Why Dutch Kickboxing Is So Dominant

When we think of great kickboxing countries, there are 2 nations that immediately spring to mind. These are both Thailand and the Netherlands. Whilst Thailand has a rich history of Muay Thai, the Netherlands is really not a large country and doesn’t have much interest in combat sports. Despite having so many successful kickboxers, the two dominant sports in the Netherlands are cycling and soccer.

It may seem odd then that Dutch kickboxing is respected worldwide and has done very well in both K1 and MMA. It is very rare that a relatively small country with a small population is able to dominate a global sport with no real financial or national backing. However, as you will learn, it is really no surprise that the Netherlands does so well.

A Short History Of Dutch Kickboxing

Compared to other martial arts, Dutch Kickboxing is very young and only began in the late 1970s. This is very unusual since the likes of Judo, Taekwondo, Karate, and wrestling have been around for hundreds of years (and arguably longer as unorganized sports).

Jan Plas is the man responsible for Dutch kickboxing, having traveled to Japan to train Kyokushin karate. After training full contact Kyokushin in Japan for many years, it goes without saying that Plas was a high-level kickboxer.

After returning back to the Netherlands, Plas founded the Dutch kickboxing association and created his own gym. Not only did Plas raise many top-level fighters through the Vos gym system, but he is also responsible for inspiring several generations of Dutch kickboxers. Dutch kickboxers are now very successful in K1 and the style has spilled over into the modern MMA skillset.

Overall, the history of Dutch kickboxing is short and very successful given the limited time it has had.

Height Advantage

Dutch men are the tallest in the world. Whilst this does not mean anything on its own, being tall and rangy is a big advantage in kickboxing. Whilst Thai’s have success in the art of 8 limbs, being able to clinch on the inside and throw elbows is not a skill you need in traditional kickboxing.

Dutch fighters are known for being tall and using jabs with high kicks whilst remaining at distance. This goes hand in hand with being tall. With that being said, being tall by itself is not enough to become a competent kickboxer, but when put together with everything else it is a lethal combination.

Willingness To Compete Against Other Styles

One key element of Dutch kickboxing is that it has never been scared of other styles. In fact, many Dutch fighters have taken part in other rulesets and fought in other countries in order to test their skills. This can be seen in modern day with the likes of Stefan Struve, Alistair Overeem, and Melvin Manhoef all moving to MMA in order to test their skills in a different format.

Ramon Dekkers is also well known for taking many fights in Thailand and Japan against top foreign opposition. Staying within the Netherlands or Northern Europe could have padded his record, but instead he wanted to fight against the best opponents in the world.

This kind of strategy is what helps martial arts evolve over time and become better. If a martial art is too insulated from other styles, it eventually becomes watered down and weakened by whoever runs the organization. A prime example of this is Taekwondo, once a very tough martial art has become an almost no-contact point-scoring sport. Dutch kickboxing on the other hand has gone from strength to strength.

Hard Sparring In The Gym

Perhaps the most controversial part of Dutch kickboxing is the hard sparring. Dutch kickboxing gyms are notorious for being places where you will get knocked down and knocked out. Sparring with headgear is relatively common, but is still not enough to fully protect against full power strikes.

It’s for this reason though, the Dutch fighters are so successful. If you train full contact sparring at 100% energy, there are obvious drawbacks which are discussed below. However, there is nothing quite like real-world experience. Full contact sparring is pretty much an exact replication of a real-life kickboxing match. Other than this, you are very limited in the gym, being able to train only technique and cardio is good – but not quite full power sparring.

There is no doubt that this will make you 100% ready for a real kickboxing fight. If you’ve already had 10 kickboxing fights in your local gym, a real match is not going to be any different. If you’re shadowboxing and not taking or throwing any headshots, you would be in for a nasty surprise when going up against a Dutch man.

The Dark Side Of Hard Sparring

Although the benefits of hard sparring have already been outlined above, there are many Dutch fighters who “leave their career in the gym”. The human body is simply not designed to take repeated heavy blows to the head. Even if you are not knocked out consistently, you may be walking around with a concussion without knowing and suffer from CTE in later life. This can lead to mental problems and poor decision-making – something which we have seen happen to Dutch kickboxers in later life.

As a real-world example, Daniel Ghita, Ernesto Hoost, and Peter Aerts all suffer from CTE related problems. These were all top-level kickboxers who made it to the top and had many fights. Whilst their sparring in the gym no doubt helped them reach the highest level, it also did a lot of damage to their brains.

Unfortunately, it gets even worse than this. All the fighters mentioned have had huge success in the sport of kickboxing. Many Dutch fighters cannot reach the elite level and instead lose their career whilst in the gym. Being a champion and having CTE is one thing, and something a fighter may accept in order to reach the top. However, if you never reach the top and still suffer from brain injuries, it is likely not worth the suffering at all.