Michael J. Heming
| Michael J. Heming | |
|---|---|
 Michael J. Heming, Karate Champion |
|
| Born | Michael John Heming 24 January 1961 Filton, Gloucestershire, England |
| Died | 17 October 1984 (aged 23) |
| Other names | The Explosive Lean Man |
| Nationality |  England |
| Height | 1.80 metres (5 ft 11 in) |
| Weight | 75 kg (170 lb) |
| Division | Middleweight |
| Style | Kickboxing, Shotokan Karate |
| Fighting out of | Filton, Gloucestershire, England |
| Team | Team Filton |
| Rank | black belt in Shotokan |
| Years active | 1976–1982 (martial arts) |
| Kickboxing record | |
| Total | 16 |
| Wins | 10 |
| By knockout | 8 |
| Losses | 6 |
| Amateur career | |
| Total | 25 |
| Wins | 20 |
| Losses | 5 |
| Other information | |
| Occupation | martial artist, |
Michael John Heming (24 January 1961 – 17 October 1984) was an English karateka and kickboxer. He was European Middleweight Kickboxing Champion and British Semi-Contact Middleweight Champion in the 1970s, who complied an impressive winning streak before losing to Jean-Claude Van Damme in 1980.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Michael John Heming was born in Filton, Gloucestershire, England, the son of Nancy Heming and Stephan el. Heming, a supermarket owner from Bradford on Avon. He attended Bristol Primary School and graduated from Bristol Central High School in 1979.
In 1967 Michael's mother, Nancy Heming was shot in the arm when she tried to fight off two men who were attempting to rob her husband's supermarket. Michael threw a can of creamed corn at the assalaints as they exited the store but it missed. The two men were never found. Nancy fully recovered, but Michael was left with deep feelings of helplessness and guilt.
[edit] Kickboxing/Full-Contact Karate Career
In the spring of 1968, Heming asked his father to enroll him in martial arts, and on 24 January 1969 he was enrolled at Filton Shotokan Karate School as a birthday present.
In 1976 he earned his black belt. He then started competing in kickboxing, full-contact karate, and semi-contact karate.
In 1979, Heming won the Europe Karate Association Middleweight Championship (Great Britain version). Heming's biggest victories were over Keith O'Grady, Colin Niles, and Peter Gleason.
On 16 December 1979, Heming was stopped in 1 round by Jean-Claude Van Damme and lost his title.[1]
[edit] Semi-Contact/Light-Contact Career
Heming scored 20 victories in tournament karate. His biggest match was a loss to British Karate Champion Frank Brennan.
[edit] Amateur Kickboxing Record
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Date | Round | Time | Event | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1-0-0 |  Mark Hamilton |
Decision | 1978 | 3 | Independent Promotion | Coventry, England | Full-Contact | |
| Win | 2-0-0 | George Swanson |
Technical Knockout | 1978 | 3 | Coventry, England | Full-Contact | ||
| Win | 3-0-0 | Gary Daniels |
Foul | 1979 | 1 | Bristish Full-Contact Organization | London, England | Full-Contact[2] | |
| Loss | 3-1-0 | Gary Daniels |
Knockout | 1979 | 1 | 1:03 | Bristish Full-Contact Organization | London, England | Full-Contact[2] |
| Loss | 3-2-0 | Lloyd Brown |
Decision | 1979 | 3 | European Karate Association | London, England | Kickboxing | |
| Win | 4-2-0 | Keith O'Grady |
Knockout | 1980 | 1 | 0:21 | European Karate Association | London, England | Kickboxing |
| Win | 5-2-0 | Keith O'Grady |
Knockout | 1980 | 1 | 0:58 | European Karate Association | Blackpool, England | Kickboxing |
| Win | 6-2-0 |  Tom Connley |
Knockout | 1980 | 3 | European Karate Association | Ireland | Kickboxing | |
| Loss | 6-3-0 | Robert Connor |
Technical Knockout | 1980 | 2 | European Karate Association | Blackpool, England | Kickboxing:Heming unable to continue due to injury | |
| Win | 7-3-0 | Keith O'Grady |
Knockout | 1980 | 1 | P.K. A.European Middleweight Championship | Blackpool, England | Kickboxing | |
| Loss | 7-4-0 |  Jean-Claude Van Damme |
Knockout | 1980 | 1 | 0:46 | European Middleweight Championship | Brussels, Belgium | Kickboxing |
| Win | 8-4-0 | Colin Niles |
