W.A.K.O. World Championships 1979

Kickboxing championships

The poster for W.A.K.O. World Championships 1979

Information

Promotion

W.A.K.O.

Date

November 3 (Start)
November 4, 1979 (End)

Venue

Hillsborough Community College

City

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

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]

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	Michael Kuhr	Jesus Duran Max Mankowitz
-63 kg	Ali Pehlivan	Godfrey Butler	Jonny Mirer Jimmy Barletta
-69 kg	Ferdinand Mack	Javier Reyes	Sandry Ravessoud Walter Parlovic
-74 kg	Franz Haller	Harold Roth	Alfred Tommey Branko Cikatić
-79 kg	Jean-Marc Tonus	Dieter Herdel	Benny Hedlund F. Okkonowiak
-84 kg	Flavio Galessi	Branko Zgaljardic	Juan Ponce Gary Sproule
+84 kg	Tony Palmore	Harold Ehmann	Mladen Carevic

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	Sarhan Salman	F. Infantone
-63 kg	Andreas Lindemann	Jim Hakkens	Thomas Volken
-69 kg	Andreas Brannasch	Patrick Teugels	Goyvaerts
-74 kg	Hans-Peter Weinhold	Durovic	Homero De Moya
-79 kg	James Cisco	Ivan Wray	Flavio Galessi
-84 kg	Harald Edel	Walter Meneghini	Streicher
+84 kg	Norman McKenzie	Urich Falk	Anne Delis

Overall Medals Standing (Top 5)

Ranking	Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1	West Germany	5	3	0
2	Italy	3	1	1
3	Great Britain	2	2	0
4	USA	2	1	1
5	Switzerland	1	1	5

References

^ "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.
^ "2nd WAKO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS" (PDF). www.wakoweb.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
^ "WAKO Full contact Rules" (PDF). www.wakoweb.com. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
^ "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.
^ "Semi-Contact Rules" (PDF). www.wakoweb.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
^ "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.