A great book tells the grandiose story of a great fighter with a heartfelt love of the martial arts.

Jon Bluming, a master student of Mas Oyama, has plenty to tell about the martial arts. Only very few martial artists have come as close to the grandmasters of Asia as Jon Bluming. His countless international successes in both Asia and Europe or the USA, his outstanding skill, knowledge and sincerity have considerably influenced the combat sports. He has put his own stamp on Karate and Judo with impressive effectiveness.

Anybody interested in Mas Oyama, Donn F. Draeger, "Opa" Schutte, Ichitaro Kuroda, Kenji Kurosaki, Kyuzo Mifune, Morihei Ueshiba, Anton Gesink, Willem Ruska, Tokyo Hirano, Chris Dolman or over 150 other greats in the martial arts will find a wealth of fascinating information in Jon Bluming's life history.

Despite the gigantic number of more than 500 historical photos, this is not a picture book. Jon Bluming gives us very lively descriptions of the Korean War, his fights, his teachers and his friends. The book tells us more than text and photos alone can ever do. It conveys the thoughts and feelings of a martial artist from the post-war years, who grew up with the martial arts when they themselves were growing up.

The EWTO feels privileged to be presenting such a marvellous human being with this book.

Once he had answered questions about the book and his life, Jon Bluming was more than willing to pass on some of his practical knowledge to the International seminar participants directly on the mat during his visit to Hockenheim. The 82 year-old made it quite clear that nowadays he takes to the mat as a teacher, not a fighter. Unfortunately many had failed to see the distinction in the past, which sometimes led to serious injuries and meant many weeks of training lost. Because if injuries are sustained, it is important to let them heal properly. He had come to the painful realisation that not completely healed injuries often have consequences that only became apparent in advanced age. Accordingly he advocates that training partners train together with due consideration.

The book:

Jon Bluming – From Street Kid to 10^th Dan Oyama-Karate
Autobiography of a Martial Arts’ Legend
Judo • Karate • Mixed Martial Arts

DIN A4, 237 pages, over 500 photos and illustrations
ISBN 78-3-927553-25-5

Published by EWTO-Verlag in May 2015, English language edition; obtainable directly from the EWTO-Shop or can be ordered by emailing equipment@ewto.com (please be sure to include postal address).