Did Jean Claude van Damme become a Hollywood star?

Answer 1

Yes indeed, Jean claude van damme known as the son of eugene van varenberg, did become a Hollywood popstar, but he was also a karate person. Who jean claude van damme, competed in 4 different titles such as Muay thai, Tai chi, Taekwondo and kickboxing. Jean claude van damme would gain lots of fights at his childhood at shotokan karate. J.C. van damme would be selected to fight at mainly, high status competitions and he'd acquire dozens of trophies. In 1976 at the age of 16 J.C. van damme started his amateur fight career as a 135-pound lightweight.

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.