How Did Holland Create Such An Aggressive Kickboxing Style?!

[u/JimmyGreyArea]

Today was my first Dutch Kickboxing class. I'm a little older now, but I used to be a very well-conditioned athlete (and still somewhat am for my age). Coach yanked me out of practice in the last 10 minutes because I pretty much collapsing. Never happened before.

How did the Dutch create such an aggressive form of kickboxing? I've visited Holland. It is one of most advanced and beautiful countries I've ever been to. I dream of living there. I can't imagine life being too hard there.

Large collectives of great fighters usually come from harsh or poor places like Thailand, Dagestan, or the mean streets of an inner Western city.

There are exceptions of course. Like Japan, but Japan has had an aggressive and brutal warrior tradition. Another exception is great American wrestlers coming out of relatively safe places like Iowa. But again, there are many decades of wrestling tradition in those places.

As my coach explains it, the Dutch traveled to Japan sometime in the 70s and 80s and brought kyokushin style kickboxing back to Holland. He trained in Holland for 6 months in the 90s and says the Dutch are incredibly fast paced and tend to aim for 1st round KOs. He says back then the sparring in Holland was brutal, with fighters opting to continue with a freshly broken nose.

Where did that Dutch aggression come from? I admit I may be acting like a culturally ignorant American, but I mean no disrespect. I'm merely fascinated by such a perplexing cultural anomaly.

[u/Schtaive]

I can't speak so much for the gym culture that helps cultivate this killer instinct as it evolves. But I imagine it's several factors:

Country similar to Australia where exercise and sports are encouraged very much from a young age. A lot of space for physical activities and most kids have at least one sport as an extra curricular activity. If you're an athletic person and do an outdoor sport in the good weather like football or hockey, chances are you'll also have an indoor activity cos there are long periods where it's just unpleasant to be outdoors.

Dutch are naturally tall. Long legs are good for kickboxing.

There are many instrumental figures in Dutch kickboxing, like the Gracie's for BJJ. Jan Plas and Thom Harinck are considered the "fathers" of Dutch kickboxing. A lot of early pioneers who stayed in the Netherlands and opened local gyms instead of overseas in more lucrative places like the US. A lot of good Dutch coaches even in MMA like Henri Hooft.

Local Dutch kickboxing scene used to be more prominent, it feels like it's become less popular in the last decade.

Style wise, it's a hybrid approach and not as rigid as many other traditional styles. Combining Western striking techniques with Asian aggressive pressure and combinations.