Peter "The Hurricane" Smit was a Dutchmartial artist who mastered such different fight disciplines as kyokushinkarate, kickboxing and Muay Thai. Peter Smit in his prime was one of the best Dutch fighters, who never got enough fights to show his full potential. He had to retire early in his career because of a serious ankle injury.
Biography
He starting training in Kyokushin karate when he 16 years old and then in 1981 he commenced training in kickboxing. He fought his first international tournament, the Open Ocean Pacific Kyokushinkai championship, in 1985 on Hawaii. Smit got his nickname "The Hurricane" from a Dutch colleague Fred Royers by "becoming a champion like a hurricane" when he beat six opponents on one day. In 1986 he fought against Hiroki Kurosawa during the 18th Open Japanese Championships Kyokushinkai in Tokyo. Because of a debatable decision Peter Smit lost this fight after three extra rounds in spite of a broken toe. This fight is known as an example of "true Kyokushinkai Fighting Spirit". Smit trained with Michel Wedel in Japan, and the following year in the Netherlands in preparation for the European Championship. Peter Smit became European Middle weight champion Kyokushin in 1987 in Katowice, Poland. His fight against Changpuek Kiatsongrit in the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok is legendary. Peter Smit knocked out a Thai Champion in front of his own public, the first time that had happened in the history of muay thai. After a flurry of punches and knees Changpuek was knocked out in the 2nd round. Peter Smit became the world muay thai champion. Peter Smit developed himself as an absolute top fighter in three of the hardest fight sports in the world. His first fight against kickboxing legend Rob Kaman was also an upset. In the 10th round he won by a knockout, which was considered impossible against the "unbeatable" Kaman at the time. It was the highlight of Peter Smit's short career. He was attacked in a Rotterdam nightclub by two guys. The scuffle ended up in the nightclub car park with Peter suffering a broken ankle. His attackers had tried to kill him attempting to run him down with their car. A cast was put onthe broken ankle but Peter cut it off with a hacksaw and fought Rob Kaman neglecting the injury. The ankle injury never healed properly and unfortunately he had to end his career. With his career over he suffered depression and became addicted to cocaine. He ran into trouble with the police committing thefts to support his addiction and ended up serving a 7 month sentence in jail in 2000. He rebuilt his life when he was released from jail, drug free, however, had he difficulties training due to the ankle injury. On August 15, 2005 he was shot to death in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, after he stood up for his friend. Since his death fellow fighter Peter Aerts has worn "Peter Smit RIP" in his fight shorts, Aerts is a fan of Smit's career.