Knockout | 19 January 1981 | 2 | British Full-Contact Elimination Tournament | London, England | Full-Contact: Middleweight Division | |
| Loss | 8-5-0 | Nick da Costa |
Knockout | 19 January 1981 | 2 | British Full-Contact Elimination Tournament | London, England | Full-Contact: Middleweight Division | |
| Loss | 8-6-0 | Dev Barrett |
Knockout | 1982 | 2 | British Full-Contact Middleweight Championship | Coventry, England | Full-Contact | |
| Win | 9-6-0 | Sean Barry |
Knockout | 1 January 1983 | 1 | 0:18 | London, England | Kickboxing | |
| Win | 10-6-0 | Peter Gleason |
Knockout | 8 January 1983 | 1 | 0:57 | Liverpool, England | Kickboxing |
[edit] Semi-Contact Record
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Date | Round | Time | Event | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1-0-0 | Jerry Neuman |
Decision | 1977 | 3 | Dunstable, England | Semi-Contact | ||
| Win | 2-0-0 | Billy Brenner |
1977 | 3 | Coventry, England | Semi-Contact: Brenner unable to continue due to injury. | |||
| Win | 3-0-0 | Malcom Hough |
1977 | 3 | UK Open Karate Tournament | London, England | Semi-Contact | ||
| Win | 4-0-0 | Sean Cullen |
1977 | 3 | UK Open Karate Tournament | London, England | Semi-Contact | ||
| Win | 5-0-0 | Danny "Boy"McNamara |
Decision | 1977 | 3 | Birkenhead Karate Tournament | Birkenhead, England | Semi-Contact | |
| Win | 6-0-0 | Errol Sullivan |
1977 | 3 | Birkenhead Karate Tournament | Birkenhead, England | Semi-Contact | ||
| Win | 7-0-0 | Abram Jacobs |
1977 | London, England | Semi-Contact | ||||
| Win | 8-0-0 | Henry Hamilton |
1977 | 3 | London, England | Semi-Contact | |||
| Win | 9-0-0 | Mike Magan |
11 December 1977 | 3 | British Regional Middleweight Championship | London, England | Semi-Contact | ||
| Win | 10-0-0 | Sean Robin |
1 January 1978 | 3 | British Empire Regional Championships | London, England | Semi-Contact | ||
| Win | 11-0-0 | Nigel Williams |
1 January 1979 | 3 | UK Open Karate Tournament | London, England | Semi-Contact | ||
| Win | 12-0-0 | Tom Eastman |
1 January 1979 | 3 | UK Open Karate Tournament | London, England | Semi-Contact | ||
| Win | 13-0-0 | Gavin Rodgers |
Decision | 1 January 1979 | 3 | UK Open Karate Tournament | London, England | Semi-Contact | |
| Loss | 13-1-0 | Frank Brennan |
1979 | 3 | Grand Championship of Europe | Belgium | Semi-Contact | ||
| Win | 14-1-0 |  Bruno Kruger |
1980 | 3 | Cologne, Germany | Semi-Contact | |||
| Loss | 14-2-0 | Paul Palleres |
1978 | 3 | United Kingdom Open Championship | Blackpool, England | Kickboxing | ||
| Win | 15-2-0 | Paul Palleres |
1978 | 3 | Blackpool, England | Semi-Contact | |||
| Win | 16-2-0 | Frank Cuenca |
1978 | 3 | Blackpool, England | Semi-Contact | |||
| Loss | 16-3-0 | Frank Cuenca |
Foul | 1978 | 3 | Bristol, England | Semi-Contact: Heming's knocks out Cuenca and losses on a foul. | ||
| Win | 17-3-0 | Kenneth Parnell |
1978 | 3 | British Karate Middleweight Championship | Manchester, England | Semi-Contact | ||
| Win | 18-3-0 | Kenneth Parnell |
14 February 1979 | 3 | British Karate Middleweight Championship | London, England | Semi-Contact | ||
| Win | 19-3-0 | Brendan Rowe |
1979 | 3 | Camberwell, England | Semi-Contact | |||
| Win | 20-3-0 | Herman McDonald |
1979 | 3 | Coventry Middleweight Championship | Coventry, England | Semi-Contact | ||
| Loss | 20-4-0 | Wayne Otto |
1982 | 3 | London, England | Semi-Contact | |||
| Loss | 20-5-0 | Ryan Brooks |
1983 | 3 | Coventry, England | Semi-Contact |
[edit] Retirement
Heming retired from professional Karate in 1983 after being diagnosed with hypertrophy of the ventricular myocardium.
[edit] Death
His heart continued to worsen and in September 1984 it was determined that his condition was terminal. Heming died suddenly on 17 October 1984 at his home in Filton, Bristol. He is interred at Memorial Woodlands Cemetery in Bristol, England.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b ' From the Muscles of Brussels to a Dart to the Heart ', Suzanne Savill , Bristol Evening Post, 19 October 1984
- ^ a b http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0199939/bio
