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Japanese Low Kicks (Mejiro Style)
Letâs summarize: So far weâve discussed a little history on Kyokushin Karate and how Japanese Karateka blended it with Muay Thai and boxing to create the unique stand-up style known as Japanese Kickboxing. We also covered what legs are. Thereâs one more thing that we havenât circled back to: low kicks. Low kicks are one of my favorite techniques in all of combat. It is a joy watching a professional fighter limp back to their corner, after getting their legs brutalized. With low kicks having been part of global kickboxing for decades now, they are also ubiquitous inside the combat sport of MMA. Given that we surmise (without certainty) that low kicks originated at least 2,700 years ago, we know it has evolved. That lineage has traveled through time and atmosphere, making it all the way to the Japanese form of Goju-ryu Karate around 1930, which is what influenced Masutatsu Oyama to include low kicks in his Kyokushin curriculum. We are obviously skipping ahead thousands of years in the martial arts timeline. Now if youâre familiar with Kyokushin low kicks, low kicks of the Mejiro style are virtually the same, with small modifications. If youâve ever watched Kyokushin sparring or fighting, youâll know that the style is built for close range, pressure-based combat. These guys have some of the most well conditioned shins on planet earth, engineered and calibrated for leg to leg warfare. In terms of range, most of their kicks are exchanged at a distance much shorter than we are used to seeing MMA fighters use today. This allows them to keep the pressure on their opponent, remain inside the pocket, and keep firing away with their hands. When throwing a Mejiro style low kick in kickboxing or MMA, the goal is to land your middle to lower shin on your opponentâs lead leg. The target area is your opponentâs mid to upper thigh, closer to their buttocks. Landing too high would risk injuring your leg on their hip bone, and landing too low would be dangerously close to their kneecap. Throwing the kick at a closer range only requires a turning of your lead foot to get the right angle on the kick, whereas throwing at distance works better with a small step outward with the same foot, at a 45 degree angle, about the same angle you would be operating in with your kicking leg. The further you are from your opponent, the smaller the angle will be. In pure Kyokushin, when two combatants are exchange up close, the kicker takes a bigger step outward with their lead foot, and throws the kick at more of a horizontal angle, parallel to the floor. This is almost like a Thai style kick, but with the lead arm extended backwards, and the kick being straight instead at a downward, chopping angle. Part of the Kyokushin curriculum is being able to throw punches and kicks in combination, and these specialists do that really well. If youâve ever watched two Kyokushin guys go at it under knockdown rules, youâll know itâs high intensity. However, one thing we can observe about these fights is that while these guys do throw both punches and kicks in combination, they often do it in one of the following ways:
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Charging forward and throwing hands, throwing a low kick, then resetting and attacking with hands again
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Throwing powerful low kicks (or other kicks) that require them to load up
The observeration here being that although Kyokushin fighters are adept at using both punches and kicks, they are often open for counters by virtue of either requiring a reset before striking again, or being off balance and out of position. Kenji Kurosaki aimed to solve that. Although there was little technical difference between the pure Kyokushin low kick and the Mejiro one, Kurosaki used the technique differently both philosophically and and tactically. Whereas both the Thais and Kyokushin Karate fighters wanted to land low kicks with power and intention, Kurosaki believed they were more effective when one emphasized speed and efficiency. He reinforced this by teaching his students to âslapâ these low kicks as opposed to slamming the shin into the thigh, turning the hips over just enough to land at an upward angle, and stepping right back into their natural stance. These modifications are more than likely due to his background in Kyokushin, his experience in Thailand, and personal beliefs about what a real fight would look like. He saw low kicks as one tool out of an entire toolbox, one that didnât have to be a primary method of attack, and could be used in a variety of ways. Kenji Kurosaki saught to make these low kicks more adaptable to any fighting scenario, coming within the flow of a complete offense. Whether a fighter was using this technique to hurt his opponent or disrupt their rhythm, it would be effective.
