Kyokushin Budokai
Style of Jon Bluming that, according to its organization IBK, combines full-contact kyokushin karate with throws and ground fighting. Today it bears the name All-Round Fighting.
Quick Facts
NetherlandsCharacter & Origin
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.
Catalogs & Databases for Kyokushin Budokai
About Kyokushin Budokai
Kyokushin Budokai, today called Kyokushin Budokai All-Round Fighting (ARF), is according to the website of the organization International Budo Kaikan (IBK) a system combining full-contact karate, throws and ground fighting. It was founded by Jon Bluming, born in Amsterdam. The IBK website states that its roots go back to 1965, when Bluming began combining judo with full-contact kyokushin karate together with Rinus Schulz and Henri Series. We have not been able to determine the year of founding unambiguously from the sources. The IBK website states that in 1980 Bluming founded Kyokushin Budo Kai (KBK), which on 9 January 1996 was transformed into International Budo Kaikan, in Japanese Kokusai Budo Kaikan. Bluming's biography on the same website, however, gives his break with kyokushin as 1970 and the founding of the IBK as 1988. English Wikipedia states that Bluming left the IKO in 1980. The IBK states that in 1965 Masutatsu Oyama awarded Bluming 6th dan in kyokushin, and credits him with, among others, 9th dan in judo and 10th dan in Kyokushin Budokai. According to RTV Utrecht he died in December 2018 in De Bilt at the age of 85. After his death, according to Dutch Wikipedia, two divisions arose within the IBK, of which Kyokushin Budokai All-Round Fighting is led by Eric Van Vaerenbergh.
History
According to English Wikipedia, Johannes Cornelius Bluming was born on 6 February 1933 in Amsterdam. According to RTV Utrecht, he fought in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953 as a volunteer in the Dutch battalion. In Japan, according to his own article from 2000, he trained under Oyama several evenings a week and at weekends, and wore only a white belt in his dojo. According to Dutch Wikipedia, Bluming founded the Nederlandse Karate Associatie in Oyama's name (English Wikipedia gives the date 2 January 1962), in 1968 the Europese Karate Organisatie, and in 1980, after leaving the IKO, Kyokushin Budo Kai. RTV Utrecht called him the first foreigner to teach karate in the country where karate originated and an important ambassador of kyokushin in Europe. According to English Wikipedia, Bluming gradually became a critic of Oyama's policies and left over disagreements with him. According to English Wikipedia, he died on 17 December 2018 in De Bilt.
Technique
The IBK website describes Bluming's system as a combination of full-contact karate, throws and ground fighting. According to the website, the name All-Round is explained by the system adapting to controlling the opponent one is fighting. According to the IBK website, ARF instructors use strikes from boxing, muay thai, kickboxing, kyokushin and the open palm, and judo, ju-jutsu, sambo, BJJ or catch wrestling for throws, takedowns and ground fighting. English Wikipedia describes the IBK as an organization that promotes Kyokushin Budokai focused on self-defense with an emphasis on throws similar to judo. The IBK website states that the roots of the system reach back to 1965, when Bluming with Rinus Schulz and Henri Series began combining judo with full-contact kyokushin karate.
Today
After Bluming's death, two divisions arose in the IBK, according to Dutch Wikipedia. Kyokushin full contact karate is led by kancho Jan de Bruin with honorary president Kenji Kurosaki, and Kyokushin Budokai All-Round Fighting by kancho Eric Van Vaerenbergh with honorary president Chris Dolman. In 2024, according to the same source, Bluming's title kaicho was replaced by the title kaiso at the family's wish. The board of the IBK for Kyokushin Budokai consists, according to the organization's website, of Eric Van Vaerenbergh, Marc Howes and Tom Madsen. The IBK website claims that it is the only organization founded by Bluming and the only one that adheres to his teaching. According to English Wikipedia, the rules of the IBK are followed by World Kyokushin Budokai led by Pedro Roiz, represented in 52 countries according to the organization. In 2012, according to the same source, Bernard Creton founded World Independent Budokai Kan, registered as a non-profit organization in Switzerland.
Did you know
According to RTV Utrecht, Bluming appeared in Dutch films, including Turks fruit and Naakt over de schutting from 1973. In 2023, according to VPRO Cinema, Vuk Janić made a documentary about him, Het Beest van Amsterdam, on his wartime traumas and his relationship to violence, featuring Jan de Bruin, Chris Dolman and Sem Schilt. According to the Dutch Wikipedia, Bluming never faced Anton Geesink because he belonged to a rival judo federation, and he was not allowed to compete at international judo championships. The same source lists the judoka Wim Ruska and Chris Dolman and the karateka Jan Kallenbach and Otti Roethof among his students. In 1967 he published a two-volume manual, Kyokushinkai Karate, with Kenji Kurosaki, and in 1999 the autobiography Van straatschoffie tot 10e dan.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Kyokushin Budokai?
Jon Bluming, born in Amsterdam. The IBK website lists him as the founder of Kyokushin Budo Kai and of the later organization International Budo Kaikan.
When did Kyokushin Budokai come into being?
Sources differ. The IBK website gives KBK's founding as 1980 and its change into IBK on 9 January 1996, Bluming's biography there his split in 1970 and IBK's founding in 1988.
How does Kyokushin Budokai differ from kyokushin?
Per the IBK website, it adds throws, takedowns and ground fighting from judo and other fighting styles to its parent kyokushin. English Wikipedia stresses self-defense and judo-like throws.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.