Jon Bluming’s martial arts journey began when he saw his first Judo demonstration when recovering from injuries received during the Korean war. Prior to this and like many young men, he’d already tried Boxing, training with the amazing Joël (Joop) Cosman. After his service he quickly sought out and found the Tung – Jen Judo club in Amsterdam. His enthusiasm for the fighting arts saw him achieving his first Dan in Judo in 1954. This was his first steps towards a lifelong obsession with Japanese martial arts and its philosophy. By 1956, he was a second Dan and his prowess as a formidable fighter was growing. A year later in 1957, he successfully captained the Dutch team to become European champions. But Kaiso wasn’t finished with 1957 yet! At one of the largest Judo camps in Europe, Kaiso was awarded his third Dan by the famous Judoka Tokyo Hirano, after Kaiso beat 75 top Judo fighters within 26 minutes! This was an extraordinary feat. By 1959, after winning many tournaments, Kaiso decided that he needed to return to Japan to further improve his skills. It was in the Land of the Rising Sun that his talent, motivation and good humour are still spoken of today. It was here that he started to study other martial arts, including Kyokushin Full Contact Karate directly under Sosai Oyama at the famous original dojo. He shared a house in the Ichigaya section of Tokyo with Donn Draeger and other now famous martial artists. The stories of these times are legendary! But Kaiso was driving himself non stop and by 1961 he became second Dan in Kyokushin Full Contact Karate and he then introduced this martial art to Europe. Alongside outstanding achievements in Judo, his dedication, fighting ability and promotion of Kyokushin Full Contact Karate did not go unnoticed by Sosai Oyama. On 18 November 1965, Sosai Oyama awarded Kaiso Bluming his sixth Dan! This made him the highest grade within the system. But Kaiso did not stand still. He continued to develop himself and with his high skill level in many martial arts, he began to realise both the weaknesses and strengths in those seperate systems. Slowly the seeds of Kyokushin Budokai All-Round Fighting were growing… In 1970 after conversations with Sosai Oyama, Kaiso broke away from Kyokushin Full Contact Karate. This was after Kaiso had built it up to a huge and popular Full Contact Karate style within Europe. Kaiso now wished to continue developing his own system, which combined Full Contact Karate, throws and groundfighting. This is why he’s often called the Godfather of MMA. The combination of his systems effectiveness, his knowledge and charisma, soon had martial artists from all over the world traveling to him to learn his incredible style. It became so popular that in 1988 he formed an umbrella organisation called the International Budo Kaikan. Right up until his death, Kaiso never stopped improving himself, or his system. Towards the end of his life, he drew his three most loyal senior students together and gave them instructions on how he wanted his organisation and system to continue developing. His tragic death on 17 December 2018 deprived the world of one of its greatest martial artists...