![]() Then one day, while walking on the streets, Jean-Claude spotted a producer for Cannon Pictures, and showed some of his martial arts abilities which led to a role in Кривавий спорт (1988). Norris gave Van Damme a small role in the movie Зниклі безвісти (1984), but it wasn't good enough to get anybody's attention. He took English classes while working as carpet layer, pizza delivery man, limo driver, and thanks to Chuck Norris he got a job as a bouncer at a club. He came to Hong Kong at the age of 19 for the first time and felt insured to do action movies in Hong Kong. Jean-Claude posted a 18-1 (18 knockouts) Kickboxing record, and a Semi-Contact record of 41-4. Jean-Claude retired from martial arts in 1982, following a knockout over Nedjad Gharbi in Brussels,Belgium. Jean-Claude was awarded a first round victory. At the Forest Nationals in Brussels, on March 8, 1980, Jean-Claude knocked Teugels down and Teugels suffered a nose injury and was unable to continue. Jean-Claude wanted to defeat his rival Patrick Teugels. ![]() In 1980, Van Damme knocked out France's Georges Verlugels in 2 rounds of a match fought under kick-boxing rules. In Full-Contact karate, Jean-Claude knocked out England's Micheal Heming in 46 seconds of the first round. Van Damme's final match victory enabled his team to win the European Team Karate Championship. Jean-Claude was a member of the Belgium team which competed on Decemat the La Coupe Fancois Persoons Karate Tournament which was sanctioned by the Federation bruxelloise de Karate. However, Jean-Claude climbed off the canvas and with a perfectly timed ax-kick, knocked Bergman out in 56 seconds of the first round. ![]() For the first and only time in his career, Jean-Claude was knocked to the canvas after absorbing a powerful left hook from Bergman. In his first and only match against a United States opponent, Van Damme faced 'Sherman 'Big Train'Bergman', a kick-boxer from Miami Beach, Florida. In 1979, Jean-Claude traveled to the United States of America, to Tampa, Florida. Later in 1978, Jean-Claude lost a 3-round match for the Belgium Lightweight Championship (semi-contact) to his fellow team-mate to Patrick Teugels. He defeated twenty-five opponents during the week long tournament, but lost in the finals to Angelo Spataro from the Naha Club. At the 1978 Challenge De Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials),Jean-Claude placed 2nd in the semi-contact division. In 1977, at the WAKO Open International in Antwerp, Belgium, Jean-Claude lost a decision to fellow team mate Patrick Teugels in a semi-contact match. Van Damme was badly stunned, but came back to knockout Van Oostrum moments later. In his first match, Jean-Claude was staggered by a round-house kick thrown by fellow countryman, Toon Van Oostrum in Brussels, Belgium. He debuted under his birth name of Jean Claude Van Varenberg. ![]() Over the next 6-years, he competed in both full-contact and semi-contact matches. In 1976 at the age of sixteen, Jean-Claude started his Martial Arts fight career. His goal was to be number one but got sidetracked when he left his hometown of Brussels. He won the European professional karate association's middleweight championship as a teenager, and also beat the 2nd best karate fighter in the world. Van Damme trained for 4 years and earned a spot on the Belgium Karate Team. 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. His father introduced him to martial arts when he saw his son was physically weak. "The Muscles from Brussels" started martial arts at the age of eleven. Van Damme was born Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Brussels, Belgium, to Eliana and Eugène Van Varenberg, an accountant.
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