. But
like I said before, there are many stories from those great days.
Q: How did the Westerners
respond to traditional Japanese training?
A: In the old days, they coped with it very well. But
now, they cope with it a lot less because a lot of budoka,
or so- called budoka, are only interested in making
money. Considering that Japan has never won anything important in the last 40
years in karate does not help much either. In judo, they also had bad years,
and that takes a lot away from the “Japanese way.” When I asked my old teacher Daigo Sensei why the Japanese did so bad he said, “They are
not hungry anymore, and the traditional way is slowly fading. In addition to
that, we are teaching the old ways too much, while the Western way is more
modern, and they have strong minds and a will to win. They are not afraid of
the Japanese anymore.” I could see that clearly, especially when Geesink and then Ruska — my students — won so many titles
against the Japanese fighters.
Q: Were you a natural at
karate? Did the movements come easily to you?
A: Yes, very much so, and I must say it was a
wonderful feeling that I got on so well with judo and then karate. In less than
a year, I was a first dan in judo and captain of the
Tung Jen team. In 1956, I won the European Judo title in Amsterdam. When I
started karate in March 1959, I was a third dan in
judo. I marched around in Oyama Sensei’s dojo for
years with a white belt. I was promoted to fourth dan
in 1963 and sixth dan on January 15, 1965. There were
some Budoka who complained about me being a sixth dan. Mas Oyama
wrote in a United States martial arts magazine that he would pay $100,000 to
anyone who could beat me in a ko-shiai. Besides that,
he said he would take my ranking away if I lost the fight, he would go into
politics and stop teaching karate. I thought he was joking, but he was not.
Honestly, I was not really happy with this challenge because I was too busy
with my schools and business in Europe at the time. There was only one who
showed up in my dojo, and that was Kwan Mo Gun, a fifth dan
and the all-over Korean champ. I still have high regards for that budoka who wanted to fight me. He was beaten terribly by my
student, Jan Kallenbach, a third dan,
and then by Kurosaki, who had been training for a year in my dojo, and then
finally by me. Some are probably wondering why I didn’t take him on first.
Well, my students begged me to let them go first, otherwise there wouldn’t be
anything left for them to fight! Jan later became a European heavyweight
champion. I really admired Kwan and his spirit because every time he was
knocked out he woke up, got on his feet and said in loud voice, “And now Bluming!” You have to respect that.
Q: How has your personal
perception of the arts changed over the years?
A: Very much. I never agreed with the so-called old
system in which you are not allowed to touch or hit your opponent. That’s the
reason I resigned as coach in 1971. It was like shooting a rifle, but you were
not allowed to hit the bull’s eye. I just could not take it anymore. All those
smug faces after they won because their opponent was disqualified for hitting
him in the face or those decisions from the judges, most of whom had never been
in a fight, could make you cry. The way they walked in their fancy blazers with
the big Japanese kanji on. It was ridiculous! If my grandmother showed up with
an umbrella in her hands, she would have beaten the piss out of them! I told Oyama about my idea, which I thought would come together in
the future, and that was an all-round karate event with throws and ground
fighting. All together. Fighters would look for the KO with punches, kicks and
submissions like armlocks, leglocks
or chokes. It would be 1/3 kickboxing and karate, 1/3 throws and 1/3 ne-waza (grappling techniques) after a throw. Well, I was
right because that is what we have today with mixed martial arts. At the time,
I thought about putting that new system in the honbu
for six months. Later, one of my students, Ashihara,
made it his style and called it Ashihara karate,
which means, “The new way.” It was ridiculous! It was my style, and I called it
Kyokushin Budokai. In my budokai, they do full-contact karate with low kicks, which
is mostly professional free fighting or all-around karate.
Q: To impress the Westerners
who were attracted to martial arts, do you think that some Japanese
personalities have greatly exaggerated their capabilities and historical facts
with unbelievable stories?
A: Definitely yes! And the worst place is Asia. But
there are plenty who really are what they say. Please allow me to tell you a
funny example of this. My wife works for the Dutch-Chinese travel office. One
day while I was waiting for her, I picked up a Chinese magazine about sports. I
saw some Chinese wushu, and there was an article in
memoriam of a 100-year-old Chinese wushu teacher who
had passed away. He was very famous in his district because he had defeated a
tiger with his bare hands many years before. I would have loved to talked to
the man and taken some lessons from him, but I am afraid I would not have been
able to keep a straight face! In another magazine, some time
later, I found the same story. This time it was a black bear. Well, it’s up to
you guys to believe it or not. Some wushu people said
they believed it, and that’s the kind the money grabbers love so much because
they pay a lot of money for this crap. I remember that Draeger
Sensei took me to the Ueshiba dojo for aikido
classes. I looked on in amazement. The movements were very nice, but on the
street nobody is going to run around you and jump all over himself when taken
by the wrist! I asked the sensei if I could fight one of his students or his
son, but he told me they did not fight. I asked them if that’s how they did
their championships, but they said they didn’t. So I told them that I
could take dancing lessons in Holland. To be honest,
in the modern fashion of aikijitsu, there are some
very good and real street-fighting techniques that are useful. I even studied
some, so that has changed for the better. This is simply an example to show you
how those stupid stories come into the world. When I was training under Oyama Sensei for several weeks, he invited Bill and I into
the office upstairs. While there, he showed us a film of him fighting a bull at
Tatyama prefecture in 1952. To start, it was not a
bull but an ox. That is a big difference, my friend! The ox was visibly scared
because oxes are kept as pets in farm country, and
they let them fight each other under strict rules like sumo. As soon as they
put their heads together to push each other over a certain spot in the ring and
there is some blood, they stop the fight and care for their pets. To hit one that
is very much used to being stroked emotionally is — in my opinion — very wrong.
