Master Joel Pentikäinen
Kombatan Finland
Joel’s first contact with martial arts was when his mother took little Joel to a wrestling gym when he was 3 years old, about the height of a rattan stick. The hobby continued until he was 7, when Joel briefly switched to floorball and football. He returned to molski at the age of 11, but wrestling no longer seemed like the young boy’s style. Cousin Arto took Joel to Tapanilan Erä to train in Ju-jutsu, and at first his mother forbade him from participating in Ju-jutsu because martial arts could be dangerous or could cause injuries. Now his mother has a 1st dan black belt in that sport and his son has a 3rd dan. Pentikäinen has practiced a wide range of martial arts and has teaching qualifications in Kombatan, Mano Mano, Ju-jutsu, Kali Sikaran, Defendo and MDW.
Pentikäinen ended up in Kombatan by chance. He saw an advertisement for the Mano Mano camp on the wall of the Tikkurila sports hall in 2009 and decided to participate. That’s how it started and Joel achieved a black belt in Kombatan 2 years after starting. Pentikäinen wants to emphasize that he had 5 years of training in Kali Sikaran and a black belt in Jujutsu. Pentikäinen took the belt test in the warmth of the Philippine Sun under the watchful eye of Ernesto Presas jr. For a long time, Joel had his own Kombatan school in Helsinki, FMA Helsinki, before life took him to the Finnish Chicago, Lahti.
Currently, Master Pentikäinen teaches Kombatan at camps and is actively involved in the Kombatan instructor training program. His special expertise is in knife techniques and self-defense perspective. Pentikäinen says that he is interested in teaching and in genuine encounters with his students. Joel mentions that he wants to help Kombatan enthusiasts develop better in the sport by adopting important things for themselves in the best possible way. Joel’s goal is that there are active enthusiasts interested in the sport in Finland, and he strives to achieve this by helping all coaches and students, regardless of club.
Work: Security Specialist
Education:
- (Crisis and Emergency Situations Specialist HAMK)
- Specialized Professional Degree in Management (AEL)
- Specialized Professional Degree in Security Supervisor (Amiedu) Nursing (Laurea)
Achievements by sport:
- 5th degree Black Belt, Kombatan
- 3rd degree Black Belt Modern Mano Mano
- 3rd degree Black Belt Ju-Jutsu 2000
- 1st degree Black Belt in Kali Sikaran
- 1st degree Black Belt Swedish Kamp JuJutsu
- Instructor of the Year 2013 / IPMAF World camp in, Philippines / GM Ernesto Presas Jr.
- Instructor of the Year 2012 / Kombatan & Mano Mano Finland, Master Tomi Harell
- HT instructor in Defendo
- MultiDimensionalWarriors Trainer/Mark Human South-Africa
