Meedendorp Karate Family: “It’s great that our sport can be seen on a big stage”

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We talk to father and son Meedendorp during a workout in the Baskensburg gym in Vlissingen. Father Wouter explains that karate belongs to the hard martial arts, but that it is much more than a simple physical application of aggression. “Discipline and respect are very important.”

Popular sport

He has a karate school with his son and trains twice a week in the gym in Baskensburg. “The ages of participants in our groups range from seven to over fifty. It’s a very popular sport and it’s very special that we can now see it at the Olympics.

And it doesn’t matter that it’s not quite the type of karate they practice themselves. Son Darrell: “We do the karate contact form and during the Olympics we work with, for example, more protection for the hands and feet.” Is this form more protective than for wimps? Darrell absolutely does not want to go that far: “No, this form of karate is also a beautiful sport, you know!”

The first Olympic karate tournament in Tokyo will be held August 5-7. And the Meedendorp family is in front of the hit: “This is still our sport and it is very nice that our sport can be seen on a big stage.”