I love animals. Oyama Sensei never killed the ox;
they did that at the slaughterhouse. But he seriously hurt the animal. The ox
did not want to fight and never attempted to do anything. That’s sad. I told
Sensei Draeger not to show this to Westerners because
they would not like it. He looked at me and said that he [Oyama]
was not completely crazy, and we had a good dinner after that. Oyama explained that this occurred at the start of kyokushin karate, and he needed the publicity stunt. He
added that he would never do something like that again.
Recently, I read several times that Oyama killed many bulls in his time. The jackpot was during
a meeting between England, France and Japan when some commentator told a packed
stadium that Oyama had killed 28 bulls in his life.
How ignorant and stupid can that be! But that’s how it all started. Read his
so-called comic book from years back, which one of his students wrote, and
you’ll find a story in which the student said that the “Beast of Amsterdam
(me)” and Oyama Sensei would go into a bar where
mostly yakuza were around, pick a fight and clean the place out. Well, I had
many dinners with Oyama Sensei, but I went never to a
bar with him and certainly did not take a drink in those days. Second, in those
old days, if you simply slapped a Japanese citizen without any cause — or even
with a cause — you were so fast on your way home that you wouldn’t believe it.
On top of that, a yakuza bar! Too much! Taking on the fanatic Japanese yakuza
it is a great story! Maybe one guy but the rest would shoot you or take a sword
to you and chop you in two. I don’t know why they write these stupid stories.
Even Matsui Sensei asked how it was fighting together with Oyama
in bars! You would think he had more brains. As it turns out, the Japanese want
to believe those stories. When I told him what really happened, he was upset
and said that we all should keep the legends alive. Well, I am sorry. I worked
too hard and broke too many body parts to let them make me the laughing stock
because of stupid stories. Besides, I think that the truth is more amazing than
any stupid lie.
Q: With all the technical
changes during the last 30 years, do you think there are still pure karate
styles, such as kyokushinkai, shotokan,
shito-ryu, et cetera?
A: I don’t know what you mean by “pure.” In my
opinion, every style in its basic movements are pure from their point of view.
I know that not too many budoka or those you think they
are budoka can take the truth. And the truth is that
most of the so-called old and so-called famous styles are over because they
fell apart. They ended up in many different groups, despite the fact that many
of them think that they were “tough guys.” What they forget to mention,
especially in Japan, is that they never won a good fight in the Western part of
the world, and we all know now that the famous Kyokushinkai-kan
World Championships were rigged all the way. You only have to ask Nakamura, who
left the New York honbu, because of all the terrible
things that happened behind closed doors. I knew about this lousy behavior and
told Oyama Sensei not to go on with this because one
day everybody was going to find out. Anyway, I think that the purest style from
way back is in Okinawa and China because they got the green light to get back
on the real wushu track again. In the near future, we
will hear about China. Shito-ryu is the school of my
old friend and multibillionaire Jotsky Matsuura, a
10th dan within his own organization. I was about to
join him as vice-president, but Kenji Kurosaki, a 10th dan
from Budokai, was against it, so I didn’t. Jotsky showed me a kata in his
office, and the movements very good movements. For the rest, I really don’t
know much about the purity of styles.
Q: Compared to the time you
began training, what is martial arts training missing today?
A: Very simple. Real, dedicated budoka
who — as a way of life or as exercise — do budo and
have respect for their teachers and elders in the dojo. Nowadays, it seems like
everything is a race to the higher ranking and a run on the money wagon. It is
sad, but there are not that many real budoka who
practice and teach the martial arts as a way of life. Once again, the average
guy doesn’t know the difference so, these individuals can get away with it.
Look at some of the websites; they are a bunch of old farts who haggle and
fight on the side instead of spending their time in the dojo. If they knew what
they were talking about, it would not stink that much, but most of them don’t.
Even when I proved to them, which I did some time ago, and I recognize that was
stupid of me because you can bring a monkey to the peanuts but so cannot make
him eat them, they had all kinds of funny things to say. Of course, they never
could back anything up. When you look into the men’s eyes, you’ll find out that
they have not done one single day of training in the last 20 or more years! I
wonder how they make money; it is certainly not with budo.
