From all over the world, people come to the dojo of Fred van de Vijver (70) on Erica, to get karate training in the system he practices: Isshin Ryu.
In that system, where it is all about self -defense, Fred is one of the very best. He recently achieved the ninth: the highest degree that you can get within this system in the Netherlands. “You need a certain age for that,” says seventy -year -old Fred. “And of course you must have delivered certain performance.”
Fred, who has been practicing the sport since he was 18, owes the degree to, among other things, the much work he has done for the sport. Twenty years ago he opened his own karate school in his backyard in Erica. He built the dojo himself. Here he teaches people around the world.
Or he travels the world himself to teach. “Denmark, Germany, Spain, Italy, San Marino, America. They all come to this dojo to specifically learn the karate here. While they can also go to Japan.”
Now that Fred has achieved the highest degree, he gets a red band. Something that few people can say. He doesn’t have it yet. “That band is made in Japan, and it takes a few months before he arrives. But it is coming.” He is proud of the degree, but only wears it in the dojo. “I did it for myself, and not to show someone else how good I am.”