Jon Bluming

Johannes Cornelius Bluming (6 February 1933 – 17 December 2018) was a Dutch martial artist, instructor and actor. Known as a pioneer in variety of martial arts, Bluming held 9th dan in Judo, 10th dan in Kyokushinkai Karate and 10th dan in Hapkido. He was also the coach of two-time Olympic champion Willem Ruska. Career Early life and training Born in Amsterdam, at young age, Bluming grew up in a Jewish neighbourhood during the Nazi occupation of Netherlands. When he was 13, he started to train in Boxing, but three years later he applied for the Marines to escape poverty and was accepted to the bootcamp in Doorn in July 1949. During the break out of the Korean War in 1950, Bluming was sent to Korea as part of the van Heutz regiment. He received several decorations and was wounded twice, having to be moved to Tokyo to recover. It was there where he came in contact with Asian martial arts, witnessing a Judo exhibition by Kyuzo Mifune at the Kodokan school in March 1953. Deciding to try Judo when he returned to Holland, Bluming meanwhile trained Hapkido in Korea. Back in the Netherlands in November, Bluming trained in Judo under Eddy Roosterman and the renowned G. F. M. Schutte at the Tung-Yang Club, gaining his black belt in three years. In 1956, Bluming was appointed coach of the Dutch national team, which won the European championships in Bellevue. The following year he received the 3rd Dan from Tokio Hirano by beating 75 Judokas in 26 minutes, one of them being another 3rd Dan, in a tournament in Ermelo, in which Bluming also fought with an injured toe. The victory got him invited to teach at a police dojo in Berlin, Germany. After winning some tournaments, he moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada in 1958, teaching Judo at the Dalhousie University. However, after finding himself struggling to defeat an American 4th Dan while in United States, he finally moved to Tokyo, Japan in 1959.