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Iâm re-dropping my old articles, Iâm trying to get them a little more visibility, and have them in a nicer format. So each old one I re-post on Substack I will post here, and some with pre-publish dates. Hereâs my work on Fedor, I have it set to publish on 7/25 (all you will see is a picture of Fedor until then):
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Dutch Kickboxing
The genesis of Dutch Kickboxing is a long and storied one but for this article, I will only cover the absolute basics, to provide an understanding of history and frame of reference to operate within. Remember Kenji Kurosakiâs first student and world champion, Toshio Fujiwara? Well by 1975, Fujiwara had transcended Japanâs existing conventions and expectations, having defended the All Japan Kickboxing Association title four times[22]. He had been the reigning champion since 1971, but often fought in Thailand due to limited fighting opportunities in Japan, and every so often travelled back home to defend his belt again[22]. That same year, near an event hall in Tokyo, Toshio would stumble across three important figures in Dutch martial arts: Jan Plas, Peter van den Hemmel, and Jan van Looijen[4]. These three were looking at advertisements for a kickboxing event on the side of a building, and just so happened to peek Fujiwaraâs curiosity[4]. He asked where they were from and upon learning they were from Holland, Toshio asked them if they knew Jon Bluming (Plasâ Kyokushin instructor, black belt in Kyokushin, black belt in Judo)[4], to which they affirmed. Toshio invited them to watch a kickboxing event that evening[4] and then introduced the trio to Kenji Kurosaki, who as we know, is the founder of Mejiro style kickboxing. All three of them trained at Mejiro Gym in Tokyo the following morning and started learning from the master himself. Kenji taught the Dutchmen his style of low kick and had them kick truck tires, bats, and bags of sand to condition their shins. They also learned elbows, clinching and throwing (which are all part of Thai boxing). These three men were taught the entire system of Mejiro kickboxing â by the end of 1975, they had returned home to the Netherlands to pass down this knowledge to other martial artists. Jan Plas started teaching this style in an old boxing gym in the same year until opening his own standalone gym called Mejiro Gym Amsterdam, in 1978[8]. Jan Plas would take this time to develop and teach his own system of striking now known as Dutch Kickboxing (and inaccurately referred to as Dutch Muay Thai), and would make Mejiro Gym the launchpad and gold standard in kickboxing for years to come. This team built Dutch kickboxing world champions such as Rob Kaman, Peter Aerts, and the earliest, Lucien Carbin, who was a first generation (Dutch) Mejiro fighter[8]. Lucien was also a coach at Mejiro and trained Kaman himself, along with future kickboxing stars like Alistair Overeem and Tyrone Spong. Lucien Carbin was the first known combat practitioner of the style of Dutch Kickboxing, and was a national champion in the disciplines of Savate, Muay Thai, and Kyokushin Karate. Although there are stylistic differences between Japanese and Dutch kickboxing, we will only cover the essentials. Generally speaking the Dutch have a more pressure based style that aims to put punches and kicks together efficiently, with more of a focus on throwing long boxing combinations, punctuated by low kicks. These guys are aggressive, well-conditioned, and full of elite skills. Here is a world champion putting those combinations together:
(video of Rob Kaman)
Dutch fighters generally use less evasive footwork and rely more on head movement and the Dutch guard, which is essentially a modified boxing guard. Because of their hard sparring and training, Dutch fighters are known for their durability and toughness, with a âtake two to give oneâ attitude, and are always looking for the knockout. Rob Kaman used a lot more footwork and switched stances, whereas Peter Aerts may be the best visualization of the pure Dutch style. A lot of Dutch fighters use a bladed stance with a slight bend in the knees, like Ernesto Hoost. Both Ramon Dekkers and Peter Aerts are examples of guys that had more of an upright stance, like Thai fighters do. Like Kyokushin, Dutch kickboxing puts a heavy emphasis on attacking the body, with both kicks and punches. Remy Bonjasky is another fighter who embodies the pure Dutch style, stalking his opponents, with a high defensive guard, and adding in his array of flying knees and kicks.
