W.A.K.O. World Championships 1979

W.A.K.O. World Championships 1979 were the second ever world kickboxing championships hosted by W.A.K.O., organized by American Mike Anderson. They were open to amateur men only from across the world, with two styles of kickboxing - Full-Contact and Semi-Contact - on offer. This was the championships where the (now) world famous martial artist turned actor Jean-Claude Van Damme was supposed to have competed – although reports on the event and from participating fighters give no confirmation of Van Damme ever participating.[1] By the end of the championships West Germany was the strongest nation, Italy were second, Great Britain third. The event was held at the Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Florida, USA between November 3 and 4 in 1979.[2]

W.A.K.O. World Championships 1979
The poster for W.A.K.O. World Championships 1979
Information
PromotionW.A.K.O.
DateNovember 3 (Start)
November 4, 1979 (End)
VenueHillsborough Community College
CityUnited States Tampa, Florida, USA
Event chronology
W.A.K.O. European Championships 1979 W.A.K.O. World Championships 1979 W.A.K.O. European Championships 1980

Men's Full-Contact Kickboxing

The Full-Contact category at Tampa had seven weight divisions, ranging from 57 kg/125.4 lbs to over 84 kg/+184.8 lbs, with all bouts fought under Full-Contact rules. More detail on Full-Contact's rules-set can be found at the W.A.K.O. website, although be aware that the rules have changed since 1979.[3] The medal winners of each division are shown below with notable winners being Tony Palmore who won his second gold medal at a W.A.K.O. world championships and reigning W.A.K.O. European champion and future K-1 world champion Branko Cikatić picking up a bronze medal. By the end of the event, West Germany were the strongest nation in Full-Contact, winning two golds and two silvers.[4]

Men's Full-Contact Kickboxing Medals Table
Event Gold Silver Bronze
-57 kg Howard Brown United Kingdom Michael Kuhr West Germany Jesus Duran Dominican Republic
Max Mankowitz Norway
-63 kg Ali Pehlivan West Germany Godfrey Butler United Kingdom Jonny Mirer Switzerland
Jimmy Barletta Belgium
-69 kg Ferdinand Mack West Germany Javier Reyes Dominican Republic Sandry Ravessoud Switzerland
Walter Parlovic Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
-74 kg Franz Haller Italy Harold Roth United States Alfred Tommey Switzerland
Branko Cikatić Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
-79 kg Jean-Marc Tonus Switzerland Dieter Herdel West Germany Benny Hedlund Sweden
F. Okkonowiak Netherlands
-84 kg Flavio Galessi Italy Branko Zgaljardic Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Juan Ponce Switzerland
Gary Sproule United States
+84 kg Tony Palmore United States Harold Ehmann Austria Mladen Carevic Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

Men's Semi-Contact Kickboxing

Semi-Contact returned to the 1979 world championships, having been absent from the 1978 world championships. Semi-Contact differed from Full-Contact in that fights were won by using skill, speed and technique to score points rather than by excessive force - more detail on Semi-Contact rules can be found at the official W.A.K.O. website, although be aware that the rules will have changed since 1979.[5] Like Full-Contact there were seven weight divisions ranging from 57 kg/125.4 lbs to over 84 kg/+184.8 lbs. The medal winners of each division are shown below with West Germany being the top nation in Semi-Contact by the championships end.[6]

Men's Semi-Contact Kickboxing Medals Table
Event Gold Silver Bronze
-57 kg Alessandro Ortelli Italy Sarhan Salman West Germany F. Infantone Norway
-63 kg Andreas Lindemann West Germany Jim Hakkens Netherlands Thomas Volken Switzerland
-69 kg Andreas Brannasch West Germany Patrick Teugels Belgium Goyvaerts Morocco
-74 kg Hans-Peter Weinhold Austria Durovic Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Homero De Moya Dominican Republic
-79 kg James Cisco United States Ivan Wray United Kingdom Flavio Galessi Italy
-84 kg Harald Edel West Germany Walter Meneghini Italy Streicher Austria
+84 kg Norman McKenzie United Kingdom Urich Falk Switzerland Anne Delis Netherlands

Overall Medals Standing (Top 5)
Ranking Country Gold Gold Silver Silver Bronze Bronze
1 West Germany West Germany 5 3 0
2 Italy Italy 3 1 1
3 United Kingdom Great Britain 2 2 0
4 United States USA 2 1 1
5 Switzerland Switzerland 1 1 5

See also

References
  1. "First WAKO World Championships in 1978 and 1979 (Jean-Claude Van Damme's enigma)". karate-in-english-lewis-wallace.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
  2. "2nd WAKO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS" (PDF). www.wakoweb.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
  3. "WAKO Full contact Rules" (PDF). www.wakoweb.com. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
  4. "2nd WAKO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (Men's Full-Contact)" (PDF). www.wakoweb.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
  5. "Semi-Contact Rules" (PDF). www.wakoweb.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
  6. "2nd WAKO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (Men's Semi-Contact)" (PDF). www.wakoweb.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
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