Now, as long as that kind of people are on the Internet and keep popping off
the most ridiculous lines, I’ll keep thinking that the old days were better.
Certainly as far as respect is concerned.
Q: What is your opinion of
kickboxing and other modern fighting events such as the UFC?
A: In 1989, Chris Dolman and I went to Tokyo to
participate in the first free-fight held in Tokyo and Osaka. That was the UWF.
Soon after that the sponsors started to create a lot of differences among them.
I’m talking about the Japanese organizers, of course. Now, don’t forget that
there was and still is a lot of money involved in Japan in these kinds of
events. Akira Maeda founded Rings Japan. It finally died, and I thought it was
a good organization. Free-fight or “all-around-karate” as I like to call it, is
a good way to show your complete fighting ability in the ring and make
some money on the side. It is completely different
from basic karate, and to be honest, the traditional budoka,
those who are into traditional karate or judo, don’t have any chance at all
against one of these MMA or NHB guys. Don’t forget that there are not that many
real good “complete” fighters in the world. It takes a real man who can take
pain and is not afraid to do a hard workout everyday,
punishing his body and going through a lot of physical pain and injuries.
Full-contact karate is the first step to a complete fighter, but there are more
aspects involved. One of my students started with traditional karate and then
got into full-contact, following the program I have developed in Budokai. He won the Daidi Juku and the Pancrase
championships three times. Later, he won Pride and K-1. In K-1, he beat
three-time world champ Ernesto Hoost. Unfortunately,
the judges declared it a draw because they knew Hoost
was a big draw for the people in Japan and had to be in the finals. Let me tell
you something. When you are knocked down in several rounds and have a cut in
your head of almost five inches, that is not a draw. Also, Ernesto Hoost is a student of my student, Johan Vos,
a sixth dan, and Jan Plas,
an eighth dan of the Budokai.
A man must do what he really wants to do. If you are
not up to it, regardless of what it is, don’t do it because you will never be
happy and it will never bring you the proper rewards. But if you want to be a
real fighter and prove yourself in kickboxing or MMA, you are in for hard work
and a very hard game. But never forget … some budoka
—real ones — love that way so I think it is a good thing that they have that
chance to prove themselves, even if some people who have never trained for real
in the martial arts make the real money.
Another funny thing that is happening these days is
that you hear or read that there is a seminar in the Pancrase
style of fighting or in Pride’s system of combat, et cetera. Don’t let yourself
be fooled by these people — even if they are good fighters — because there is
no Pancrase style or Pride style. This is all “BS.”
Men, who are simply in it for the money, run these seminars. In many European
countries, you can be extremely disappointed because many of these so-called
“extreme fighters” don’t know what the hell they are doing, especially in the
groundwork area. They are terrible. But at least they are out there fighting
instead of being on their website pretending to be tough guys.
Q: Do you think events like
the UFC and other NHB events represent the true essence of fighting?
A: In a way they do because you see the real champions
after many years of hard training. It’s not like they are showing a kata, knowing that on the street any street fighter or
boxer would kick their ass. It just depends on what you want to get from budo. If doing your kata three
times a week in your dojo is satisfying, it serves your idea of budo. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Certainly not if you are happy. But if an individual starts bragging about how
good and dangerous he is and he really doesn’t fight, then he is not only an
idiot but also a very immature individual. All talk and nothing behind it to
back it up. That’s what you see in many people these days. I honestly think
that real pro fighting proves a point that Muhammad Ali and many other great
boxing champs proved in the past
… they could fight. Period.
Q: Do you think that karate
in the West has caught up with Japanese karate?
A: Definitely. In the old days, we looked forward to
meeting Japanese Judoka and karate masters because we wanted to learn from
them. Today, however, the Western world has much better fighters and teachers
than those living in the East. This is not just talk. For many years, the
Japanese have been coming to Europe and the United States to learn how to fight
in MMA and NHB events. You do not really find too many Japanese masters
teaching in Europe because we don’t need them anymore. In a way that’s good, but
for budoka like me who knew the old days, it makes me
a sad and homesick for my second country (Japan) and my old sensei. They are
almost all dead now, but I keep them in fond memory and have pictures of them
all over my place. I know time changes a lot of things and sometimes not for
the best. When my Japanese friends lost the world judo title in 1970 in Paris,
I was very sad, even if it was my countryman Anton Geesink
who won. That day was the beginning of an era. The Japanese hegemony was
finally broken and nowadays anybody can win in world karate tournaments or
Olympic judo. In the old days, if 10 Japanese entered a championship, they all
won. In karate, it is a different thing from the very beginning. Shotokan stylists never won a title in real contact karate.
Neither did wado-ryu. From the very beginning in
1970, the kyokushinkai has been the main style, and
some of the Japanese fighters were real good until Willy Williams appeared and
destroyed them. They could not stop progress, and the gaijin won, opening new
doors for everybody to enter.
