Actor / Director Profile

When Jean-Claude Van Damme became an international film star, there was some debate as to his kick-boxing accomplishments. Former multiple World Kickboxing Champion Don "The Dragon" Wilson even offered Jean-Claude a "$100,000" bounty match to get into the ring and fight him. Van Damme brushed off the "challenge" as a publicity stunt. But, the truth of the matter was that Jean-Claude Van Damme was a successful semi-contact and full-contact fighter (amateur) who competed in Europe and briefly in the United States from 1976-1982.At the age of 12, Van Damme began his martial arts training at Centre National De Karate (National Center of Karate) under the guidance of Master Claude Goetz in Ixelles, Belgium. Van Damme trained for 4 years and earned a spot on the Belgium Karate Team.In 1976 at the age of sixteen, Jean-Claude started his amateur fight career as a 135-pound lightweight. He debuted under his birth name of Jean Claude Van Varenberg. In his first match, Jean-Claude was staggered by a round-house kick thrown by fellow countryman, Toon Van Oostrum in Brussels, Belgium. Van Damme was badly stunned, but came back to knockout Van Oostrum moments later. Jean-Claude finished the year with a first knockout win over Roland Vedani in a competition in Ingelmunster. Some sources list these two matches as "light-contact" which would mean that the victories were listed as "won by forfeit due to injury", not knockouts.In 1977, at the WAKO Open International in Antwerp, Belgium, Jean-Claude won a decision over fellow team mate Patrick Teugels. Previous reports had Van Damme losing a decision, but a recent video shows Jean-Claude winning the match.At the same tournament, Van Damme knocked out Andre Lemaire in the opening round of a match fought under full-contact rules.After six months of intense training and sparring, Master Goetz decided to unleash his prized pupil on the European Full-Contact scene.At the 1978 Challenge De Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials),Jean-Claude placed 2nd in the semi-contact division. He defeated three opponents, but lost in the finals to a fighter billed as Spataro from the Naha Club. Later in 1978, Jean-Claude lost a 2-round match for the Belgium Lightweight Championship (semi-contact) to his fellow team-mate to Patrick Teugels. Van Damme ended the year by losing in the opening eliminations at the 1978 WAKO Amateur World Championships, thus failing to place in the top 10.In 1979, Jean-Claude was a member of the Belgium Karate Team when it traveled to Tampa, Florida to compete in the WAKO World Championships promoted by Mike Anderson. In his first and only match against a United States opponent, Van Damme faced 'Sherman 'Big Train'Bergman', a kick-boxer from the Miami Beach, Florida in a non-tournament match which was fought under full-contact rules. For the first and only time in his career, Jean-Claude was knocked to the canvas after absorbing a powerful left hook from Bergman. However, Jean-Claude climbed off the canvas and with a perfectly timed ax-kick, knocked Bergman out cold in 56 seconds of the first round. Van Damme then attempted to win the Semi-Contact 69kg World Championship, but was defeated in the opening elimination match by a fighter from Spain. Thus, Jean-Claude Van Damme failed for the second time to place in the World Championships. He went on to defeat Spain's Gilberto Dias by forfeit due to injury in the first round of an international light-contact match fought in Belgium. Following that match, Jean-Claude was a member of the Belgium team which competed on December 26, 1979 at the La Coupe Fancois Persoons Karate Tournament which was sanctioned by the Federation bruxelloise de Karate. Van Damme's victory over European and British Semi-Contact Middleweight Champion Micheal Heming by "forfeit" due to injury in the second round, enabled the Belgium team to win the European Team Championships. Previous sources had listed this match as a professional match which too place in 1980.In 1980, Jean-Claude Van Damme knocked out France's Georges Verlugels in 2 rounds of a match fought under kick-boxing rules.After these victories, Van Damme caught the attention of the European martial arts community. Professional Karate Magazine publisher and editor Mike Anderson, and multiple European Champion Geet Lemmens tabbed Jean-Claude Van Damme as an upcoming prospect. However, Jean-Claude's ambitions now focused in the direction of movie acting.Before he retired from active competition, Jean-Claude wanted to defeat his rival Patrick Teugels, and a rubber-match was scheduled at the Forest Nationals in Brussels, on March 8, 1980. The match was held on a professional card, but it was listed as an under-card match. The match was fought under "light-contact" rules and ended when Jean-Claude knocked Teugels down and Teugels suffered a nose injury and was unable to continue. The official result was a "forfeit win due to injury."Following the victory, Jean-Claude retired from martial arts competition, but a year later he launched a comeback. Both his comeback fights were kick-boxing matches. In 1981, Jean-Claude knocked out Henk Besselman in one round, and in 1982, he knocked out Lenny Leikman in three rounds. Videos and newspaper reports support Jean-Claude's Van Damme's claim to a successful fight record. All his matches (except possibly his comeback matches in 1981-1982) were amateur bouts. The vast majority of his career was fought in both semi and light-contact tournaments. However, he had at least 3-matches fought under kick-boxing rules.After Jean-Claude's film career took off, controversy arose because none of his fights were found. Some experts blasted Van Damme as a fake, saying he only had one amateur fight which he lost. But research and the Internet have finally cleared things up. Jean-Claude Van Damme fought his entire fight career under his birth name of Van Varenberg; thus the mix-up.In August, 2009, it was announced that Jean-Claude Van Damme would return to the ring after a 27 year retirement to fight Thailand's Somrak Khamsing in a match promoted by Japan's K-1. The comeback fight is scheduled for November 2011 in Russia.