Kickboxing legend Thom Harinck is part of a new exhibition in the City Archives. Part of his own archive showing his great contribution to martial arts is on display. Harinck has been given a central place in the exhibition Besteemed for the stad, a selection from donations to the archive over the past three years.
The reason why a special place has been reserved for 79-year-old Thom Harinck is because of his profound influence on the kickboxing world. He has now been of value for 50 years, starting as a founder and later also as a champion coach. He trained big names such as Badr Hari, Peter Aerts and Hesdy Gerges. Harinck’s role within martial arts is so great because he developed his own style that has many practitioners to this day. Chakuriki, which stands for ‘derived strength’, is a combination of boxing, karate, judo, jiu-jitsu and wrestling.
Booklet
Relics from Harinck’s personal archive are currently on display in the Treasury of the City Archives. “I made this book then,” Harinck points out in the display case. “There were no regulations at all. Then I actually had to figure out the boxing regulations that were already there, and judo and karate. I then wrote that down and that’s how you had the first booklet. I actually used it to train people on how they had to judge and referee the matches.”
City history
Sports historian Jurryt van de Vooren played an important role in this, because he lives near the kickboxing hero and went to visit him. “A whole office full of posters, folders and photos,” he describes. “A complete historical collection on a subject that we have nothing about in the Netherlands and Amsterdam. The entire city history is reflected in it.” Van de Vooren informed the City Archives and now, a year later, Harinck’s contribution is the eye-catcher of the exhibition.
The basis for the Netherlands as a superpower in the sport of kickboxing therefore lies in Amsterdam. Perhaps that is why he is so central to the exhibition. “Well, it’s an eye-catcher,” laughs Harinck. “I was amazed by it myself. Very nice.” Harinck was involved in the first major competitions in the 1970s and continued to play a major role in the period that followed. Including as a trainer, but also as an organizer, promoter and official.
Osu sensei
Yet producing world champions is not his greatest achievement, he believes. “When I’m on the ferry and a boy comes up to me and says ‘Osu sensei’, because that’s how you greet in our domain,” Harinck says. “When he then says sensei, the time I trained with you has helped me further in my life. That gives me even more satisfaction than having made a champion, because then you know that you have a lot means to such a boy, also in society. I think that is very important.”
Sports historian Van de Vooren responds to this. He recalls boxer Ben Bril from the 1930s, who stayed out of crime through his sport. “This also applies to many people at Thom, who have become important through his martial arts and have reached a place in society that they would otherwise never have reached,” says Van de Vooren. “This should not only be the start of a very large exhibition, but should also be the start of people who practice martial arts also understanding: I am also part of history, my material must also go to the City Archives.”
Donations
The exhibition in the Treasury consists of other parts. It is a selection from material that is donated annually by hundreds of people to the Amsterdam City Archives. This exhibition shows a selection of the most surprising and special donations from the years 2021-2023. A prominent role for Harinck, but the other works can also be seen until February 25, 2024.