Rob Kaman
Encyclopedia
Rob "The Dutchman" Kaman (Born June 5, 1960 in Amsterdam
) is a Dutch
retired 9 time kickboxing
and Muay Thai
world champion considered by many as the greatest kickboxer of all time. Often called "Mr. Low Kick" because of his feared low kicks which he used to set up his devastating offensive attacks.
at Mejiro Gym
under Jan Plas
.
In 1980 Rob became an A-class fighter in the Netherlands
. He won most of his fights by K.O. The turning point for him was his fight with Blinky Rodriquez, the cousin of Benny Urquidez
. Rob knocked him out in the 2nd round with a low kick to the leg. That was his international breakthrough. From then on, Rob started fighting in Thailand
.
His first fight in Thailand was against Dennoi, a local champion. Rob won by K.O. and was asked to fight Lakchart, a Thai champion, in Bangkok
. He lost that fight but learned a lot from the loss.
On the 23rd of September 1983 he fought John Moncayo for the world title WKA
of kickboxing. Rob knocked him out in the 3rd round with a low kick and became the first European WKA world champion in kickboxing.
On the 12th of January 1984 he fought Payap Premchai, the champion of Thailand, in the Jaap Edenhal in Amsterdam
and was declared the winner by unanimous decision.
In April 1984 he had a rematch with John Moncayo in Miami, Florida
. This time he knocked Moncayo out with a punch in the 2nd round. At the end of that year he beat the great Thai fighter Samart Prasanmirt in Hong Kong
as well as Jean Marc Tonus for the European title of full contact.
During the year 1985, he beat Larry McFadden in the 3rd round by a knockout and three months later he took his revenge on Lakchart. He knocked the Thai out in the 4th round.
After that, Rob fought a lot of different fighters in Amsterdam: Ernest Simmons (WKA rules), Ernesto Hoost
(WKA rules), Payap (rematch on Muay Thai rules), Roger Hurd (WKA rules) and Sittisak (Muay Thai rules). He won them all and at the end of 1987 the Japanese asked him to come fight in Japan
.
His first fight in Japan was against Lakchart. Rob knocked him out in the 1st round. Japan became 'Kaman-crazy' and from then on he fought many times in Japan. He fought against Kirkwood Walker, Hansu Premchai, Santiago Garza, Don Nakaya Nielsen.
On the 9th of April 1989 Rob fought in Holland once again. This time against Jan Wessels from Arnhem
. Rob also organized that event and did not have the time to prepare properly for the fight. He lost the fight and a lot of people thought that his career was over. At the end of the year he came back and beat Wessels by knock out in the 2nd round for a WKA world title.
During 1990 Rob played in the movie "Bloodfist" with Don Wilson and Billy Blanks
and fought three times against Changpuek Kiatsongrit from Thailand and Eddy Matthieu from France.
During the summer he had to fight in Japan against Peter Smit
. Smit was a newcomer and a WKA European champion. Rob became a father with the birth of his son Gaby just before the fight. Rob lost his world title.
Kaman came back once again. He fought against the Japanese fighter Nishi in Japan and won by 1st round knock out. The promoters in Holland matched him a super fight with the new upcoming fighter Ernesto Hoost
. Before the fight Hoost
was the favorite but Kaman managed to knock him out in the 5th round. For most kickboxing fans, that fight with Ernesto Hoost
is the best fight ever fought in Holland.
On 29th of June 1991, Kaman fought Luc Verheye in France for the world WKA title. Luc Verheye had beaten Peter Smit and was the new world champion. This didn't last long Kaman beat Luc Verheye and took his title back.
He fought in France against fighters like Rick Roufus
, Mark Russell, Justin Ward, Zito Polyo etc. One of his best fights was against Marek Piotrowski
, who he beat by K.O. in the 7th round.
On 20th of June 1992 Rob fought "the fight of the fights" against Jean-Yves Thériault, the greatest full contact champion ever. Rob won the fight by TKO and became the new ISKA
world champion. He was at the same time world champion in WKA kickboxing and world champion in Muay Thai.
On 26th of November 1993 Rob fought after three years in Holland, this time against another great Dutch champion Rick V.D. Vathorst. Kaman knocked him out in the 2nd round and showed the Dutch crowd that after all these years he was still the best.
