PHILIPSBURG—Henderik Ekema is in Birmingham, England to compete at the World Taekwondo Championships.
In 2016 Ekema represented St. Maarten at the International World Taekwondo Federation style Championships and returned home with two golds and a bronze medal.
He took gold in side-kick and back-kick break tests. He earned bronze in sparring out of a field of 60 other fighters.
“I want a gold in sparring,” confessed Ekema. “My mindset is gold in sparring. I am like a little kid. I have been doing this for nearly 28 years. I still get excited when I compete.”
Ekema had trained hard for the 2016 Championships. “I went down in weight class last time,” said Ekema. “The diet was harder then I expected. It made me irritable. I was so concerned about my eating I could not focus on everything else.”
He made the weight and competed. This time he decided to stay at his normal weight, middle weight, and concentrate on fighting.
“This will be my last shot at fighting.” said Ekema. “I want to concentrate on giving back to the sport. I love teaching.”
Ekema has already set up a training facility at the Blue Mall and plans on helping others go for the gold in the sport he loves.
In 2016, Ekema had been out of the ring for five years. He had moved from the Netherlands to St. Maarten and was busy raising a family.
He met up with retired bodybuilder and then personal trainer Emanuel Richardson. The two hit it off and so the training began.
He was so excited to be representing his new home he had a special uniform custom made with the St. Maarten Flag on it.
“As a black belt it was hard to get sparring partners,” said Ekema after his 2016 experience. Upon his return he and Richardson discussed another World Championship attempt and it was decided to take a few trips over to Puerto Rico for additional practice.
Irma changed all that. Richardson left the island. Puerto Rico suffered greatly too and traveling there for sparring was out of the question. Ekema had problems too and actually had to send his family off Island for a while.
In January Ekema decided there was time for one more attempt. He found a new trainer at Port de Plaisance, Nicolas Dell.
The pair have been working hard. Training began slowly and gradually build up in intensity.
“I am focusing on technique,” said Ekema. “I am relying on my years of experience to cover the sparring.”
Ekema is a fourth dan black belt. Before moving to St. Maarten he had competed in the Netherlands and had won dozens of medals and trophies.
“After this I want to get my fifth dan (black belt) and teach,” said Ekema.
The World Championships are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.
