Chapter 3 - Punching into action and igniting the kickboxing craze at the gym.
I rode my moped towards the square, full of enthusiasm about the great news that we would finally start Muay Thai kickboxing. The conversation between my father and prominent Amsterdam kickboxing teacher Jan Plas of Mejiro Gym had been positive, and I couldn't wait to share the news with my friends in the square.
When I arrived, I saw that a large group had already gathered. There were a lot of mopeds parked and it was a big mass of green jackets. When I arrived riding my water cooled 70cc Zundapp, most people looked in my direction. Surely I had touched the 98 km per hour mark along the way. After the usual greetings, I started to tell about our plans to start Muay Thai kickboxing and noticed that most were very enthusiastic.
But soon there was a tense atmosphere. Bertje told me that the guests from Haarlem, known as the gang from Rozenprieel, wanted to come our way. We exchanged our thoughts about what might happen and knew that this gang had no talk and would come to our village to brawl.
That week I had a lot to take care of, despite the two conflicting thoughts that I had trouble separating: the positive news about kickboxing and the excitement about confronting the gang from Haarlem. I had a lot of contact with acquaintances, friends and the local media to write an article about our plans and had arranged second hand boxing gloves and shin guards through the Matsuru Budo store. I was also working on a leaflet that I would take to the printer at the end of the week. About 20,000 copies were to be delivered a week in advance by the deliverers of other advertising leaflets.
I was very busy with my job at the flower auction, joining the gym, socializing with friends and, of course, my girlfriend. Friday it was only two weeks until the first kickboxing class here in town and the leaflets were at the printer to be delivered next week. Tonight we had a meeting in Time Out to prepare for the possible confrontation with the gang from Haarlem. We heard from our informant that today could be intense. When we arrived at the youth center, the atmosphere was tense and everyone was ready for what was to come.
In the main hall, which was normally only open for small scale concerts, Jack took the floor. He said it would be fun tomorrow, but that if the gang from Haarlem came, it would be a hard confrontation. The atmosphere was getting tense and we knew we had to prepare.
A plan was drawn up, it was perhaps a bit amateurish, but we had divided up some tasks. We thought they wanted to attack our clubhouse, or attack us in the little square near the snack bar next to Magnum the disco. The smallest of us would be on the ground in strategic places around Time Out, ten catapults had been bought from the local dump store and a lot of "Bonken" a large marble. I had shot with one this week and was shocked at the speed and impact.
After designating the ten smaller members, we agreed that they would be around the youth center from eight o'clock at night until ten o'clock at night. If nothing happened, they would go to the plaza and set up among the bushes and cars. We expected the attackers around ten o'clock at night, but you never know, it could be earlier or later.
Time Out had two entrances, at each entrance stood about ten men with clubs and blackjacks. More people didn't fit because they were only small entrances. There was one big window on the side with a small back door where you could get behind the bar storeroom. There were a number of guys there as well. The girls from our club would walk outside in groups and carry flares. They would hang out about four hundred yards from our place. At any suspicious situation, they would shoot a flare into the air, so we in Time Out would know they were around and the party could begin. Jack, Edwin, Ronnie and I were in charge, for the rest we could only wait and see if the attackers would come and what time that would be.
There were about fifty of us in all. Some were miraculously absent and we would call them on it later this week. They were a bunch of blowhards. At the stroke of ten in the evening, nothing had happened. The smaller group members already went to the square and then I realized that we had not agreed on anything with the rest of the group. Those other thirty five men and the girls, there were also fifteen of them, there had been no thought or consultation. In Time Out I discussed it with Jack and we made a bad choice then. We would all go to the little square and the local cafeteria had room for about thirty people, so we would just wait there. We had all left the mopeds at home, so on to the square. It was about a seven hundred meter walk.
