Meet… Hanieh van Vilsteren Kamran

The Vechtsportautoriteit (Dutch Martial Arts Authority) consists of a board, a supervisory board and an office. They are supplied with expertise by a large number of advisers who sit on five committees. But who are the people on those committees?

Each of the VA committees focuses on a theme:

– Events and galas
– Medical and health
– Quality and licences
– Technical matters
– Communication

In this series we introduce a number of members, to give a better picture of the people who are substantively involved in the VA.

The committee member we present this time is Hanieh van Vilsteren Kamran.

“When I was three I fled from Iran to the Netherlands with my parents and brothers. A change like that in your life brings plenty of challenges. Because of my survival and fighter’s mentality I took on those challenges and I felt like a fighter. Just as the teachers at the Calo (academy for physical education) did for me, I wanted to inspire others by taking on their challenge.”

“I was nineteen when I started the gym Tabonon. It was not really my conscious aim to create what I have now, it came about spontaneously. I had decided to leave the gym where I was teaching kickboxing at the time; my vision did not match that gym. A number of girls who had taken up kickboxing because of me said they would like to keep training with me. I told them that if they arranged a hall, I would be willing to keep training them. Two weeks later the hall was arranged.”

“In the end Tabonon has grown into what it is now, almost twenty years later. My great dream is to do good things with good people through martial arts. The most important element in that is my vision and my standards and values. My vision is based on four principles: safety, atmosphere, quality and professionalism. These are the core values I stand for and that Tabonon stands for as well.”

“At the CIOS in Heerenveen (vocational college for sport and exercise) I developed the Martial Arts Teacher programme and started working with the Federatie Oosterse Gevechtskunsten (Federation of Eastern Martial Arts). I was asked whether I wanted to join the Quality & Licences Committee of the Vechtsportautoriteit. Since then I have been actively contributing ideas to the Vechtsportautoriteit.”

“I believe that martial arts hold up a mirror to people. During martial arts training you may notice that you are not good at indicating your boundaries, and perhaps you do not do that off the mat either. In addition, we want to make martial arts possible for everyone. Whether you are heavy, short or have a disability, whether you are Dutch or were born in another country, you are welcome to train with us. As far as I am concerned, martial arts have no language.”

Also in this series:

Meet… Fabrice Deters
Meet… Richard van Asdonck
Meet… Raimond Honig
Meet… Soeresh Bhatoe
Meet… Samart Prins
Meet… Marjan de Roos
Meet… Hassan Ziani
Meet… Stefan Berkenpas