Q: Do you feel that there are
any fundamental differences in the technical approach and physical capabilities
of Japanese karate-ka in comparison to Western karate-ka?
A: Yes. Physically, a Japanese person is much more
flexible than the average European or American. In a way, that should be an
advantage. In reality, it is not and the overall mental ability of the
Europeans and Americans is much stronger than the average Japanese. That’s a
hardcore problem, but I believe that the average Japanese does practice much
harder that the Westerner does.
Q: Karate and judo are
nowadays often referred to as sports. Would you agree with this definition?
A: Of course, they are sports, and it is a pity that
competitors cannot make more money or make a good living competing. This is
especially the case for those who are really dedicated and put all the time of
their lives into it. If I look at soccer players, I see millionaires all over
the place. Many of them can hardly write their names. If they were not lucky
enough to be able to do what they do on the field, they would not even get a
job cleaning lavatories in Morocco. So, if a good Karateka
trains hard and gets somewhere winning a lot of titles, I think he deserves
much more than being considered an amateur. The same goes for Judokas and all
MMA fighters. Again, the answer is yes.
They are sports at the highest level, but the money is
not there.
Q: Do you feel that you still
have further to go in your studies of the arts?
A: Yes I do. The first thing a man needs to do is try
to understand what goes on in his mind. This concept especially applies to
those who never made anything good for the martial arts, mainly because they
never trained hard and put themselves to test. It is sad how many people who
have never been properly trained are running a dojo and misleading students.
Sometimes people write me letters and invite me to visit them and teach a
seminar. I am a so- called professional, but I go there anyway, even if they have
the money to pay for my trip. Why? Because I love seeing people with passion
and dedication. If you give them a chance and they train hard, they will be
excellent budoka. My body today does not want to do
the things I used to do. Once warmed up, however, I can still kick serious
butt. Believe me. But it is mostly the mind, which is working in high gear all
the time. With the time I have left, I will use it to show other budoka what real budo is all
about. And I hope this will help them long after I am gone.
Q: Do you think it helps the
empty-hand techniques of karate to train with weapons?
A: Not really, especially if your intention is the
empty-hand fighting side of this discipline. Besides, you just cannot walk the
streets with weapons. However, training with weapons can give you an edge if
you have to defend yourself against someone using a weapon. For this, it is
helpful. For a sparring session or full-contact karate match, no way. I did it
just to get a better understanding of the Japanese bushido, the discipline and
the feeling of those old days when the sword could get you killed or make you a
hero. Meeting those terrific old teachers and feeling their spirit was a
tremendous way of living budo and understanding how
it all came about. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world, but it won’t help
you in judo or karate or whatever fighting sport when you have to face an
empty-handed opponent.
Q: What’s your opinion of makiwara training?
A: The first time I saw Peter Urban, Kurosaki Sensei
and Mas Oyama’s knuckles I
thought it was the trademark of a true Karateka. In a
way it still is, but on the other hand, I know many so-called “budoka” who — despite having tremendous knuckles — would
lose to my grandmother. She could kick their butts with an umbrella. So, it
[large knuckles] does not really mean that the man is a good fighter. It’s
simply appearance. I did a lot of makiwara, and I can
tell you that it makes a man out of you if you do it the correct way. The first
time I used the makiwara I had a swollen hand with a
huge blister on top of it. When I showed it to Mas Oyama the next day, he said, “Good. Now go hit the makiwara 200 more times.” The first time makes you sick
because you can feel the blisters explode. The impact creates a horrible watery
sound, almost as if somebody was putting a knife in my rear end. Two weeks
later I was breaking bricks with the same hand and that was the end of it. I
had karate hands. For “normal” karate practice, it is certainly not necessary.
If you are a so-called karate teacher who must show what you preach, it is a
must. I can hit the wall with all my power and don’t feel anything. When I am
in real danger, I know that I have a weapon I can rely on. When I hit and
connect, Of this I am sure.
Q: Let’s say that a practitioner
is also an instructor. How different should his personal training be from his
teaching schedule?
A: It depends very much on his age. When young, he
should do as I did and have a special class for champions and fighters. Train
with them, and you’ll stay while teaching. Be a real karate sensei. When you
are older, it is better not to do as I do, which is fighting on the ground with
some real rough guys. Don’t forget that the injuries you get when you are young
stay with you, and the ones you get when you are 70 years old will not go away
as easily as they did when you were a young kid. Trust me. The old injuries
will play a big part in your daily life after you are 55 or 60 years old.
Arthritis will set in on these joints and old fractures. I can honestly say
that I have hardly had a single day without any pain for the last 30 years. And
it is getting worse as we speak. My doctor says I’d better stop fighting right
now. But I told him it is my hobby and that is the price I must pay. If I stop,
I will die.