We were all in the little square at that point, some enjoying some French fries, while others were licking a can of beer and smoking a lot. However, I felt very uncomfortable and trapped, surrounded by a group of guys with slingshots outside and with the rest of us inside the snack bar. Another ten men were present outside and there was no more room in the snack bar. I was worried about the baseball bats and other striking weapons hidden somewhere outside. How would we get to them if we needed them? Meanwhile, there were girls running around the plaza.
I felt like a rat in a trap; there was only one entrance and no emergency exit. It was the wrong decision to stay here. I wanted to discuss this with Jack and Edwin; we had to leave, go outside, where we had more space. At that moment we heard the sound of braking cars and the screaming and shouting that followed.
Before we could do anything, a group of five men stormed in. We were totally overwhelmed and startled by their sudden attack and there was no way we could move. The men all had curly hair up to their shoulders and were shouting loudly as they burst into the store. The front man shouted aggressively, "What do you want here?!".
Jack stood next to me at the entrance and the Haarlemmers fighting us, but we also got help from people outside the snack bar. Although the Haarlemmers were not many, there were only two cars and eight men, it was dangerous and chaotic. I can't remember exactly how we did it, but we managed to fend off their attack. At one point the Haarlemmers were outside in a group.
I heard sirens in the distance and knew the police were on their way. The Haarlemmers tried to get away in their cars, but the police had clamped all the cars that were in the middle of the street with three police cars. I walked away quietly, but suddenly felt a pain in my upper leg. I thought, "That will come later," and tried to get away from the snack bar first.
As I turned the corner, I saw Jantje lying on the floor with his girlfriend and Marco by his side. Jantje kept repeating, "Anja, Anja, Anja," as they sat on the ground next to him together. So Jantje's girlfriend's name was Anja. Marco told me that Jantje was the first to be attacked outside and could not get up.
In the square it was chaos. The Haarlemmers were arrested while we counted and treated our injuries. Three ambulances were present, one of which transported one Haarlemmer. Jack had a deep wound on his upper arm and had to go to the hospital. Two paramedics took care of Johnny, who had regained some feeling in his legs, but was still having trouble standing. He, too, had to go to the hospital. Bertje was treated at the scene and waited for more ambulances. He had a big head wound and also had to go to the hospital.
I walked away from the crowd and discovered a hole in my pants with some blood around it. I knew I had also been hit and pulled my pants down. I had a small, deep wound on my thigh and it was starting to hurt now, probably because the adrenaline was wearing off. I walked to the ambulance that Bertje was already in and showed my wound. The paramedic cut my pants and determined that it was a deep wound. Before I knew it, I was in another ambulance on my way to the hospital to check that no muscles or nerves had been hit.
We were all in the emergency room in Haarlem. It was cynical, but I was still thinking that I hoped the Haarlemmers didn't come to the hospital for redress. There were four police officers walking among the caregivers, watching us and questioning us. Fortunately, I only had a deep wound, with no muscle or nerve damage. It had to be sutured with two stitches. Jack was also lucky and only had a large open wound from the axe. Twenty four stitches had to be put in. Bertje had a head wound right across his head and received fourteen stitches. He had to stay overnight for observation.
Edwin, meanwhile, arrived by car to pick us up, but it was a setback that we had to leave Bertje and Jantje behind. Still, it was for the best. After questioning the police, we finally drove back to our village around 2:30 in the night. I opened my eyes and felt rested. It was Saturday and fortunately I did not have a busy day ahead of me. Getting out of bed, I noticed that my leg pulled a little. Oh yes, I had two stitches, I had almost forgotten. I felt little to no pain and hoped I could walk normally. I decided not to say anything to my parents and hoped they wouldn't notice anything. I drank a cup of coffee downstairs and made a nice omelet with two eggs. It tasted delicious and I got ready to go out.
When I met Lisa, she was happy to see me. I had not spoken to her since my hospital visit and she jumped around my neck. Accidentally her shoe touched my thigh and I gave a painful reaction. I told her about my small wound and two stitches. She gave me a kiss and looked deep into my eyes. "Take care of yourself. I love you," she said worriedly. I nodded and we left for the youth center to see what it was like there.
