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Ricko Hutabarat: Kickboxing his way to world glory
Only a very few and very special kind of person can live and breathe the world of combat sports, and Indonesian kickboxer Ricko Hutabarat is currently striving to cement his place as one of them.
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Bob and weave: Ricko Hutabarat (right) trains with Anthony Engelen at the Tatsujin Dojo Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) center at the South Quarter Dome in South Jakarta. (Tatsujin Dojo/File)
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or the last year, Ricko, who idolizes Dutch world kickboxing champion Robin van Roosmalen, has been training rigorously at Tatsujin Dojo, the Netherlands-based mixed martial arts (MMA) gym that recently opened its official branch in Jakarta, to hone and develop his skills as a kickboxer.
He aims to become the first world kickboxing champion from Indonesia and he hopes that training under the direct mentorship of Tatsujin Dojo founder Martijn de Jong will help him achieve his goal.
Ricko’s decision to train at Tatsujin Dojo was based on his knowledge about the gym, which has produced world champions such as Alistair Overeem, and the fact that de Jong, a legendary MMA fighter, would be directly involved in his training.
“[De Jong] is one of the living legends of combat sports. Since I was a kid, I loved watching fighting sports and he was one of my favorite athletes, and he has also coached some of the best fighters in the world. So I know that he has a legitimate background as a coach,” Ricko told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview.
“When I heard that Martijn was coming to Jakarta with three of his fighters, I did my best to get in touch with him. I managed to contact him directly and asked if I could train with him and his fighters,” Ricko said.
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De Jong and his fighters tested Ricko through an intense 10-day training session before they decided that he qualified to join the Tatsujin Dojo brotherhood.
Ricko’s talent, toughness, dedication and determination impressed de Jong and his fighters so much that they also decided to sponsor his training, so all he needs to do is to train hard and improve his skills.
“I practically live and breathe kickboxing. My daily life consists of constant training and resting,” Ricko said. He added that he lived in the Lebak Bulus area, close to the location of Tatsujin Dojo at the South Quarter Dome in Cilandak, South Jakarta.
The dojo’s sponsorship is another stepping stone for Ricko, who has worked very hard to become a professional fighter, even overcoming his family’s objections.
While Ricko had been practicing various martial art forms, such as taekwondo, since he was a child, his parents initially did not support him when he decided on combat sports as his career path.
Like most Batak people, Ricko’s parents wanted him to have a “real job” that would guarantee a steady income. To make things worse, Ricko was the youngest of two brothers and traditionally, Batak families expect the youngest son to achieve the greatest success in life.
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Even though he didn’t have his parents’ blessing, Ricko was still determined to pursue his passion. He dropped out of university after one semester to focus fully on his training at different gyms until he finally became a full-time fighter and secured Tatsujin’s sponsorship — an achievement that slightly softened his parents’ view of his career choice.
“After [my parents] saw how big my passion was and how I managed to gain some achievements, they began to support me. They still haven’t given me their full blessing, but at least they understand now that this is something I have to do,” he said.
So far, Ricko has recorded seven victories with zero losses in amateur fights. Despite the fact that Ricko has only been fighting in the amateur ranks so far, he is extremely confident that he will perform just as well when the time comes for him to fight in the pros.
“I have always trained like a pro, even as an amateur fighter,” said Ricko, who is in the 70-kilogram weight class.
“I’m training with the best [now], especially Coach Martijn. That guy really knows how to push you beyond your limits and improve. His training is really, really hard, but it makes me get better every single time,” he said.
At just 22 years old, Ricko still has several years ahead of him to achieve his dream of becoming a world kickboxing champion. What is most important for him in the short term is to make a splash at the elite level of the pro scene.
“I have set a target to fight at Glory Kickboxing, one of the largest kickboxing organizations in the world, when I am 24. After that, I want to become a legitimate world champion as soon as possible.”
