2024
In the arc of a life spent in pursuit of physical mastery and mental clarity, few can claim a path quite like that of Manfred van Doorn. Born and raised in the Netherlands, he grew up in a milieu that celebrated discipline, inquiry, and steady personal growth. As a youth, he was captivated by the crisp white judogi and the respectful bows that preceded each match. It was here, on the tatami mats of his hometown dojo, that he first glimpsed the transformative power of martial arts. By his teenage years, he had already achieved his black belt in Judo, a milestone that would prove foundational, not only to his approach toward combat, but also to his understanding of personal development, discipline, and the delicate balance of inner calm and explosive energy.
Yet even as his star ascended in the world of grappling, van Doorn discovered new horizons that extended beyond the familiar. Enamored with the raw intensity and powerful strikes of Kyokushinkai karate, he pivoted to this demanding style, placing himself under the tutelage of legendary Dutch instructors Peter Koopman and Rinus Schulz. Theirs was a school where bruises and sweat pooled together, where every session offered a lesson in precision, pain tolerance, and psychological fortitude. Van Doorn soaked up their teachings eagerly, melding strength with subtlety and forging a brand of karate that was as technical as it was mentally rigorous. During these formative years, he also found himself increasingly drawn to the philosophical currents that wove through martial traditions—timeless ideas about honor, perseverance, and self-knowledge.
By the late 1970s, as Europe’s martial landscape was evolving to include more internal and meditative systems, van Doorn welcomed a new challenge: the soft-yet-potent disciplines of Taikiken and Taijiquan. These Chinese-influenced arts, known for their flowing, energy-centric practices and emphasis on cultivating internal power, opened van Doorn’s eyes to the infinite complexity of body mechanics and the subtle interplay of mind and breath. Under the guidance of Ron Nansink, a forward-thinking practitioner who married age-old Eastern wisdom with a modern sensibility, van Doorn learned to channel qi (or chi), structure movements with fluid grace, and discover hidden reserves of resilience. In the early 1980s, Amsterdam’s vibrant cultural scene became his new training ground, and it was there that his education deepened even further. Under the patient instruction of not only Nansink, but also Hsing I experts Rinus Schulz and Jan Voormeij, he learned to blend Taikiken’s internal focus with the direct, explosive movements of traditional Hsing I, crafting a dynamic, integrative martial style that mirrored his own evolving philosophy.
Through the 1990s, amid a world moving increasingly toward globalization and cross-disciplinary exploration, van Doorn’s martial journey came full circle. He reunited with Ron Nansink to recommit to the rigorous demands of Taikiken, polishing his form and challenging himself anew. As he matured, he found himself weaving together all these threads—Judo’s grounding throws, Karate’s potent strikes, Taikiken’s internal harmony—into a personal tapestry of holistic development. In the early 2000s, never one to shy away from the unknown, he slipped on boxing gloves under the guidance of his friend and colleague Mark Louwerse, the “Boxing Psychologist.” The Western ring offered a fresh crucible where technique, timing, and cunning reigned supreme. For van Doorn, it was yet another way to expand his understanding of the body and mind’s interplay.
Today, Manfred van Doorn stays sharp through long-distance running—an endurance test that requires solitude, grit, and methodical pacing. This endurance training harmonizes with the meditative qualities of Taikiken and Taijiquan he shares with a select group of friends and colleagues, a small circle that reflects his deep belief in community and mentorship. He’s no longer the wide-eyed youth who first stepped onto a Judo mat. Instead, he’s something more profound: a living archive of martial knowledge, each chapter reflecting a willingness to adapt, grow, and absorb new lessons, even decades after his journey began.
But these are just the visible contours of his life. Behind the scenes, van Doorn is equally admired for his intellectual prowess and leadership acumen. A management trainer and organizational psychologist, he leverages the introspective qualities cultivated through martial arts to inform his work in the corporate and educational arenas. Drawing on principles of personal mastery, strategic thinking, and mindful engagement, he has authored five books in Dutch and seven in German, each a deep dive into personality structures, transformative learning, and the architecture of leadership. His explorations of human behavior are both theoretical and practical, grounded in evidence-based research and enriched by the lessons of the dojo, the boxing ring, and the meditative garden.
His multifaceted background helps him navigate an ever-changing world of commerce and culture, and today he’s at the forefront of educational innovation. He’s currently guiding the creation of “Double Healix – DNA for Leadership,” a multimedia program designed to cultivate leaders who can think and act with courage, clarity, and compassion. This project exemplifies how van Doorn seamlessly merges ancient wisdom and modern technology, physical rigor and cognitive flexibility, into a blueprint for personal and professional growth.
His Dutch-language book, “Het wiel opnieuw uitvinden” (“Reinventing the Wheel”), is available for purchase, symbolizes his restless commitment to discovery and reinvention. Just as he once embraced new martial disciplines to deepen his skillset, he now applies the same spirit to understanding leadership in an increasingly complex world. For Manfred van Doorn, no single discipline—be it martial arts, psychology, or organizational training—exists in isolation. Instead, they converge in his life as instruments for refining the mind, honing the body, and expanding the soul. His is a journey defined not by any single path or tradition, but by the courage to evolve—and the insight to guide others along the way
