all you mother fuckers who are saying that bruce was the first guy to "crostrain" ect is completely blind.
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First impressions of Martial Arts
After the war, in 1946 the young Jon Bluming started at the famous boxing school of teacher Cosman and got his first experience with martial arts and its risks when he got his first broken nose. It was his first injury but would not be his last …
Army career
When he was 16 he applied for the Marines and was accepted in July 1949 and went to the bootcamp in Doorn. Just one year later, in the summer of 1950 The Korean War started and he applied as a volunteer in the van Heutzregiment. When he got wounded for the first time he was transported to a Japanese hospital in Tokyo. In that country he for the first time in his life saw Judo when he visited the Kodokan in march, 1951. When he saw a demonstration by a very small eldery man with a red belt he knew that this kind of art would change his life for good.
The second time he was wounded was during the assault on Inje where this time the Northkoreans and some Chinese where encircled. During the fight he was hit by scrapnel of a handgranate and again spent about 6 weeks in the mash. Around augus 1951 they would return to Holland but they had to wait several weeks for the troopship to arrive. He spent his first time in a small Korean dojo and screwed around with a kind of Tae Kwon Do by a sensei called Park in Yong Dong Po.
After some months in Holland he could not find his way as a civilian and when they asked for volunteers again but this time as occupation troops he went back to Korea. On board of the troopship to Korea the war broke out again and even heavier than before. In aug 1952 he was back at the frontline and names like “Old Baldy”, “Alligator ridge” and “White Horse” where written down in the history books. October the 11th 1952 at the real outpost ARSENAL (75 meters of the Chinese mainline) his buddy and lifelong friend Hans Crebas volunteered to be scout for the RANGERS who where going to take the hill next to Arsenal to relieve the pressure a bit. But when they went up the hill the Chinese went of the hill at the back and around and than after the Rangers up the hill again and than all hell broke loose. Bluming who was behind heard the unbelievable noise and told his LT that he was going down to see what happened to his friend Hans Crebas. Fully loaded with firepower he went down into the dark valley which at the end was fully lit up by all the mortar and artillery and tank fire together with the handgranates and small arms fire and the screams of the fighting Rangers was real loud. He found his friend after a while in the melee where he was helping wounded Rangers. When Bluming finally came back on the outpost he was wounded again by a mortar which dropped right behind him in the trench and his flightjacket saved his life and he landed for the third time in the Mash with a scrapnell behind his left knee. They where both recommended for the Silver Star. But the next day all they got was a promotion to PFC . Bluming was their when his group went out at the last day of the war and where ambushed and nearly all where killed that night. He was not with them this time for his time was up and he was rotated back to Holland . So his first platoon lost 8 man killed in action and more than 70% wounded.
Back in Holland he refused to make a career of the Army and went again into civilian life. Years later their would be justice. During one of his seminars a budoka in Seattle read his book about Korea. His name was Kregg Jorgenson a sergeant of the Vietnam war and besides a Silver Star more than 9 times decorated for bravery and three times wounded. He also is the chairman of the decoration committee of the Rangers. He also thought that Bluming and Crebas got the silver star. When he found out that they where NOT decorated he went after the facts and finally they where both decorated after all those years with the FORGOTTEN HERO AWARD .
Martial Arts career
Back in Holland in November 1953 he found by accident the judoclub Tung Jen which would really change his life. When he brought home his girlfriend he saw in a little street a poster of the TUNG JEN judoclub in November 1953. His fenomenal gift for Budo came to light during his amateur judoperiod when his Sensei Dr G Schutte (then 4th dan Tokyo Hirano) gave him his first dan only after 12 months. In 1955 he got his second dan and in 1956 he was the first Dutchman who became Kodokan member from Ichiro Abe than 6th dan in La Baulle Franche and he was than captain of the Tung Jen team and won the European championships in Bellevue, Amsterdam Sept 1956. In 1957 he got his third dan from Tokyo Hirano at a summercamp in Holland when he throw 75 judoka from 4e kyu up to 4th dan in 26 minutes even when he had broken his big toe of his right foot. Than he broke also his right knee and went into surgery. In 1957 he was invited to train a police dojo in Berlin Germany and a private judoclub and did that for several months. The money from that event he used to get to Canada. His dream always has been to go back to Japan which in the time right after the second world war almost impossible. So he went to the Canadian embassy and threw his medals on the table and asked for a change to go to Canada. His wish was fulfilled and in January 1958 he arrived in Halifax Canada. He taken in by an old friend and was introduced the next day to Dalhousy University. There he started his career as a professional budoteacher and for two dollars an hour he gave his lessons. He also founded the Maritimes Judo Association and became when he left a life time honorary member. He organized the first Marine Judo Championships and won himself the title All Categories and heavyweight with a weight of only 79 kilo at that time. In January 1959 he left Canada for Japan and started with his students who where truck drivers and drove him all throughout the USA from Maine to San Francisco. At the big cities he stopped and visited all the dojos and fought with all he met. Via Hawaii he arrived in Tokyo in February 1959 and stayed around three years. His third dan from Hirano was accepted by Kodokan and he fought right away in the third dan competition and NEVER lost a match in all those years in Judo as well as in Karate. Later in December 1959 he had to leave Japan to renew his Visa and he went to Korea. He was taken in with all honor and did his test for 4th dan. He was matched against the Korean heavyweight champion Kim (5th dan) and threw him with a left osotogari. The next day he was matched against the 2nd dan champion of Korea and the 2nd dan champion students of Korea and the 3rd dan champion students of Korea Sup Lee. They all went in seconds. He got his 4th dan and his first teachers certificate from Asia. It was the 19th of December 1959.
Back in Tokyo he started under the guidance of the famous Donn Dreager again with weight training for judo and karate and became finally what he always wanted heavyweight at 102 kilo solid from 79 kilo in Canada and nobody could stop him anymore because ha also kept his middleweight speed as Dreager thaught him. In may 1960 he defeated the Japanese champion Kaminaga again with a strangelation which knocked him cold. During the Olympic training summer 1960 he finally threw Isao Inokuma his very close friend and training partner after a full hour fight with Uchi mata makikomi. He also got his 4th dan from Kodokan in competition. April 1959 Donn Dreager asked him to go together for more background on BUSHIDO to the police dojo and train under the famous 10th dan SHIMIZU and KURODA bojitsu and kendo and IiaiJitsu. During the all Japan police championships Kendo ect . they where asked to give a demonstration of Bojitsu and got a standing ovation and a third dan in both disciplines from the Japan Kendo federation. Bluming did another examination by his Sensei Ichitaro Kuroda for Iaijitsu and got his third dan from the JKF also for Iai Jitsu.
In 1960 he went to Manilla again to get a new visa. He gave seminars at the Manilla judo dojo and their he met somebody from the USA embassy whose name cannot be told for obvious reasons.
Later this person would involve Bluming in kind of official business. In 1961 Bluming was invited to make a gonin gake ( a match against 5 third dans ) instead of Inokuma who was in hospital with a bad back injury. Dreager said to him: “Do it, that’s good for your name” and so it was. They where gone in less than 4 seconds a match.
Back to Holland
Than the letter came from Holland. Opa Schutte asked him to come back and teach the old dojo and the Amateurs association for a year on a good contract. Bluming who by than had a legendary name in Japan and was unbeaten in Judo and karate went back to teach his old friends and make some new ones and also to participate in the world championships in Paris France, Dec 1961. Of course it went all very different as planned ...
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