Michael John Heming was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 karate

Karate

is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...

ka and kickboxer

Kickboxing

Kickboxing refers to a group of martial arts and stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching, historically developed from karate, Muay Thai and western boxing....

. He was European Middleweight Kickboxing Champion and British Semi-Contact Middleweight Champion in the 1970s, who complied an impressive winning streak before losing to Jean-Claude Van Damme

Jean-Claude Van Damme

Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg , professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor, best known for his martial arts action films, the most successful of which include Bloodsport , Kickboxer , Double Impact , Universal Soldier , Hard Target , Timecop ,...

 in 1980.

Early life

Michael John Heming was born in Filton

Filton

Filton is a town in South Gloucestershire, England, situated on the northern outskirts of the city of Bristol, about from the city centre. Filton lies in Bristol postcode areas BS7 and BS34. The town centres upon Filton Church, which dates back to the 12th century and is a grade II listed building...

, Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....

, England, the son of Nancy Heming and Stephan el. Heming, a supermarket owner from Bradford on Avon. He attended Bristol Primary School and graduated from Bristol Central High School in 1979.

In 1967 Michael's mother, Nancy Heming was shot in the arm when she tried to fight off two men who were attempting to rob her husband's supermarket. Michael threw a can of creamed corn at the assalaints as they exited the store but it missed. The two men were never found. Nancy fully recovered, but Michael was left with deep feelings of helplessness and guilt.

Martial arts career

In the spring of 1968, Heming asked his father to enroll him in martial arts, and on 24 January 1969 he was enrolled at Filton Shotokan Karate School as a birthday present.

In 1976 he earned his black belt and later went on to win the 1979 European Karate Association's middleweight championship.

Heming lost his middleweight title when he was defeated by Jean-Claude Van Damme

Jean-Claude Van Damme

Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg , professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor, best known for his martial arts action films, the most successful of which include Bloodsport , Kickboxer , Double Impact , Universal Soldier , Hard Target , Timecop ,...

 on December 16, 1979.

Kickboxing/Full-Contact/Semi-Contact Record

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Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Date	Round	Time	Event	Location	Notes
Win	1-0-0	Mark Hamilton Mark Hamilton Mark Hamilton may refer to:*Mark Hamilton , bass guitarist for the Northern Irish alternative rock band Ash*Mark Hamilton , American sprint canoer*Mark Hamilton , with UK rock band Quench...	Decision	1978	3		Independent Promotion	Coventry Coventry Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Full-Contact
Win	2-0-0	George Swanson	Technical Knockout	1978	3			Coventry Coventry Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Full-Contact
Win	3-0-0	Nigel Williams Nigel Williams Nigel Williams may refer to:*Nigel Williams , British novelist, screenwriter and playwright.*Nigel Williams , American ice hockey defenceman.*Nigel Williams , English former professional footballer....		January 1, 1979	3		UK Open Karate Tournament	London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Semi-Contact
Win	4-0-0	Tom Eastman Tom Eastman Thomas Michael Eastman is an English professional footballer who plays for Football League One side Colchester United.-Ipswich Town:Thomas Micheal Eastman started playing football at the age of eight for his local team, Weeley, in Essex...		January 1, 1979	3		UK Open Karate Tournament	London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Semi-Contact
Win	5-0-0	Gavin Rodgers	Decision	January 1, 1979	3		UK Open Karate Tournament	London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Semi-Contact
Loss	5-1-0	Frank Brennan Frank Brennan Father Frank Tennison Brennan, AO, SJ , an Australian Jesuit priest, human rights lawyer, and Professor of Law in the Public Policy Institute, at the Australian Catholic University. Brennan serves as the Director of the Uniya Jesuit Social Justice Centre in Sydney...		1979	3		Grand Championship of Europe	Belgium Belgium Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...	Semi-Contact
Win	6-1-0	Gary Daniels Gary Daniels Gary Edward Daniels is a British kickboxer and martial arts actor. Daniels appears mostly in action-oriented B-movies. Daniels has been in over 50 films since his start as an extra in an episode of the 1980s television series Miami Vice. He is best known for playing Kenshiro in the live-action...	Foul	1979	1		Bristish Full-Contact Organization	London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Full-Contact
Loss	6-2-0	Gary Daniels Gary Daniels Gary Edward Daniels is a British kickboxer and martial arts actor. Daniels appears mostly in action-oriented B-movies. Daniels has been in over 50 films since his start as an extra in an episode of the 1980s television series Miami Vice. He is best known for playing Kenshiro in the live-action...	Knockout	1979	1	1:03	Bristish Full-Contact Organization	London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Full-Contact
Win	7-2-0	Lloyd Brown Lloyd Brown Lloyd Brown may refer to:* Lloyd Brown * Lloyd Brown * Lloyd L .Brown, USA, trade unionist and Civil Rights organiser, author of Iron City and latterly secretary to Paul Robeson, Jr....		1979	3		European Karate Association	London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Kickboxing (Middleweight Championship)
Win	8-2-0	Sean Robin		June 11, 1979	3		British Empire Regional Championships	London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Semi-Contact http://www.listal.com/jean--claude-van-damme
Win	9-2-0	Keith O'Grady	Knockout	1980	1	0:21	European Middleweight Championship	London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Kickboxing
Win	10-2-0	Keith O'Grady	Knockout	1980	1	0:58	European Middleweight Championship	Blackpool Blackpool Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Kickboxing
Win	11-2-0	Tom Connley	Knockout	1980	3		European Middleweight Championship	Ireland Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...	Kickboxing http://www.listal.com/jean--claude-van-damme
Win	12-2-0	Robert Connor Robert Connor Robert Connor may refer to:*Bobby Connor, Scottish international footballer*Robert Connor , South African tennis player*Robert Digges Wimberly Connor, first Archivist of the United States-See also:*Robert O'Connor...	Knockout	1980	1		European Middleweight Championship	Blackpool Blackpool Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Kickboxing
Win	13-2-0	Keith O'Grady	Knockout	1980	1		European Middleweight Championship	Blackpool Blackpool Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Kickboxing
Loss	13-3-0	Jean-Claude Van Damme Jean-Claude Van Damme Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg , professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor, best known for his martial arts action films, the most successful of which include Bloodsport , Kickboxer , Double Impact , Universal Soldier , Hard Target , Timecop ,...	Knockout	1980	1	0:46	European Middleweight Championship	Brussels Brussels Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union... , Belgium Belgium Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...	Kickboxing
Win	14-3-0	Colin Niles	Knockout	January 19, 1981	2		British Full-Contact Elimination Tournament	London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Full-Contact: Middleweight Division
Loss	14-4-0	Nick da Costa	Knockout	January 19, 1981	2		British Full-Contact Elimination Tournament	London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Full-Contact: Middleweight Division
Loss	14-5-0	Dev Barrett	Knockout	1982	2		British Full-Contact Middleweight Championship	Coventry Coventry Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Full-Contact
Loss	14-6-0	Wayne Otto	Decision	1982	3			London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Semi-Contact
Win	15-6-0	Sean Barry	Knockout	January 1, 1983	1	0:18		London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Kickboxing
Win	16-6-0	Peter Gleason	Knockout	January 8, 1983	1	0:57		Liverpool Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Kickboxing

Retirement

Heming retired from professional Karate in 1983 after being diagnosed with hypertrophy of the ventricular myocardium.

Death

His heart continued to worsen and in September 1984 it was determined that his condition was terminal. Michael J. Heming died suddenly on October 17, 1984 at his home in Filton, Bristol. He is interred at Memorial Woodlands Cemetery in Bristol, England.