Medical research and development
The "Rat Brain Separator": image processing that pulls apart the brains of up to four individual lab rats in a three-dimensional scan.
- Based in
- Belgium
Wouter Boelen
Budoka, software engineer & cyclist
I’m a budoka first, as an independent Shihan in the Hakkō Ryū style of jūjutsu, teaching at our dojo in Vorselaar and Herenthout. As any other martial art, it requires precision, patience and a habit of breaking hard things into learnable pieces.
By trade I’m a software engineer turned people lead. I spent over fifteen years building C++ and C# systems for maritime navigation, electronic payments, and supply-chain planning. These days I invest my time primarily in growing the team around me.
Away from the mat and the keyboard, I’m usually on a bike, writing my book, or fiddling with small personal projects at home.
Book · 2026
Loslaten
De onzichtbare kracht van Hakkō Ryū Jūjutsu
In Zen, control is the result of letting go. Loosen your grip and you feel more; relax your shoulders and react faster; empty your mind and you act unbound.
My book on Hakkō Ryū Jūjutsu, a modern Japanese martial art. It weaves together the history and philosophy behind the techniques, and explains them in a way that is accessible to martial artists and non-practitioners alike.
Read it at hakko.wboelen.be → Written in Dutch
What I've done
- 17years of shipping software
- 4companies, two of them for more than seven years
- 30+diverse people in my current team
- 1book in development
On the bridge
ECDIS navigation systems for inland ships, cargo ships and fishing trawlers, including one I took through maritime type approval.
At the pump
Card payments inside petrol stations: if you've ever used Bancontact contactless in the Benelux, you used some of my code.
Along the supply chain
Interfacing OMP's planning software with other ERP systems, and leading the team that does it.