Let me return to your question. It is better is to
have several classes; one for those who want to practice but not do any
fighting; one for those interested in budo and one
for the real fighters who want to enter professional competition. Don’t put them
together because you’ll get what I got in the old days: some terrific fighters
and a lot of students who ran away as fast as they signed up when they saw how
hard the fighters were treating the rest of the guys in the class. I did not
care in those days, for I made my money as a business partner in casinos.
That’s the reason why we won all the championships in judo, karate and free
fighting. The students who stayed in those classes were real fighters. It is
good for the fighting side of the school but not for the business aspect of it.
Q: When teaching the art of
karate, is self-defense, sport or tradition the most important element?
A: The answer is a combination of all three aspects,
but there is something very important that you have to remember here. When a
new member applies for membership, he is not joining to learn kata. He wants to beat up as many people on the streets as
he meets. When they say that they don’t come for that and when they say that
they are signing up for the spiritual side of the martial arts, you have a
terrible liar in front of you. I had some real punks come into the dojo in the
1960s and 1970s, and I always beat them up on the first day just to show them
who was the boss and who was the sensei in the school. A lot of them could not
take it and left, but some of them became real good budoka.
They went on to become good and dedicated teachers and fighters and very seldom
had to fight on the streets. That’s the type of budoka
that I love, and that’s why it is all worth it. Those who leave end up talking
on the
Internet and telling lies on their websites.
Q: You seem to be very upset
with people talking on the Internet. Why?
A: Because it is a very easy way for those cowards who
don’t have the courage – and I would love to use another word – to criticize
and bad-mouth others who dedicate their whole lives to budo
and have the scars to prove it. It is very easy to write and talk trash, but
it’s impossible to find one of these cowards who will show up and tell you
things to your face so you can get back at them with your fist. Talk is cheap,
and the Internet helps to make even cheaper!
Q: What’s the proper ratio
between kata and kumite?
A: I brought the so-called new kata
to Europe for the first time in 1961 and then again in 1966. We even won
championships in that category. Again, I believe it is important to make
separate classes for those particular aspects of karate. At the same time, a
fighter must not forget that when he is undergoing an examination for a dan — especially a higher dan —
he must show the correct kata with a correct skill
level. If he is a champion, he can get by with a good understanding, but he
must also show the correct techniques in the proper way because karate is more
than fighting.
Everybody must do it according to the way he sees the
art, how it best applies to his dojo and what is best for his students. The
International Budokaikan will never impose how things
must be done inside any dojo. But when the students come to the test, you can
see how the instructor is and what he is teaching in his school. Students are
the reflections of the teachers in many ways. You need to provide freedom, but
at the same time, you must maintain a good structure for the art to grow. If
the karate people had done that from the beginning, karate would now be the
bigger than soccer.
Q: Sensei, do you have any
general advice you would care to pass on to the young karate-ka?
A: First, pay attention and think about what I have
already said. Believe me, I have learned all this the hard way. Then, with an
inquisitive mind, look at what the most successful schools have done. Look at
the teachers and try to duplicate those elements that brought credibility and
good students. Just don’t go in a dojo and start training without looking and
comparing. If you want to be a fighter, train under a famous sensei who was a
good fighter in his younger days. If you don’t care about fighting and are more
interested in budo, look for a dojo with good people
and a real dedicated sensei, even if he is not the greatest fighter. The
decision is highly personal. I always looked for the best teacher in the
particular aspects I wanted to develop. No teacher can give you everything you
need. So, don’t be afraid to look for the one who can provide you with the
things you want and need in order to be happy in your budo
quest.
Q: Some people think going to
Japan to train is highly necessary. Do you share this point of view?
A: As far as getting stronger and better, that time is
over. Don’t forget that the best fighters nowadays don’t come from Japan. Look
at Pride and K-1. The European and U.S. fighters — not the Japanese — are
winning these events. In old-fashioned karate, stylists from shotokan, goju-ryu, wado-ryu, et cetera are not winning the big championships.
At least not in the last decade. I don’t think you have to go to Japan to learn
how to fight like a professional, but it is real fun to go there to experience
things. You can learn a lot of other things if you go and stay there for some
time. It is very true that the martial arts take on a totally new meaning, as
far as spirit is concerned, if you train in Japan. I would recommend to anybody
to get a few months — at least — in Japan … just to get an idea of the
traditional side of budo. Depending on your fighting
appetite, choose the kind that fits your ability.
Q: What are the major changes
in the art since you began training?
A: Too many split-ups in all styles of the old
Japanese schools. Everyone wants to be a little king in his own style, but he
forgets that he got the ideas from other people and old sensei. Funny enough …
they go around telling everybody about their new approach to the style, and
that is real BS.