I was surprised by the crowds, and it turned out that most were already there. Bertje was also there, and I was glad to see that he had been discharged from the hospital with the message "take it easy." Tonight he would probably get drunk. I missed Edwin, who was on his way to pick up Jantje. After several examinations, Jantje was also allowed to go home. That was good news to hear. Everyone talked about the incident and Sjaak in particular had the biggest mouth among the younger children. He was the one who shot with the slingshot and hit full. Jack was in a sling and told Sjaak, "Enough already. We will have a visit from the police soon. Prepare and know what to say, and that goes for everyone."
Edwin was back with Jantje, who was looking pale and carrying a bag of painkillers. There was nothing serious going on, but he needed to rest, the specialists had said. It also became clear that another of the Haarlemmers was in the hospital under police escort. It was the one with the biggest mouth who had almost knocked Jack's arm off with a hatchet. I had given him a few blows and Sjaak had hit him full on.
After visiting Niek, the owner of the snack bar, to discuss a few things about costs and compensation for damages, we decided not to go to Magnum. Instead, we opened the main hall and made it a party. It turned out to be a very successful and enjoyable evening.
The week had gone by quickly, despite the stitches I still had. I had been able to train and roll the youngest judokas in my judo suit. It was now Monday, ten days after the fight, and everyone had recovered well. My stitches had been taken out two days ago. Meanwhile, I had received the videotape of the kickboxing gala and watched it with Edwin and Jack. I had also managed to get some copies of Zendokan, an interesting martial arts magazine that was mainly about kickboxing and Thai boxing. For me, it was an exciting week and in two days Andre Brilleman would come. He had informed my father by phone that all was well and that he would arrive around 6:30, half an hour before class started.
It was Wednesday, six in the evening and I was ready. I had agreed with my father to welcome "The Andre Brilleman" at my young age. I was getting more and more nervous and the first interested people were already in the gym. It got busier and busier with many acquaintances, friends and also many unknown people.
At half past six, Andre came in, a small but strong guy. He walked right up to me and said, "You must be Marcootje." I replied affirmatively and he shook my hand and said, "I'm Andre, nice to meet you." "Pleasant Andre," I replied. "You can call me pipo too, you know. I'm a bit of a clown." "Oh yes," I said. Then he introduced Milo el Geubli, the "Moroccan tornado." There were just two world class fighters present in the dojo to start kickboxing right away. There were a lot of people present, more curious and spectators than those who would participate the first time.
Everyone had changed clothes and most were just wearing shorts. They were on their knees in front of the sensei, which means teacher. I counted thirty six men and four women, a large group. I myself would participate, as would Lisa who sat next to me. There were two guys walking around taking pictures. Of course it had to be captured, this unique event.
After the usual start where we closed our eyes, relaxed and checked our breathing, we began the warm-up. This one was intense, but fortunately it lasted only ten minutes. Then we did different exercises in pairs, such as combinations of punches and kicks, defensive techniques, takeovers and some clinching. Finally, we concluded with some abdominal exercises. I was impressed with how complete this sport was. The hour flew by and before we knew it we were in knee position to greet off. As agreed, Andre announced that the entire month of November was free as a trial period. This was met with spontaneous applause and everyone was very excited.
After the class I stayed behind with Andre and Milo, two great guys from Amsterdam. We discussed how it had gone and I noticed that Andre really enjoyed it too. The conversation became more and more open and I felt very comfortable. Finally we said goodbye and said goodbye. As I waited for my father to come home around ten o'clock, I laughed to myself. Every time I thought of Andre, I was reminded of Pipo the Clown and a little monkey. But I was happy and satisfied with how the lesson had gone, what a great experience.
The first thing I said to my father, "Dad, what great guys they are." I spent up to an hour telling them about everything that had happened, from the moment they came in to their teaching, the crowds and the personal conversations I had with them. I was completely satisfied when I went to bed that night and I really felt that this was going to be a great success.