Dutch Kickboxing
A Dutch school of kickboxing from the Amsterdam gyms Mejiro and Chakuriki, with roots in kyokushin and Japanese kickboxing. It rests on boxing combinations and low kicks.
Quick Facts
NetherlandsCharacter & Origin
Training
Who It Suits
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
Comparisons
Catalogs & Databases for Dutch Kickboxing
About Dutch Kickboxing
Dutch kickboxing is a Dutch school of kickboxing that took shape from the nineteen-seventies in Amsterdam gyms. It has no single founder. Sources describe two gym lines: Jan Plas's Mejiro Gym, Plas being a student of Kenji Kurosaki, opened in 1975 according to the gym and in 1978 according to other sources, and Thom Harinck's Chakuriki from 1972. In 1976 Plas and Harinck together founded the Dutch federation NKBB.
Read more
The root is kyokushin and Japanese kickboxing. In 1966 Kenji Kurosaki spent eleven months in the Netherlands with Jon Bluming, a pioneer of kyokushin in the country. Descriptions of the style add the influence of Muay Thai and Western boxing. Some authors see it more as a training approach than as a separate style, and in overviews of kickboxing rules the "Dutch rules" stand as one of the variants. Technically it rests on boxing combinations and low kicks. Dutch rules forbid elbows unless the fighters agree otherwise, forbid knees to the head and limit the clinch to five seconds, and Glory, under its 2026 rules, allows it only for one immediate knee strike. After Dutch fighters lost in Thailand in 1990, the gyms, according to a description from that time, added an emphasis on the clinch, elbows and knees. Dutch fighters won 15 of the 19 K-1 World Grand Prix titles from 1993 to 2012, among them Peter Aerts, Ernesto Hoost, Remy Bonjasky, Semmy Schilt and Alistair Overeem. The organization Glory, founded in 2012, holds many events in the Netherlands. We did not find a belt system or unified amateur rules in the sources.
History
Dutch kickboxing took shape from the nineteen-seventies in Amsterdam gyms out of kyokushin, Japanese kickboxing and Muay Thai. No source names a single founder, and some authors see it more as a training trend than as a separate style. The root runs through kyokushin. In 1965 Jon Bluming became the first non-Japanese to receive 6th dan in kyokushin from Masutatsu Oyama. In 1966 Kenji Kurosaki spent eleven months in the Netherlands with Bluming, and after leaving Kyokushin-kaikan around 1969 he ran Mejiro Gym in Tokyo. Thom Harinck founded Chakuriki Gym in Amsterdam in 1972. Together with Jan Plas he founded the Dutch federation NKBB in 1976 and the Muay Thai federation MTBN in 1983. Plas, a student of Kurosaki, opened the Amsterdam Mejiro Gym, in 1975 according to the gym and in 1978 according to other sources, and is often called the father of kickboxing in the Netherlands. His students include Lucien Carbin, Rob Kaman, Ernesto Hoost and Peter Aerts.
How it differs
Since the introduction of K-1 Max, Dutch kickboxers have mainly fought under K-1 rules and later Glory rules. According to the WAKO technical handbook, K-1 rules forbid elbows and allow only one immediate knee strike after grabbing the opponent's neck or shoulders. The WAKO discipline Low Kick adds shin kicks to the thigh to full contact, in which kicks go only above the waist, and forbids knees, elbows and throws. WAKO amateur ring disciplines have three rounds of two minutes. In its March 2026 rules, the Glory promoter forbids elbows, throws and sweeps, allows knees, permits the clinch only for one immediate knee strike and admits only roundhouse leg kicks. According to IFMA rules, Muay Thai scores punches, kicks, knees and elbows. Seniors fight three rounds of three minutes, and before the first round the Wai Kru ritual with three bows to the ground is mandatory. According to Black Belt magazine, the label Dutch Muay Thai arose only because Ramon Dekkers and other Dutchmen fought in Thailand under Muay Thai rules. In its view Dutch kickboxing is a separate sport and in the gyms more of a training trend.
Technique
Technically, Dutch kickboxing rests on boxing combinations that open the opponent's guard and on kicks to the legs, body and head taken over from kyokushin. According to descriptions from that time, Dutch gyms emphasized punches and low kicks. Mejiro Gym built on punches and low kicks, and Lucien Carbin later developed an approach covering the main Muay Thai techniques. Dutch rules forbid elbows unless the fighters agree otherwise, forbid knees to the head and limit the clinch to five seconds. The 2026 Glory rules allow knees, forbid elbows and throws, and allow the clinch only for one immediate knee strike. After Dutch fighters lost in Thailand in 1990, gyms added an emphasis on the clinch, elbows and knees. Typical traits include a drive for an early KO, which descriptions link to a fear of Thai scoring.
Training
According to the description by ONE Championship, Dutch fighters spar harder than Thais, who call sparring len cheng, that is playful sparring. On pads they repeat the same series of up to six techniques in a row, while Thai boxers alternate various drills with the trainer. Descriptions derive the fast tempo of Dutch fighters from kyokushin. This is a description, not a measurement. We have not been able to document the structure of a lesson, the recommended training frequency or the ratio of sparring to pad work.
