Remy Bonjasky - The Flying Gentleman

Remy Bonjasky (*geb. am 10. Januar 1976 in Paramaribo, Suriname) ist ein niederländischer Muay Thai- Kämpfer und K-1-Sportler. Er wurde 2003 und 2004 K-1 World-Grand-Prix-Sieger. Sein Spitzname lautet: The Flying Gentleman.Er trägt diesen Spitznamen deshalb weil er für sein Flying Knee und seine hohen Kicks bekannt ist und damit schon viele Gegner ausgeknockt hat.

Profile

Name: Remy Bonjasky
Nickname: The Flying Gentleman
Date of Birth: Januari 10, 1976
Country: Holland
Weight: 105 kg, 234 lbs
Height: 192 cm, 6 feet 4 inch
Team

Trainer: Ivan Hippolyte
Manager: Charley Heus


Titles

W.P.K.A. World Superheavyweight Champion
K-1 WORLD GP 2003 in Las Vegas Champion
K-1 WORLD GP 2003 Champion
K-1 WORLD GP 2004 Champion
Records

Fights: 72
Wins: 59
KO's: 33
K-1 Fights: 36
K-1 Wins: 28
K-1 KO's: 11

The Story of a Born Champion

But when I was sixteen, something bad happened, I broke my left leg. This was very disappointing for me because it meant that I couldnt play for at least two months. It also meant I would lose my condition and routine and that wasnt a joyful thought.

After eight weeks the cast was removed, what was I happy, especially because the summer was on its way. Believe me, you dont want to be stuck with a hard object around your leg in the summertime. That would be a horrible imprisonment for such a young kid.

After recovering from this nasty injury I couldnt come back at the same level I left before the damage. The cause of this was the process of recovery. During this period of recovery I wasnt guided well what caused some pains in my hips. Because of this pain I couldnt run and sprint as fast as I could and wanted to.

My heart didnt want to give up soccer so I tried to practice and play one more season. Still I couldnt come back on the level I wished I was.

After a time of thinking it through, I decide to quit soccer. It was a very tuff decision that I had to take. My goal of becoming a successful soccer player at a major league team was gone. It was hard for me to be faced with a situation that made it impossible to live up to your own dream.

During the same time I was also a high school student. Like every teenage boy my friends and I were talking about girls, soccer and partying. One day we were deeply discussing the movie we saw the evening before. This movie was called `Bloodsport` and the leading role was for Jean Claude van Damme.

The conversation between my friends and me was about kickboxing and who was capable of imitating van Damme. One led to another and one of the boys said that he was actually joining a gym were you could practice kickboxing.

He challenged us to join the `Mejiro Gym`, so we could prove to each other who was the best. That is exactly what we did.

The first time at the dojo was harder than I imagined. My knowledge about the sport wasnt good enough to know what to expect. But after the first practice full of fundamentals and conditioning I fell in love again. After a period of searching a new activity such as basketball, volleyball, badminton and lifting weights I finally found something I liked, this time it was kickboxing.

Out of the group of friends that joined `Mejiro Gym` I was the only one that kept on going. Practice makes perfect and after already six months I was ready to fight for the first time.

The first fight was the most important one. I had to face a great talent, Valentijn Overeem, who later became a very good free fighter. My nerves were killing me before the fight mainly because it was the first one and also because my friends and family were sitting in the stands.

Despite my nerves I was optimistic about winning the fight. The battle only lasted for one and a half round because I was able to force my opponent to give up by using my knees.

That is how it went fight after fight. Win after win. It was going well for me, not only because I was talented but primarily because of the great support and preparation I experienced at `Mejiro Gym`.

Before I knew I was fighting in the A- league, but I only practiced three or four times a week. That was far from enough to be constantly winning from other fighters out the A-league. If I wanted to achieve more, like fighting K-1, and get better I needed to practice more.

At that time I was 25 years of age and working at a big internet company as a network operator. It became harder and tougher for me to combine kickboxing with a job. There were times when I needed to travel abroad for fights. With only a certain number of vacation days It was not easy to travel regularly and be productive at work.

At a certain moment a very good friend of mine gave me a proposition I couldnt refuse. He said :Remy, if you want to choose to do K-1 and give all your effort a 100% of the time, I will sponsor you and make sure you will be able to develop your talent by practicing as much as you can. The choice wasnt very easy because my work gave me more certainty for the future but I just didnt want to give up my dream.

Finally, it was possible for me to give all I got and to follow my dreams.

That was the extra push I needed to become even better in muai-tai/kickboxing. My goal was to win the K-1 championship one day. I couldnt have imagine that only a year and a half later, after becoming a professional kick boxer, I would realize my dream by winning the K-1 championship in 2003.

If that wasnt enough I was able to defend my title at the K-1 championship in 2004 as well.
Quelle: www.RemyBonjasky.com