At the end of that year Nikko Toshogu Press produced 8 videotapes on Muay Thai training with Rob Kaman and one videotape with highlights and knock outs of his career. Rob also played in two movies with Jean-Claude Van Damme
, "Maximum Risk" and "Double Team" with Dennis Rodman
and Mickey Rourke
. After that he fought again in France, this time in Marseille
, again against a newcomer from Holland, Orlando Breinburg. He won by TKO in the 3rd round.
In 1995 he participated in the K-2 tournament in Paris, France. His first fight was against Lavelle Robinson and he won by KO. In his second fight he fought the Australian Tosca Petridis
and was the winner again. In the finals after fought already two times that night he went against Jerome Turcan from France. Rob was full of injuries from his previous fights. During round 4 he was bleeding heavily and amazed everyone when he knocked Turcan out with two amazing high kicks at the end of the round. After all his world titles, he also won the K-2 tournament in Paris, France.
After only a few fights in the later years, because of too many injuries and a new movie with Jean-Claude Van Damme (The Legionnaire), Rob decided to end his career, back where it all started, in Holland. On 24 October 1999, he fought for the last time, against Alexey Ignashov
, a 21 year old amateur world champion in kickboxing. Rob won the fight by points, but after the fight he said that his opponent was the real winner and gave his trophy to Alexey Ignashov.
Currently, he is training UFC light heavyweight Brandon Vera
on kickboxing for MMA. He also trains MMA fighter Jason Miller.
http://www.punchdrunkgamer.com/index.php?view=article&catid=30%3Ainterviews&id=204%3Akaman-june08&option=com_content&Itemid=72
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
) is a Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
retired 9 time kickboxing
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....
and Muay Thai
Muay Thai
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...
world champion considered by many as the greatest kickboxer of all time. Often called "Mr. Low Kick" because of his feared low kicks which he used to set up his devastating offensive attacks.
Biography
In his early days he played football for AFC Ajax Amsterdam Youth Team. Rob was a good player, but never liked team sports and at the age of 16 he started training in the martial arts, first Pentjak Silat and in 1978 he started training Muay ThaiMuay Thai
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...
at Mejiro Gym
Mejiro Gym
Mejiro Gym is a kickboxing gym headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The gym is considered the "birthplace" of Dutch kickboxing.-History:...
under Jan Plas
Jan Plas
Jan Plas was a Dutch kickboxing trainer and founder of the Mejiro Gym in Amsterdam. He is considered to be one of the fathers of kickboxing in the Netherlands.Plas began his career in martial arts in karate, learning Kyokushin from Jon Bluming...
.
In 1980 Rob became an A-class fighter in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. He won most of his fights by K.O. The turning point for him was his fight with Blinky Rodriquez, the cousin of Benny Urquidez
Benny Urquidez
Benny Urquidez is an American kickboxer, martial arts choreographer and actor. Nicknamed, The Jet, Urquidez was a non-contact karate competitor who later pioneered full-contact fighting in the U.S. He made the transition from point to full-contact karate in 1974 – the year of its inception...
. Rob knocked him out in the 2nd round with a low kick to the leg. That was his international breakthrough. From then on, Rob started fighting in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
.
His first fight in Thailand was against Dennoi, a local champion. Rob won by K.O. and was asked to fight Lakchart, a Thai champion, in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
. He lost that fight but learned a lot from the loss.
On the 23rd of September 1983 he fought John Moncayo for the world title WKA
World Kickboxing Association
The World Kickboxing Association is one of the oldest and the largest amateur and professional sanctioning organizations of kickboxing in the world for the sport. Its official name is "World Kickboxing and Karate Association"....
of kickboxing. Rob knocked him out in the 3rd round with a low kick and became the first European WKA world champion in kickboxing.
On the 12th of January 1984 he fought Payap Premchai, the champion of Thailand, in the Jaap Edenhal in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
and was declared the winner by unanimous decision.
In April 1984 he had a rematch with John Moncayo in Miami, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. This time he knocked Moncayo out with a punch in the 2nd round. At the end of that year he beat the great Thai fighter Samart Prasanmirt in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
as well as Jean Marc Tonus for the European title of full contact.
During the year 1985, he beat Larry McFadden in the 3rd round by a knockout and three months later he took his revenge on Lakchart. He knocked the Thai out in the 4th round.
After that, Rob fought a lot of different fighters in Amsterdam: Ernest Simmons (WKA rules), Ernesto Hoost
Ernesto Hoost
Ernesto Fritz "Mr. Perfect" Hoost is a Dutch former kickboxer and four-time K-1 World Champion. He made his debut in 1993 at the K-1 World Grand Prix 1993, where he came just one win short of the world title...