I take pride in keeping Mas Oyama’s Kyokushin style in the budokai. I can say proudly that I was the first one to show
Oyama Sensei in 1966 the combination of complete
karate, which is now called mixed martial arts. This is one- third karate and
kickboxing, one-third throwing techniques, and one-third grappling and
groundwork. The mentality has also changed a lot. I tell my students to look
into other dojo and practice with them when they are out of town or during
holidays. You can always learn from anybody … even when the teacher is not well
known. Other major changes are, of course, the K-1 and the hard NHB and MMA
events like the UFC. These have revolutionized the world of martial arts
forever. As for the rest, the traditional karate styles like shotokan have not made any changes. The old JKA lost out,
as for being in the top of the karate business. They don’t have an “only one” honbu dojo and shotokan is now
only a well-known name but not much more. Kyokushinkai
went the same way after Kancho passed away. It looks
like some top instructors are at least working hard, but they will never get
the grip on it like Mas Oyama
did. The old Kyokushinkai has split up in many
different groups and several thousand dojo. In a way, they are all the true
example of a modern ronin. It is sad, very sad.
Q: With whom would you like
to have trained that you have not?
A: Nobody. I say this because I was fortunate to have
met and trained under the most famous and legendary sensei in Japan between
1959 and 1980. I don’t think I missed a thing. One of the best was Donn F. Draeger. He really made
me who I was in judo and give me the body for which I always longed. In 1959,
he took me from being a skinny 79 kilos to a solid 102 kilos dynamo. I came out
on top because I had the speed and flexibility of a middleweight but the body
and strength of a heavyweight. Then, of course, there was Oyama
Sensei and especially Kenji Kurosaki Sensei. In Kodokan
judo, I had all the famous champions and sensei in the Kenshusei.
There was Mifune, Daigo. Osawa, Kaminaga, Inokuma, Koga, et cetera. In bo-jitsu,
it was Shimizu Sensei and Ichitaro Kuroda Sensei. Yamaguchi “The Cat” was a
very good friend of mine. Like Frank Sinatra said in one of his songs, “I had
it all.”
I was very lucky because I did not suffer any injuries
until years later. So, I could really fight hard for many years. I have never
lost in Japan. Funny thing is that the Japanese wrote a book about my life in
Japan.
Q: What would you say to
someone who is interested in learning karate-do?
A: If he is really going for it 100 percent, then he
has a very hard but rewarding life ahead of him. I sure had and still have.
When you are seriously looking for a real dedicated sensei — who doesn’t have
to be Japanese, provided he’s been through the fire on a real battle ground —
find one who can teach you how to become one with yourself. Okinawa has been
hiding from the publicity in the martial arts world, but lately they have
exposed more and more. I have heard there are some very good sensei in Okinawa, but I don’t know them.
Q: What keeps you motivated
after all these years?
A: My students and the joy of seeing them coming along
and becoming champions. One thing I truly like is to show them what it was like
in the old days. They understand the importance of combining the three elements
we talked about before, which are contact karate, throwing techniques and
grappling. I would really die if I could not do anything. It would kill me.
Even the people who do all the talking about stupid things keep me alive
because I want to prove to the real budoka what can
be done … even when you are 70 years old. The old injuries are getting to me.
After a big test at the Dutch Veteran’s Hospital two years ago, they told me
that I had advanced arthritis in the joints that were badly hurt during those
rough years. They told me to take it easy, but I thought, “Come on, I am Jon Bluming … no way!” But they were right. It is getting
worse. They even gave me a military pension of $220 a month. But don’t worry. I
can still teach and move around. I still love a good tumble on the ground with
the young guys. So I just wait and see where it all ends. Certainly, not too
soon if I can help it.
Q: Do you think it is
necessary to engage in free fighting so you can learn how to protect yourself
in the street?
A: Yes, I certainly do, and that was always my goal in
my budo career. I wanted to make a system that was
good for sport combat, and — with some adjustments — an efficient system for
fighting in the street. I am sure that I succeed in that. I hate the so-called budo experts who teach only the higher goals of budo, like those spiritual things, including meditation.
Don’t get me wrong. The tradition and etiquette, the formal spirit, the respect
for each other in the dojo and for your opponent. These are all great things,
but I cannot show any respect for the “famous sensei” who have done absolutely
nothing for the arts and got their grades by making members join their
associations in Japan. When these people had to fight in the past, they
disappeared like cowards. I always tell everybody who is who, and I can prove
it.
Q: Modern karate is moving
away from the bunkai in kata
practice. How important is bunkai for the
understanding of karate-do?
A: It is part of karate and a part that will always be
connected to the true essence of karate. This is true with the old and
traditional karate styles. It is a way of showing that you can do the waza in a combination of movements, regardless from whom
you are learning. Then again, I have never seen a kata
champion who could beat my grandmother when she had an umbrella in her hands.
You must know how to fight and how to take care of yourself in the dojo and in
the street. Otherwise, from a very fighting and realistic point of view, kata is a total waste, but I have to agree that it is good
exercise.
Q: What is the philosophical
basis for your karate training?
A: To be a real fighter. That has always been one of
my goals. I always admired and still do, the old Buddhist monks in old Japan.
They were real human beings who did not believe in killing any kind of life.
