Jan Plas, Founder of Mejiro Gym, Passes Away

It has been reported today that Jan Plas, the founder of the Mejiro Gym in the Netherlands has passed away in his jail cell at the age of 65. Jan Plas is best known for being the trainer of Peter Aerts, who went on to be one of the most successful kickboxers on an international level. Plas founded the Mejiro Gym in 1978 after numerous trips to Japan to study kickboxing with Kenji Kurosaki. In many ways, Plas is seen as one of the godfathers of kickboxing for the Dutch.

The first way is, obviously, that the Mejiro Gym is one of the most famous and accomplished kickboxing gyms in the world. Plas founded the Mejiro Gym to bring Japanese Kyokushin style kickboxing mixed with Muay Thai to the Netherlands. Plas was also instrumental in the formation of the NKBB, The Dutch Kickboxing Association.

Plas found himself in prison after being tied in with the Netherlands' notorious underworld, which came at a high price. He was involved in drug trafficking as well as money laundering, which turned into a family business of sorts, with his two children, who served as Dutch police officers, helping him. Plas found himself in a sticky situation, where he would have to betray his family or hardened criminals to save himself, and either one could end in pain. His death was reported as a suicide without any real details yet.

Regardless of his criminal connections, the kickboxing world has lost a true legend.