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Meet… Richard van Asdonck
The Vechtsportautoriteit (Dutch Martial Arts Authority) consists of a board, a supervisory board and an office. They are supported with expertise by a large number of advisers who sit on five committees. But who are these people?
Each of the VA committees focuses on a specific theme:
– Events and galas
– Medical and health
– Quality and licences
– Technical matters
– Communication
In the coming period we will introduce a number of committee members, to give you a better idea of who is actually involved in the substantive work of the VA.
The first committee member we present is Richard van Asdonck.
“I am from Breukelen and I am 65 years old. Since 1980 I have worked as an instructor in Physical and Mental Resilience and as an IBT instructor (Internal Assistance Team) at the Ministry of Justice and Security (Justitie en Veiligheid). Since its establishment in 2006 I have been chair of the Stichting Kickboksen en Mixed Martial Arts Opleidingen, the SKMO (foundation for kickboxing and mixed martial arts training courses). For more than 15 years we have provided the training courses for kickboxing and MMA instructors, which are recognised by NOC*NSF (Dutch Olympic Committee and Dutch Sports Federation) and the VA. We also provide the training course for youth kickboxing and MMA trainers. In 1978 I started teaching kickboxing in Breukelen. That grew into my current Sportcentrum Van Asdonck. From 1977 up to and including 1984 I trained at Mejiro/Vos Gym myself, under the guidance of Johan Vos.”
“At the VA I am a member of the Quality and Licences Committee, which deals with training courses, among other things. I am also part of the MMA Expert Group and I am involved in the recognition of gyms.”
“As a representative of the SKMO I have been involved since the preliminary phase of NOC*NSF in 2015, and I contribute to all meetings. My particular attention goes to the recognition of training courses and the development of the requirements a gym must meet in order to obtain the Keurmerk Vechtsportautoriteit (VA quality mark).”
“In this way I try to use my knowledge and experience to make a positive contribution to the development of martial arts in the Netherlands, in which I still find a challenge, can push my boundaries, can cooperate with others and can enjoy working on people’s resilience.”
Also in this series: