BART’S STORY

Bart began his Martial Arts journey at the age of 9. Because of his motor skills, a physiotherapist advised his parents to put him in Judo. Through that training, he noticed that he became stronger, more skilled, and more confident.

A few years later Japanese Jiu Jitsu training was added. This is where his interest in the self-defense aspect of martial arts arose. In addition to his own training, he enjoyed assisting with lessons with the younger children. His Judo instructor Wim Cobben was a great example for this. At the age of 19 he graduated to first degree black belt in Judo. Bart currently holds a second degree black belt in Judo and a third degree black belt in Japanese Jiu Jitsu.

At age 15, Bart witnessed a spectacular Eskrima demonstration in his hometown of Breda, Netherlands (Eskrima is a weapon (stick and knife) based martial arts system from the Philippines). He was so impressed that he took a trial lesson, and began training that week. This is where his training in Eskrima, Jeet Kune Do, and Pancrase started under Will Kwekkeboom and Frans Stroeven.

When he was 18 years old he traveled with an Eskrima team to the Philippines to train and visit the World Cup Championship. One year later he won a bronze medal at the European Championships in Bristol, England. Bart currently holds a black belt in Doce Pares Eskrima.

In 2002, a new phase in his life started at the Police Academy. Since high school, Bart wanted to work for the Police and to make the world a safer place. During the week his training consisted of Judo, Boxing and firearms training.

Several times a year he traveled to London, England to train with Bob Breen and Dan Inosanto. In 2004, he founded Martial Arts Training School (MATS) together with his good friend Jeroen Hoevenaar. In 2006 he decided to quit the Police force to focus fully on teaching martial arts lessons.

In 2009, Bart decided to take a trial lesson in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Because there were only five black belts in the Netherlands at the time, he had to travel an hour to train with the brothers Mathieu and Willem Peters. Fascinated by the effectiveness of the sport, he started taking group and private lessons and obtained his blue belt a year later.

In 2011 he met Ryron Gracie at a seminar in Dublin, Ireland, and has regularly trained with him and his brother, Rener Gracie. In 2013, he was the first Dutch person to successfully complete the Instructor Certification Program (ICP) in Torrance at the Gracie University. In In 2016, Bart met Professor Dean at a seminar in Frankfurt, Germany, and later hosted him for seminars in the Netherlands at MATS academy.

In 2020, Bart received his black belt from Harold Harder and Michel Verhoeven. Bart currently holds a first degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and joined the RDA association in January of 2025.