Ranks and progression
We did not find a unified belt system of the Dutch federation. For kickboxing in general, WAKO has an optional classification program that national federations may adjust. It runs from white through yellow, orange, green, blue and brown to black and on to 7th dan. Minimum preparation time is six months for the lower belts, one year from brown to black, two years to 2nd dan, three years to 3rd dan and five to seven years for 4th to 7th dan. A black belt candidate must turn 16 in the year of the exam. Exams for 1st to 3rd dan are conducted by national federations, for 4th to 7th dan by the WAKO committee, and 8th to 10th dan is awarded by the WAKO board after at least 35 years in kickboxing. Examined are the disciplines Point Fighting, Light Contact, Kick Light, Full Contact, Low Kick, K1 Rules and forms, and a separate Dutch style is not in the program.
Who it suits
We have not found children’s rules of the Dutch association, age categories or the length of fights. According to the description of one club in Utrecht, children aged 7 to 15 train in gloves, shin guards and a mouthguard, and instead of hard sparring it is controlled training. For kickboxing in general WAKO has the categories children 7–9 years and cadets 10–15 years on the tatami only, juniors reach the ring only at 15–16 years, veterans compete at the age of 41–55 years. Women have their own weight categories at WAKO and a mandatory chest protector from older female cadets. We have not found an injury study focused on the Dutch style. Lystad (2015) counted in records from Nevada over 15 years 390.1 injuries per 1,000 starts in kickboxing, 57.8% to the head. Bilgoe, Kerkhoffs and Gouttebarge (Amsterdam UMC, 2025) found in 45 current and 29 former elite kickboxers psychological distress in 57% of the current and 36% of the former.
Competition
The professional scene is today shaped by Glory, founded in 2012 after the financial troubles of K-1. A standard fight has three rounds of three minutes, a title fight five rounds of three minutes. A round is awarded by the damage caused and blocked strikes do not score. A number of Glory events took place in the Netherlands, among others in Rotterdam and Arnhem. We have not found the rules of the NKBB and of amateur Dutch competitions. Dutch fighters won 15 of the 19 K-1 World Grand Prix titles from 1993 to 2012, among them Peter Aerts, Ernesto Hoost, Remy Bonjasky, Semmy Schilt and Alistair Overeem. Aerts won in 1994, 1995 and 1998. The Dutch also faced Thai boxers under Muay Thai rules. Rob Kaman defeated Changpuek Kiatsongrit in Amsterdam on 18 February 1990, and in April 1990 both Kaman and Ramon Dekkers lost on points at Lumpinee.
Gear
According to the description of the Utrecht club, training includes gloves, shin guards and a mouthguard. Glory requires short trunks above the knee without pockets and a mouthguard. We have not found the competition weight of gloves or the equipment for amateur Dutch competitions. For amateur kickboxing in general WAKO Europe prescribes in ring disciplines 10 oz gloves, a helmet, shin guards, a mouthguard and a groin guard, women from older female cadets additionally a chest protector.
Today
In overviews of kickboxing rules, “Dutch rules” stand as one variant next to K-1 rules and American full contact. The Dutch gyms Mejiro, Chakuriki and Golden Glory derive from Japanese kickboxing and kyokushin or were significantly influenced by them. Dutch Kickboxing is not Muay Thai, but it has more similarities with it than differences. Some authors describe the label Dutch Muay Thai as a misunderstanding that arose from Ramon Dekkers fighting in Thailand under Muay Thai rules. Dekkers trained in Breda with Cor Hemmers and won his titles mainly in Muay Thai, Rob Kaman of Mejiro Gym held titles in kickboxing and in Muay Thai. The introduction of K-1 Max in 2002 drew Dutch fighters toward K-1 rules and later Glory. We have not found a uniform belt system or examination system in the sources.
Did you know
In 1964, according to Black Belt magazine, three karate practitioners from the circle of Masutatsu Oyama fought three Thai boxers in Thailand. After this experience Kenji Kurosaki combined kyokushin with Muay Thai techniques, and Black Belt describes his Tokyo Mejiro Gym as the first kickboxing gym in the world. Kurosaki's student Toshio Fujiwara won the Rajadamnern stadium title on 18 March 1978 in Tokyo as the first foreigner, and Jan Plas also trained under him. The Amsterdam Mejiro Gym was named after the Tokyo district of Mejiro, where Kurosaki had his dojo. According to VICE from 2018, its alumni include Rob Kaman, Andy Souwer, Peter Aerts and Remy Bonjasky, and it is run by André Mannaart with his son Roël. According to the same article, several schools claim the title of cradle of Dutch kickboxing.
Frequently asked questions
What is Dutch kickboxing?
Dutch kickboxing is a style of kickboxing that has been taking shape since the 1970s in Amsterdam gyms out of kyokushin, Japanese kickboxing and Muay Thai. Black Belt magazine describes it more as a training trend within kickboxing with roots in Kenji Kurosaki's Mejiro Gym.
What is the difference between Dutch kickboxing and Muay Thai?
Under IFMA rules, Muay Thai also scores elbows, and the bout begins with the Wai Kru ritual. Dutch fighters compete mainly under K-1 and Glory rules, which ban elbows and throws and limit the clinch to one immediate knee strike.
Why are the Dutch so successful in kickboxing?
We have not yet found the cause of their success in an independent source. The results can be documented: the Dutch won 15 of 19 editions of the K-1 World Grand Prix, among them Peter Aerts, Ernesto Hoost, Remy Bonjasky, Semmy Schilt and Alistair Overeem. According to Black Belt magazine, the gyms Mejiro, Chakuriki and Golden Glory were founded by Jon Bluming and his students.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.