Various Sports

After our military service (1984–1985), Fred and I started training at Sportcentrum Hollander, which was then still a small room with Nautilus® equipment. We trained hard three times a week.

After one year we were asked to become instructors. Our head instructor was Jan, followed by Ruud. In 1995, all instructors had to pass a Nautilus Exam and were classified into grades: Assistant, B, A, or Head Instructor. Fred and I both became A Instructors, then quickly advanced to Head Instructors.

Over the years I trained many new instructors — from assistant all the way to A level — not just for Thursday evenings but for other evenings too. The last ones I personally trained were Debby and Stephan.

In 2012, Jimmy Peek took over the sports center and I became Coordinator on Thursday evenings, responsible for the entire evening's operation.

Unfortunately, the sports center went bankrupt in early 2015 and was taken over by Basic-Fit, who do not work with Nautilus® equipment or fitness instructors. After 29 years, that chapter came to an end.

January 4, 1989, my brother and I started karate. After two years of strength training it was not as easy as we thought — high kicks were quite difficult with tight muscles at first!

After about one year of training, we went up for our first exam. The kyu progression:

Grade	Date	Note
10th Kyu	April 29, 1989
9th Kyu	June 26, 1989	⭐ International Summer Camp
8th Kyu	September 29, 1989
7th Kyu	December 21, 1989
6th Kyu	July 13, 1990	⭐ International Summer Camp
5th Kyu	December 13, 1990
4th Kyu	June 12, 1991	⭐ International Summer Camp
3rd Kyu	June 17, 1992
2nd Kyu	December 13, 1993

⭐ grades obtained during the International Karate Summer Camp at Sport Park Papendal in Arnhem — a week of nothing but training, exams, and great fun.

From 8th Kyu onwards I started competing, first locally, then nationwide — including a 3rd place at the Open Rotterdam Championships.

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Below is a video of a championship match in Rotterdam 1990 i finished 3rd

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Everything comes to an end. A serious injury to my big toe ended my karate era — discovered I had broken it twice without knowing it. In April 1997 I had to give up one of my favorite sports. Those years taught me discipline and gave me tremendous self-confidence.

Return to the Mat — Croatia 2015

In May 2015, Terry and I were invited by my old karate teacher Shihan Vlado Haljer and Sensei Jenny Scholten from Katsu Heiwa Dojo to a spring karate camp in Samobor, Croatia for one week. After 18 years I put on my karate gi again! Unfortunately I suffered from heel spurs and couldn't participate in everything. Terry earned her Orange belt — she trained the entire week. A very memorable experience.

Osu.

Due to my karate injury in 1997, I needed a new challenge. When the sports center bought 32 spinning bikes in 2005, my passion for indoor cycling was born. From the very first tryouts I was gripped by the spinning virus.

From the beginning of 2006 I followed the Indoor Cycling Instructor training. On June 11, 2006 I became a certified Indoor Cycle Instructor. After some stand-in hours, I got my own slot on Wednesday evenings from January 2007.

When Henk left in April 2008, I picked up two more hours on Monday evenings — giving three spinning classes per week total.

Since 2007, I organized the annual Christmas Spinning Marathon — three hours of continuous spinning for charity at the sports center every year.

On Sunday June 5, 2011, Jimmy and I completed the AALO Cycle Master Course, successfully finishing on June 24 — we became certified AALO Cycle Masters.

When the sports center was taken over by Basic-Fit in 2015, I was able to continue on their bikes. After 10 years of spinning, I decided to stop teaching and pursue new challenges.

December 2, 2015 — I gave my last lesson. Thanks for all the years of fun!

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A lesson video from 2014

August 24, 1996 — my brother and I left for Mieussy, France with André Wieringa's Paragliding Club from Utrecht.

The first day: a hill behind the campsite to run down and feel a parapent above your head for the first time. Theory covered eight chapters: Material knowledge, Practice, Aerodynamics, Meteorology, Rules, Advanced flying, Navigation, and Flying in the Netherlands.

Day three: we drove to 1,400 meters altitude for the very first time — walkie-talkies in hand, parapent on back, climbing the last 200 meters on foot. Standing at the 1,600m take-off area, looking at the tiny cars and houses in the valley far below...

"Walk walk walk — feel the parapent rise above your head — walk until your feet leave the mountain — hang until completely free — sit down in your harness — look around, relaxed. 1.6 km is still high..."

The flying pattern: Downwind along the landing area → Baseleg to half of the landing area → Final landing into the wind. Flew mornings and late afternoons to avoid thermal activity.

After the week we had enough flights to complete the practical part of the A certificate. Theory exam: passed with an 8.

A year later we returned to France for the B license, learning to fly with thermals. Longest flight: three and a half hours.

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Parapent video stage 1 year 1996

A new challenge in August 2022 that I accepted at Terry's insistence: CrossFit at Eudokia CrossFit in Rotterdam.

What is CrossFit?

CrossFit is a high-intensity fitness programme that combines elements of weightlifting, aerobic exercise, gymnastics and other functional movements. Workouts — known as "WODs" (Workout of the Day) — are usually short and intense.

CrossFit is about improving your quality of life and having a lot of fun. It is empirically based, clinically tested, and developed by the community. It makes effective and safe training possible for everyone.

Unfortunately, I had to stop CrossFit in January 2024 due to an old/new hand injury — a tendon gets stuck and prevents full hand movement. A setback, but on to the next challenge!

September 6, 2024 — I joined Terry for boxing at Lucie in Rotterdam.

High Intensity Training (HIT) with the boxing discipline in a motivating 'club' atmosphere. No fighting — a cool Party! Train to a great beat and get super fast results with Lucie's six-punch formula.

Boxing on an Aquabag

Instead of traditional sand or textile punching bags, Lucie uses aquabags — bags filled with water. The water absorbs impact, reducing stress on joints and muscles, while also providing more realistic feedback that mimics the resistance of a real opponent.

Started cycling in May 2015. In June 2024 I also bought a road bike in addition to my mountain bike.

The Bikes

Mountain Bike: 2015 Cube AMS 100 — featuring the renowned AMS 4-Link suspension system with 100mm travel front and rear. Rock Shox Reba SL 100mm front fork with Motion Control and PopLoc. Lightweight, responsive, and great for trails.

Road Bike: Cube Attempt 105 — Carbon fork, aluminum frame, Shimano 105 groupset (3×10), Fulcrum Racing 7 wheelset. Frame size 58.

We often go cycling in different groups with family and friends in a 'club' atmosphere. Usually I plan the route and then we go wild! Lovely and relaxing on the bike.

All rides — both mountain bike and road bike — can be found on Strava ↗