(WKA rules), Payap (rematch on Muay Thai rules), Roger Hurd (WKA rules) and Sittisak (Muay Thai rules). He won them all and at the end of 1987 the Japanese asked him to come fight in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
His first fight in Japan was against Lakchart. Rob knocked him out in the 1st round. Japan became 'Kaman-crazy' and from then on he fought many times in Japan. He fought against Kirkwood Walker, Hansu Premchai, Santiago Garza, Don Nakaya Nielsen.
On the 9th of April 1989 Rob fought in Holland once again. This time against Jan Wessels from Arnhem
Arnhem
Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...
. Rob also organized that event and did not have the time to prepare properly for the fight. He lost the fight and a lot of people thought that his career was over. At the end of the year he came back and beat Wessels by knock out in the 2nd round for a WKA world title.
During 1990 Rob played in the movie "Bloodfist" with Don Wilson and Billy Blanks
Billy Blanks
Billy Wayne Blanks is an American fitness guru, martial artist, actor, and the inventor of the Tae Bo exercise program.-Career:Blanks began his study of the martial arts at the age of eleven and practices Karate and Taekwondo...
and fought three times against Changpuek Kiatsongrit from Thailand and Eddy Matthieu from France.
During the summer he had to fight in Japan against Peter Smit
Peter Smit
Peter "The Hurricane" Smit was a Dutch martial artist who mastered such different fight disciplines as kyokushin karate, kickboxing and Muay Thai....
. Smit was a newcomer and a WKA European champion. Rob became a father with the birth of his son Gaby just before the fight. Rob lost his world title.
Kaman came back once again. He fought against the Japanese fighter Nishi in Japan and won by 1st round knock out. The promoters in Holland matched him a super fight with the new upcoming fighter Ernesto Hoost
Ernesto Hoost
Ernesto Fritz "Mr. Perfect" Hoost is a Dutch former kickboxer and four-time K-1 World Champion. He made his debut in 1993 at the K-1 World Grand Prix 1993, where he came just one win short of the world title...
. Before the fight Hoost
Ernesto Hoost
Ernesto Fritz "Mr. Perfect" Hoost is a Dutch former kickboxer and four-time K-1 World Champion. He made his debut in 1993 at the K-1 World Grand Prix 1993, where he came just one win short of the world title...
was the favorite but Kaman managed to knock him out in the 5th round. For most kickboxing fans, that fight with Ernesto Hoost
Ernesto Hoost
Ernesto Fritz "Mr. Perfect" Hoost is a Dutch former kickboxer and four-time K-1 World Champion. He made his debut in 1993 at the K-1 World Grand Prix 1993, where he came just one win short of the world title...
is the best fight ever fought in Holland.
On 29th of June 1991, Kaman fought Luc Verheye in France for the world WKA title. Luc Verheye had beaten Peter Smit and was the new world champion. This didn't last long Kaman beat Luc Verheye and took his title back.
He fought in France against fighters like Rick Roufus
Rick Roufus
Rick Roufus is an American kickboxer, fighting out of The MMA Lab in Phoenix, Arizona. He is one of the most famous kickboxers in the United States, and has also competed in boxing and mixed martial arts...
, Mark Russell, Justin Ward, Zito Polyo etc. One of his best fights was against Marek Piotrowski
Marek Piotrowski
Marek "The Punisher" Piotrowski is a Polish retired heavyweight kickboxer and boxer. He is a former ten time kickboxing world champion.-Amateur career:...
, who he beat by K.O. in the 7th round.
On 20th of June 1992 Rob fought "the fight of the fights" against Jean-Yves Thériault, the greatest full contact champion ever. Rob won the fight by TKO and became the new ISKA
Iska
Iska is a village in Koonga Parish, Pärnu County in southwestern Estonia....
world champion. He was at the same time world champion in WKA kickboxing and world champion in Muay Thai.
On 26th of November 1993 Rob fought after three years in Holland, this time against another great Dutch champion Rick V.D. Vathorst. Kaman knocked him out in the 2nd round and showed the Dutch crowd that after all these years he was still the best.
At the end of that year Nikko Toshogu Press produced 8 videotapes on Muay Thai training with Rob Kaman and one videotape with highlights and knock outs of his career. Rob also played in two movies with 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 ,...
