The World Association of Kickboxing Organizations is an international kickboxing organization counting over 120 affiliated countries representing all five continents. WAKO is a major governing body of amateur kickboxing and is responsible for the development of kickboxing worldwide. The organization was officially recognized as an official kickboxing governing body by Sport Accord. WAKO is recognized by the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Michał Głogowski is a Polish welterweight kickboxer fighting out of Siedlce for TKKF Siedlce. He is the WKN Low Kick World Champion and the K-1 Europe MAX 2008 in Poland runner up.
The men's 69 kg Semi-Contact category at the W.A.K.O. World Championships 2007 in Coimbra was the third lightest of the male Semi-Contact tournaments falling in between the welterweight and light middleweight divisions when compared to Full-Contact's weight classes. There were nineteen men from four continents taking part in the competition. Each of the matches was three rounds of two minutes each and were fought under Semi-Contact rules.
W.A.K.O. World Championships 1978 were the first ever W.A.K.O. World kickboxing championships introduced by the pioneer of German Karate Georg Brueckner and the third major event hosted by the W.A.K.O. organization – formerly known as the W.M.A.A.. The W.A.K.O. championships were open to amateur men only from eighteen countries across the world and all bouts were fought under Full-Contact kickboxing rules - differing from modern rules in that there was a platform instead of a ring and fighters wore no protective clothing or head guards. Semi-Contact, which had been introduced at the 1978 European championships, would have no place at this event. At the end of the championships, the USA was the top nation, with hosts West Germany a close second, and the Dominican Republic in third. The event was held in West Berlin, West Germany on November 5, 1978.
W.A.K.O. European Championships 1979 was the third European kickboxing championships hosted by the W.A.K.O. organization, organized by the Italian Ennio Falsoni. As with previous European championships the 1979 W.A.K.O. championships were open to amateur men based in Europe only, with each country allowed more than one competitor in an individual weight category. Two styles of kickboxing were on offer – Full-Contact and Semi-Contact. By the championships end West Germany was yet again the strongest nation, with Yugoslavia in second place, and hosts Italy in third - more detail on the winners and medal tables can be found in the sections below. The event was held in 1979 in Milan, Italy.
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. 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.
W.A.K.O. European Championships 1981 were the fifth European kickboxing championships hosted by the W.A.K.O. organization organized by one of the pioneers of Irish kickboxing George Canning. The championships were open to amateur men based in Europe only although each country was allowed more than one competitor per weight division, with the styles on offer being Full-Contact and Semi-Contact kickboxing. By the end of the competition, regular leaders West Germany were the top nation with the largest number of medals, with Great Britain in second and Italy third. The event was held in 1981 in Dublin, Ireland.
W.A.K.O. World Championships 1983 were the fourth world kickboxing championships hosted by W.A.K.O. and were organized by British P.K.A. principal Mike Haig. It was the second W.A.K.O. event to be held in London and was open to amateur male kickboxers only and featured two forms of kickboxing - Full-Contact and Semi-Contact. By the end of the championships West Germany was the top nation in terms of medals, with US a close second and hosts Great Britain just behind in third. The event was held at the Wembley Centre in London, England, UK on Saturday, 22 October 1983.
W.A.K.O. European Championships 1996 were the thirteenth European kickboxing championships hosted by the W.A.K.O. organization arranged by the Serbia and Montenegro kickboxing president Borislav Pelević. The event was the first ever to be held in Serbia and Montenegro and welcomed the country back into the international community after the devastation of the Bosnian War. It was open to amateur men and women representing thirty-seven countries in Europe - more detail on the participating nations is provided in the relevant section below.
W.A.K.O. World Championships 1999 were the joint twelfth world kickboxing championships hosted by the W.A.K.O. organization. It was the fifth championships to be held in Italy and was open to amateur men and women from fifty countries across the world.
W.A.K.O. European Championships 2002 in Jesolo was the sixteenth European championships to be held by the W.A.K.O. It was the second championship to be held in Jesolo and the seventh to be held in Italy. W.A.K.O. had originally hoped to have a joint event that year like they had with the last world championships, with an event in Greece in October and another in Hungary in November, but due to the difficulties involved they scrapped the idea and resorted to Jesolo which had held a successful event two years previously.
W.A.K.O. World Championships 2003 in Paris were the joint fourteenth world championships held by the W.A.K.O. and the first ever to be held in France. The other (joint) world championships were to be held in November of the same year in Yalta, Ukraine. The event was open to amateur men and women with approximately 780 athletes from 63 countries across the world taking part.
W.A.K.O. European Championships 2004 in Budva were the joint seventeenth European championships and were the fourth W.A.K.O. championships to be held in Serbia and Montenegro/Yugoslavia. The event was open to around 300 amateur men and women from 26 nations from across Europe.
W.A.K.O. World Championships 2005 in Agadir were the joint fifteenth world championships held by the W.A.K.O. organization and the first ever to be held in Morocco and the continent of Africa - with the other event to be held later that year in Szeged, Hungary. The championships were open to amateur men and women from across the world, with about roughly 48 countries providing around 350 athletes, who all attended despite initial fears about potential terrorist attacks.
W.A.K.O. World Championships 2005 in Szeged were the joint fifteenth world championships held by the W.A.K.O. organization and the third ever to be held in Hungary - with the other event having been held a couple of months earlier in Agadir, Morocco. The championships in Szeged were open to amateur men and women from across the world with around 720 athletes from 48 countries across five continents taking part.
W.A.K.O. European Championships 2006 (Lisbon) were the joint eighteenth European kickboxing championships held by the W.A.K.O. organization and the second to be held in Portugal and the city of Lisbon. The event was open to amateur men and women from across Europe although a number of professional fighters such as Luis Reis would take part. All in all, it was the largest ever European championships with around 560 athletes from 31 countries taking part. One of the reasons for the higher numbers being that W.A.K.O. had merged had recently merged with the I.K.A.S. and took on many of the I.K.A.S. organization's fighters. Another reason was that some countries were allowed multiple competitors per weight division in the Full-Contact and Semi-Contact categories.
W.A.K.O. European Championships 2006 in Skopje were the joint eighteenth European kickboxing championships held by the W.A.K.O. organization. It was the first event to be held in the country of Republic of Macedonia and was organized by the nation's kickboxing president Ljupčo Nedelkovski, involving (mainly) amateur men and women from 31 countries across Europe.
W.A.K.O. European Championships 2008 in Varna were the joint twenty European kickboxing championships held by the W.A.K.O. organization arranged by the Bulgarian kickboxing chief Boyan Kolev, with the second event to be held the next month in Oporto, Portugal. It was the second W.A.K.O. event to be held in Varna and Bulgaria and involved around 500 amateur men and women from 35 countries across Europe.
Igor Volodymyrovych Maksymenko — — master of sports of Ukraine of the international class in kickboxing and taekwondo, winner of World Cup in kickboxing.
Italian 
