30/09/2025
On Monday evening, September 29th, 2025, a memorial training for Gertjan Martens sensei took place in dojo Suhari in Amsterdam. More than 80 karateka gathered in Gertjan’s beloved dojo; a wonderful group of people together in a space that was, truth be told, a little too small. Friends, students, teachers, dear loved ones, family. The energy in the room was palpable, and through that, so was the presence of Gertjan.
After beautiful words from Andre ter Veer, I shared the words that Tran Hieu sensei had written. I had the honor of leading the training. I wanted to create a balance between karate, energy, stories, anecdotes, respect, and humor—a challenging task, but one I gradually grew into. Exercises that Gertjan loved were demonstrated by his students, Frank van den Nieuwendijk shared heartfelt words on behalf of the KBN (Karatedo Bond Nederland), and together we trained kumite gata and pushing hands with a touch of sparring.
Afterwards, there was time for a dojo moment with sake and the sharing of wonderful stories. It was moving to see how lovingly everyone interacted with each other and spoke about Gertjan. A special evening for a special man, and of course as support for Ahlam and Ferras. 🙏🏻❤️
- Jerry Smit