But if someone was coming for them, they turned into fierce fighters. The
Daimyo (prince of the district) always had deep respect for them and always
wanted them on his side, for he could depend on their honesty, loyalty and
fighting ability. On the other hand, they were great human beings who were
always helping weak individuals. My other goal was to become a good human being
like these people, and in my own little circle, I think that I succeeded.
When I started my dojo in Amsterdam in 1961 and I was
the main coach for the judo national team, I told my students, “Friends, I am
going to teach you a new system of fighting called karate. If you use this on
the streets or wherever just to show off, I will kick you out of my dojo. On
the other hand, if you are attacked or molested in any way and you don’t put
your aggressor in the hospital, I will also expel you from our kyokushinkai-kan dojo and the Budokai.”
It has always worked for me to balance fighting with a deep and profound
philosophy. I don’t want to give
you a lot of philosophical BS that sounds really good
on paper but nobody can transfer to daily life. For me, it has always been a
way of life, and I was lucky that I made good money in the casinos in Amsterdam
as a minor partner because I could never make much money teaching karate or
judo. I simply got by. Because of the casinos — from 1970 until 1980 — I could
do most of it as a hobby or semi-pro. I only do that for dedicated budoka, as long as my body will let me.
Q: How can a practitioner
increase his understanding of the spiritual aspect of karate?
A: That is up to each individual budoka
and his interest. If the person is in my dojo, I watch him and interview him …
first to find out what he really wants out of karate and then I’ll go from
there. New budoka should be careful with the
so-called spiritual aspects of budo because there is
a lot of BS in that word. I don’t like to talk too much about it because, at
the very end, it is a personal experience and words can’t describe something
that you have to discover and feel for yourself. First look into the background
of the sensei and see if he is really what he claims to be. If so, at least you
are on the right road.
Q: Is there anything lacking
in the way martial artists are taught today?
A: I really don’t think so. However, in my early days,
there were not that many teachers around. Usually, the champions — like in the
early judo days — went all over the world to teach, and they did a great job.
As a matter of fact, they did such a great job that we don’t need them anymore.
In Europe, we have better teachers today than in Japan. Of course, there are
few exceptions to that rule. The same goes for karate. In kendo, the Japanese
are still the real masters.
Q: What do you consider to be
the most important qualities of a successful budoka?
A: Honesty. In my dojo, there is no religious talk, no
discrimination of any kind and there is no BS. All we do is train. Make the
dojo a brotherhood, a sort of budo family. What you
learn today you should show the others later and help the lower grades achieve
a higher level by teaching them what you have learnt. Don’t pick on the
beginners just to show how good you are because they don’t come to the dojo to
be beaten up by a bully. It is especially important for the sensei to look for
those kinds of bullies because they can screw up the whole dojo. Don’t believe
all the famous stories that turn out to be all lies. For instance, I could not
believe everything that people wrote and talked about me during the last 30
years. Things like I killed a yakuza in a bar fight, that Mas
Oyama Sensei took me in but only after he beat me
badly, et cetera. Unbelievable! Oyama Sensei and I
never ever fought … not even on friendly terms or controlled sparring. He was
my teacher and taught me a lot of the things that I teach today and that I said
in this interview.
Q: What advice would you give
to students about supplementary training such as weight training, stretching,
running, et cetera?
A: When I went to the honbu
dojo in 1966 for six months, I trained very hard at the weightlifting gym in Korakuen. While there, I met the Olympic track and field
coach of the Russian national team. He had some members of his famous group
with him. He was training with really heavy weights for his legs. I asked the
coach what that was all about.
Donn Draeger
was there too, and he gave us a lot of information. Among other things, he said
that even a table tennis player must train with weights and be able to lift his
own weight above his head. Weight training is a very important aspect of the
overall physical conditioning program, but the guidance of a real good teacher
who knows his stuff is priceless. Otherwise, it will work against you, and you
will be injured badly as a result of incorrect training.
I had the great fortune to have the best trainer in
the world in those days, and he made me what I am today. His name was Donn F. Draeger. He introduced me
and other Judoka to the specifics of weight training for judo. One of these
champions was Isao Inokuma, who, after six months,
started to train with weights. Eventually, he won the All- Japan Championship
when he was only 86 kilos. But he was as strong as an elephant! His training
routine entailed 20 percent weights — three times a week in the morning — and
the remaining 80 percent was all judo practice, uchikomi
and fighting.
In any sport, you need weight training to supplement
your skills, but it has to be done in a scientific way under the guidance of a
real teacher who knows what he is doing in your particular discipline. It is
called sports specific training. And it doesn’t matter if it’s tennis, judo,
karate or soccer. Draeger helped me go from 70 kilos
into a solid 102 kilos in eight months, but he always whopped my ears with his
whisperings, such as, “Jon, don’t let the weights do the judo for you. No
matter how tired you are after the weights, go up to the main dojo and fight
everybody and anybody because from that you get the stamina and the experience
for real judo. Never let the weights rule your technique, but use that extra
strength to sharpen your waza and tokui-waza
and keep your speed and mobility as a middleweight.” It brought me to the
absolute top, and I am deeply in debt to him. He died of cancer when he was 61.
