Michael J. Heming

Michael J. Heming
Born	Michael John Heming January 24, 1961(1961-01-24) Filton, Gloucestershire, England
Died	October 17, 1984(1984-10-17) (aged 23)
Nationality	English
Style	Kickboxing, Shotokan Karate
Rank	black belt in Shotokan

Michael John Heming (January 24, 1961 - October 17, 1984) was an English karateka and amateur kickboxer. He was European and British Semi-Contact Middleweight Champion in the 1970s, who complied an impressive winning streak before losing to Jean-Claude Van Damme in 1979.

Biography

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.

Martial arts 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 and later went on to win the 1979 European Karate Association's middleweight championship.^[1]

Heming lost his middleweight title when he was defeated by Jean-Claude Van Damme on December 16, 1979.

Tournament Record

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Date	Round	Time	Event	Location	Notes
Win	1-0-0	Nigel Williams		January 1, 1979	2		UK Open Karate Tournament	London, England	Semi-Contact
Win	2-0-0	Tom Eastman		January 1, 1979	2		UK Open Karate Tournament	London, England	Semi-Contact
Loss	2-1-0	Frank Brennan		1979	3		Grand Championship of Europe	Belgium	Semi-Contact
Win	3-1-0	Gary Daniels	Foul	1979	1		Bristish Amateur Full-Contact Organization	London, England	Full-Contact[2](amateur match)
Win	4-1-0	Lloyd Brown		1979	3		European Karate Association	London, England	Semi-Contact (Middleweight Championship)
Win	5-1-0	Sean Robin		June 11, 1979	3		British Empire Regional Championships	London, England	Semi-Contact
Win	6-1-0	David Wilding		June 11, 1979	3		British Empire Regional Championship	London, England	Semi-Contact
Loss	6-2-0	Jean-Claude Van Damme	l'abandon	1980	2		La Coupe Francois Persoons Karate Tournament	Brussels, Belgium	Semi-Contact (Van Damme's victory over Heming enables the Belgium National Karate Team to win the European Team Championships.)
Win	7-3-0	Colin Niles	Knockout	January 19, 1980	2		British Full-Contact Elimination Tournament	London, England	Full-Contact: Middleweight Division (amateur match)
Loss	7-4-0	Nick da Costa	Knockout	January 19, 1980	2		British Full-Contact Elimination Tournament	London, England	Full-Contact: Middleweight Division (amateur match)
Loss	7-5-0	Dev Barrett	Knockout	1980	2		British Full-Contact Middleweight Championship	Coventry, England	Full-Contact: Amateur match)
Loss	7-6-0	Wayne Otto		1982	3			London, England	Semi-Contact

Retirement

Heming retired from professional Karate in 1983 after being diagnosed with hypertrophy of the ventricular myocardium.

Death

His heart continued to worsen and in September 1984 it was determined that his condition was terminal. Michael J. Heming died suddenly on October 17, 1984 at his home in Filton, Bristol. He is interred at Memorial Woodlands Cemetery in Bristol, England.^[1]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} ' From the Muscles of Brussels to a Dart to the Heart ', Suzanne Savill , Bristol Evening Post, 19 October 1984
2. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0199939/bio

Persondata
Name	Heming, Michael J.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	January 24, 1961
Place of birth	Filton, Gloucestershire, England
Date of death	October 17, 1984
Place of death