From 1976 to 1980, Van Damme compiled a record of 44 victories and 4 defeats in tournament and non-tournament semi-contact matches. Īt the age of 15, Van Damme started his competitive karate career in Belgium. Van Damme trained for four years and he earned a spot on the Belgian Karate Team he later trained in full-contact karate and kickboxing with Dominique Valera.
Career Early 1970s to 1980: Martial arts and first film appearanceĪt the age of 12, Van Damme joined the Centre National de Karaté (National Center of Karate) under the guidance of Claude Goetz in Belgium. If you can survive a ballet workout, you can survive a workout in any other sport." Later he took up both Taekwondo and Muay Thai. According to Van Damme, ballet "is an art, but it's also one of the most difficult sports. At the age of 16, he took up ballet, which he studied for five years. He started lifting weights to improve his physique, which eventually led to a Mr. He eventually earned his black belt in karate at 18. His styles consist of Shōtōkan Karate and Kickboxing. He began martial arts at the age of ten, enrolled by his father in a Shōtōkan karate school. His father is from Brussels and bilingual, and his mother is Flemish (Dutch-speaking). Van Damme was born Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg, on 18 October 1960, in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Brussels, Belgium, the son of Eliana and Eugène Van Varenberg, who was an accountant and florist.
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