Not a singles day pass that I don’t think about him.
Q: What are the most
important attributes of a student?
A: To be determined to reach the goal he set. He must
also be keen and observant, take in what the sensei teaches
him, help others, follow the tradition and the
etiquette of budo, stay humble and never become a
nuisance once he becomes a champion. For not following these important rules, I
kicked out of my dojo in 1964 the most famous Judoka whoever came from the
Western world. His name was Willem Ruska, and he was a two-time Olympic medal
winner and a three-time world champion. I don’t care about fame and or a
champion when he cannot behave like a human being with others.
Q: Why is it, in your
opinion, that a lot of students start falling away after two or three years of
training?
A: A number of reasons. It could be that they did not
reach their goals, they got bored or it could simply be because of the way
modern life is today. The ones who stick with it are the ones who are really
determined to get to the top either as a teacher or a fighter. In only three
years, you cannot see much of the spiritual rewards of budo.
You get that after you reach your goal and when budo
becomes part of your life. When I asked my former teacher in the Kodokan and the Kenshusei, Daigo Sensei, why the Japanese Judoka were doing so poorly
in championships, he said; “We got rich, and the students are not hungry
anymore.” Enough said.
Q: There has been very little
written about you in magazines. You obviously do not thrive on the publicity
like some martial artists. Why?
A: I don’t have to. I am 70 years old now, so what
good does it do me if they write things and make me a so-called legend? And
then you read on a website the most horrific lies about myself and other
important budo people. I just want to stay away from
that kind of people. I love to teach and show dedicated students my ideas. If
they listen and see the light, I am happy. But don’t kid yourself. In Europe,
there was a time when I was in newspapers almost daily and magazines. Now it is
maybe every month or so. My greatest success was that I became a bodyguard for
our beloved former CMDT, the Prince of the Netherlands, Prince Bernhard. I had
my share of publicity, believe me.
Q: Have there been times when
you felt fear in your karate training?
A: Yes, but mostly when I broke part of my body during
hard training. I never had any fear facing an opponent on the mat. Nowadays, I
am scared of my arthritis and the old injuries that bother the hell out of me.
I’m afraid they will prevent me — in the near future — from doing my hobby and
my way of life, which is teaching, grappling on the ground with the young guys
and budo. That’s what really scares me.
Q: What else would you tell
us about the great Donn F. Draeger?
A: I can write a book about Donn
F. Draeger and my experiences with him. He was my
real sensei since the first day when he picked me up and asked me to help him
to prove a point in a class. Karate and judo becomes better when training
scientifically with weights. Also, his judo training and guidance for all those
foreign students in the Kodokan was priceless. His
personal guidance for Inokuma, for it was Donn who made Inokuma a real
world champion and nobody else. Donn was always there
for us. He was always joking like the Marine officer with a field commission.
When he was 19 and in Guadalcanal, he got shot really close to the heart by a
sniper. He got the silver star and became a officer. Later, in the Korean war,
he was a captain and a Lt Col. I could tell some nice stories. In short, he
could play with many of the Kodokan teachers in those
days, including all the eighth-, ninth- and even 10th-dans. He never got his
sixth in Kodokan, because he could not take the BS
anymore. He focused more on bo-jitsu, kendo and iai-jitsu under the Japanese Kendo Federation. We started
out together in 1959. In 1966, I received my fourth dan
and Donn, years later, received his eighth. He was
the best friend and the best trainer and sensei I have ever seen and believe
me, I have seen them all. Rest in peace my old friend. I love you dearly.
Q: Finally Sensei, if you had
to leave a final message for the future generations, what would it be?
A: Stop the bickering and put the jealousy aside. When
you have something to say, try to tell the truth. Since websites became
popular, there are a bunch of cowards telling unbelievable tales. I wonder how
they can find the time to do any real practice. If only 50 percent of the world
karate groups would really try to work together, they would have a federation
much bigger than the international soccer federation. With that money, they
could do a lot of good and everybody could learn from everybody and make the
federation into a very strong fighting organization. But today they are all
concerned about grades and there are more 10th dans
in the U.S. than the Japanese had since they started budo!
I wonder how they got it. Certainly not from Japan. I hope they are worth that
grade in more ways than just making money from students. The budo world is still strong. There are real budoka fighting in great events, such as MMA, which I like
to call all-around-karate. That is what I teach mostly today because it is real
fighting, and it is effective. But I know deep inside that martial artists
won’t get together. That would be utopia. Again, look for a good sensei, a good organization and work for them and with
them. Don’t forget; if you don’t respect your sensei, how can you expect respect
when you become one? As my teachers said, “Without kokoro,
budo is simply an empty shell.”