Dutch Low Kicks
When it comes to Dutch low kicks, the technique is the same as the Japanese style. The mechanics of the kick come from Kyokushin, and regardless of a fighterâs martial arts background, most Dutch fighters learn it, and use it. Iâll repeat the two primary ways in which this kick is thrown: the first is throwing at an upward angle, turning your lead foot outward. The kick lands at around a 45 degree angle, slapping above the knee. Like Masato:
(video of Masato)
The other way we see is at a near 90 degree angle â not quite a Thai style chopping kick, but more parallel to the ground. Like this:
(Rob Kaman throwing low kicks)
There are many fighters that employ both styles of low kicks, and some that also incorporate more Thai into it. Both the Dutch and Japanese style aim to keep their head back when they throw these kicks, as to not put a big target in range for an opponent to counter. Dutch low kicks find the perfect blend of Kyokushin and Japanese style â kicking at close range without being vulnerable to counters, and following up kicks with punches instead of retreating or angling out. Some Dutch fighters even use kicks to close distance.
Here is more of Rob Kaman, as he uses the low kick to get into range, then uses it again to exit.
Here is the Lucien Carbin (one of Kamanâs coaches) throwing a low kick.
And of course, the Japanese pioneer Toshio Fujiwara throwing a mixture of horizontal and upward.
I canât post the videos here because this forum doesnât allow local video files to be posted, so youâll have to look at the Substack article to see those.
Tamura was trained by the great old time wrestler, lou thesz
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Correction: part 1 of Fedor will drop 7/15, not 7/25.
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Yes sir he was
A History Of Dominance
Every fighter in this article has long been retired, and some have even passed away (Rest In Peace to Jan Plas, Ramon Dekkers, and Rob Kaman). But we are not so disconnected from these pioneers and champions. In fact, some of the most dominant fighting forces in the world are still using the Dutch style, and a LOT of combatants fighting in MMA today use the same method of low kicking. Nieky Holzken is a great example of the Dutch style in kickboxing. Heâs a former GLORY world champion and tournament winner, and has been one of the woldâs best kickboxers for a long time.
His kickboxing lineage would be Kenji Kurosaki >> Jon Bluming >> Cor Hemmers >> Nieky Holzken[1]
Alistair Overeem is another Dutch fighter, having fought in both Kickboxing and MMA, and holds world championships in both. He comes from the same lineage, but took a different path.
His lineage would be Kenji Kurosaki >> Jan Plas >> Lucien Carbin >> Alistair Overeem[1]
In MMA, we have Michael Chandler.
Chandler has developed into a strong low kicker over the last several years, and itâs no surprise, based on where he trains.
Believe it or not, his lineage checks out:
Kenji Kurosaki >> Jan Plas >> Henri Hooft (Kill Cliff FC) >> Michael Chandler
There are more exceptional kickers in MMA like Jose Aldo, Edson Barboza, and many others. Some of them come from the Dutch lineage and some have more of a Thai style, and some use a blend of both.
We started here:
(Mejiro, Tokyo, Japan)
Travelled here:
(Amsterdam, Netherlands)
And eventually, ended up here:
(Deerfield Beach, Florida)
Here are some other important gyms in the development of Dutch kickboxing:
In just 60 years, we have seen Dutch low kicks go from complete non-existence, to obscurity, and now to not just universal acceptance, but full assimilation and dominance. That is all thanks to people like Masutatsu Oyama, Kenji Kurosaki, Jon Bluming, Jan Plas, Johan Vos, Peter van den Hemel, Jan van Looijen, Thom Harinck, Bas Boon, Chris Dolman, Cor Hemmers, and many other names I havenât mentioned, or have been lost to time. Long live the power of low kicks.
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Epic Rizzo