, "Maximum Risk" and "Double Team" with Dennis Rodman
Dennis Rodman
Dennis Keith Rodman is a retired American Hall of Fame professional basketball player of the National Basketball Association's Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks. Born in Trenton, New Jersey, he was nicknamed "Dennis the Menace" and "The...
and Mickey Rourke
Mickey Rourke
Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter and retired boxer, who has appeared primarily as a leading man in action, drama, and thriller films....
. After that he fought again in France, this time in Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
, again against a newcomer from Holland, Orlando Breinburg. He won by TKO in the 3rd round.
In 1995 he participated in the K-2 tournament in Paris, France. His first fight was against Lavelle Robinson and he won by KO. In his second fight he fought the Australian Tosca Petridis
Tosca Petridis
Tosca Petridis is a Greek-Australian former Kickboxer and Boxer.He was born in Melbourne, Australia, however is of Greek ethnicity...
and was the winner again. In the finals after fought already two times that night he went against Jerome Turcan from France. Rob was full of injuries from his previous fights. During round 4 he was bleeding heavily and amazed everyone when he knocked Turcan out with two amazing high kicks at the end of the round. After all his world titles, he also won the K-2 tournament in Paris, France.
After only a few fights in the later years, because of too many injuries and a new movie with Jean-Claude Van Damme (The Legionnaire), Rob decided to end his career, back where it all started, in Holland. On 24 October 1999, he fought for the last time, against Alexey Ignashov
Alexey Ignashov
Alexey "The Red Scorpion" Ignashov is a Belarusian Super Heavyweight kickboxer. He is a four-time Muay Thai World champion, K-1 World GP 2003 in Paris and K-1 World GP 2001 in Nagoya tournament champion...
, a 21 year old amateur world champion in kickboxing. Rob won the fight by points, but after the fight he said that his opponent was the real winner and gave his trophy to Alexey Ignashov.
Currently, he is training UFC light heavyweight Brandon Vera
Brandon Vera
Brandon Michael Vera is an American mixed martial artist. He competes as a light heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the winner of the WEC 13 Heavyweight Tournament and currently resides in San Diego, California. He holds notable victories over Frank Mir, Assuerio Silva,...
on kickboxing for MMA. He also trains MMA fighter Jason Miller.
Titles
- 1995 K-2 France Grand Prix '95 Champion
- 1992-94 I.S.K.A.International Sport Karate AssociationThe International Sport Karate Association is one of the major international bodies regulating karate and kickboxing matches, and is based in the United States...
Oriental Rules Light Heavyweight World Champion - 1992 I.S.K.A.International Sport Karate AssociationThe International Sport Karate Association is one of the major international bodies regulating karate and kickboxing matches, and is based in the United States...
Full Contact Super Middleweight World Champion - 1992 W.K.A.World Kickboxing AssociationThe World Kickboxing Association is one of the oldest and the largest amateur and professional sanctioning organizations of kickboxing in the world for the sport. Its official name is "World Kickboxing and Karate Association"....
Full Contact Super Light Heavyweight World Champion - 1990 I.M.T.F.(currently I.M.F.) Muay Thai Light Heavyweight World Champion
- 1989-90 W.K.A.World Kickboxing AssociationThe World Kickboxing Association is one of the oldest and the largest amateur and professional sanctioning organizations of kickboxing in the world for the sport. Its official name is "World Kickboxing and Karate Association"....
Full Contact Light Heavyweight World Champion - 1988-89 W.K.A.World Kickboxing AssociationThe World Kickboxing Association is one of the oldest and the largest amateur and professional sanctioning organizations of kickboxing in the world for the sport. Its official name is "World Kickboxing and Karate Association"....
Full Contact Light Heavyweight World Champion - 1984 P.K.A.Professional Karate AssociationThe Professional Karate Association was originally a martial arts sanctioning organization, now transformed into a martial arts promotion company....
Full Contact European Champion - 1983-87 W.K.A.World Kickboxing AssociationThe World Kickboxing Association is one of the oldest and the largest amateur and professional sanctioning organizations of kickboxing in the world for the sport. Its official name is "World Kickboxing and Karate Association"....
Full Contact Middleweight World Champion - I.K.B.F. Full Contact Light Heavyweight World Champion
Kickboxing record
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MMA Record
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See also
- Muay thaiMuay ThaiMuay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...
- List of male kickboxers
- List of kickboxing organizations
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