Remon Hartkamp is a karate instructor and owns his own karate studio. 43 years old, Hartkamp has been married to his wife for 20 years whom he met at the dojo. They are a cute karate family with two children. He owns a studio Tensho Karate-Do with his friend Erik Stok where they have members from 6 years to 76 years. Their style is Kyokushin and Total karate and they are in Leeuwarden.

Choosing karate:              

Hartkamp was not always interested in karate, instead, he was fond of football, and in fact, he was a very good player. But when his parents moved to Leeuwarden, he could not find such a good team even after trying for two years. Luckily his brother was already learning judo at a gym. He went to have a look at the karate training and fell for it. He was 12 years old when he started learning karate.

He always liked kicking and hitting. He had been in fights while growing up and during his football days when they got bullied for losing the match. His kicks were his only weapon against the bullies.

Karate training:

Hartkamp started karate when he was 12 and later he started kickboxing. He has 4^th Dan in Kyokushin and the 5th dan in Taal karate. He has got his teacher’s diploma NSC-NSF approved and became a referee at the KBN where he is an A-license holder in both kata and Kumite.

Achievements:

Mr. Hartkamp is a 2 times Northern Netherlands champion, 2 times 3rd at NK, and one time 4th at open European championships BOGO karate. He was 15 years old with a green belt and was fighting adult guys with black belts at that time. He agrees it was exhausting but it was such healthy competition.

Kata and Kumite preference:

Mr. Hartkamp prefers Kumite, but not the WKF rules and also not the real Full contact, a mixture well standing, not the hopping, but also not too static as with full contact, the functional movement for a quick punch or kick and then a low kick or knee over it. A completely balanced Kumite in fact. They also teach the youth at their dojo the same way, Randori. They do keep the WKF game, from 12 years old controlled low kicks are added.  They also train kata because they think that one does not rule out the other to become a complete karateka.

Favorite sensei:

Masutasu’Mas’Oyama as the founder of the kyokushin style is his favorite sensei. Along with Hendry Thamrin, his first Sensei, he learned a lot from it.  Karate- a hobby: Hartkamp considers karate still a hobby, he works full-time at the Gamma DIY store. Erik and he takes turns teaching 3 groups: young youth, juniors, and Seniors. In addition, he often referees at tournaments, or visit internships/training courses of befriended karate colleagues or give internships ourselves, because he has obtained 5th dan in TOtaal karate and have developed a kata himself with a connecting kihon program and matching bunkai. 

Inspiration:

According to Hartkamp his only inspiration is his own students and former training buddies. He wants to learn how they keep their training while maintaining their busy schedules. He also wants to do it so that he can help some of his own students at his dojo who are busy and one who is autistic. For Hartkamp, seeing his students fighting in a healthy competition without injuring each other and respecting each other makes him so proud.  In addition, he is a film lover and I cannot get enough of the Rocky films. He always trains with one thing in mind MO-ICHI-DO.

Challenges:

For Mr. Hartkamp the biggest challenge is to get to his own karate. He said that even after 20 years, the style platform is still about the hand that or hand that way. He thinks that karate practitioners are still on the form and not on the content. He wants to go for more practical karate. Karate that is useful in a street fight.

As far as injuries are concerned, he broke his elbow once because the opponent grabbed his arm and gave a mae-geri. He once broke 2 fingers because he didn’t know that you shouldn’t make a nukite to the hard parts of your body back then.

Motivation:

According to Hartkamp his motivation comes from the words that never give up, never stop learning, and adapt. Being able to help the long-harassed kids and giving students the learning of how to defend their selves and face their bullies is what motivates him to continue teaching.  Strengths:               As he is being tall, strong, and mentally capable of karate makes him a hard target already. He knows what he wants and lands right there.  He says does not whine on his problems aqnd brags about them instead he face and find solutions. He really likes the traditional rules such as arriving on time, silence, attitude and respect, discipline, and cooperation, but always remaining friendly and approachable to learners and their parents or partners. Also to create a safe workplace for everyone in the Dojo.

Piece of Advice:

Mr. Hartkamp gave his advice to respect, follow discipline, and cooperate. He also advised not to be selfish, don’t be difficult, and be content with what you have