W.A.K.O. European Championships 1978 was the second European kickboxing championships hosted by the W.A.K.O. organization and organized by the pioneer of German karate Georg Brueckner. The 1978 W.A.K.O. European championships were open to amateur men based in Europe only, with each country allowed more than one competitor in an individual weight category. The event also heralded a new category, Semi-Contact, which was introduced to feature alongside the existing Full-Contact category. At the championships end, West Germany was by far the most successful nation, with the previous year's top nation, the Netherlands, finishing way behind in second, and Italy came third - more detail on the winners and medal tables can be found in the sections below. The event was held in May 1978 in the border town of Wolfsburg, West Germany.
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 1980 were the fourth European kickboxing championships hosted by the W.A.K.O. organization. The championships were open to amateur men based in Europe and for the first time ever, each country had one competitor only per weight division. The styles on offer were Full-Contact and Semi-Contact. By the end of the championships, West Germany had the largest haul of medals, with host nation Great Britain in second, and Italy in third place. The event was held at the Wembley Centre in London, England, UK.
W.A.K.O. World Championships 1985 London were the joint fifth world kickboxing championships hosted by the W.A.K.O. organization arranged by British karate master Joe Johal – who had been made W.A.K.O. president earlier that year. The organization was facing some turmoil at the time with it splitting into two separate factions due to political differences which meant there were two separate world championships being held – with an event in Budapest that very same weekend. These political differences would, however, be resolved the following year and the organization would come back together. It was the second world championships to be held in the city of London and third overall.
W.A.K.O. World Championships 1985 Budapest were the joint fifth world kickboxing championships hosted by the W.A.K.O. organization arranged by the Hungarian Sport Karate Union. The organization was under some strain at the time and had split into two separate factions due to politically differences, meaning there were two separate world championships being held on the same date - with an event in London also taking place. These political differences would, however, be resolved and the organization would come back together the following year. It was the first ever W.A.K.O. championships to be held in Eastern Europe.
W.A.K.O. European Championships 1986 were the eighth European kickboxing championships hosted by the W.A.K.O. organization arranged by Simon Zahopoulos. The championships were open to amateur men and women based in Europe with each country only allowed one competitor per weight division. The styles on offer were Full-Contact and Semi-Contact kickboxing. West Germany were easily the strongest nation overall by the end of the championships, with hosts Greece in second and Great Britain third in the medals table. The event was held in Athens, Greece on Saturday, November 29 to Sunday, November 30, 1986.
W.A.K.O. European Championships 1988 were the ninth European kickboxing championships hosted by the W.A.K.O. organization arranged by W.A.K.O. president Ennio Falsoni. The event was open to amateur men and women based in Europe only, with two categories on offer; Semi-Contact and Light-Contact, with Light-Contact being introduced for the first time ever at a W.A.K.O. event. As decided by WAKO's world congress in Munich 1987, international championship are to be split up into two events and locations to accommodate fighters for newly added Light-Contact and later Low-Kick. Therefore, European championships for Full-Contact kickboxing and Forms took place at a separate event in Trogir, Yugoslavia. Each country was allowed one competitor per weight class per category. By the end of the event, hosts Italy were the top nation across all categories, with Great Britain second and regular European leaders West Germany in the third. It was held at the Palasport Taliercio in Mestre, Italy in 1988.
W.A.K.O. World Championships 1990 were the seventh world kickboxing championships hosted by the W.A.K.O. organization arranged by W.A.K.O. president Ennio Falsoni. It was the second W.A.K.O. championships in a row to be hosted in Mestre, and the fourth time overall in Italy, involving amateur men and women from twenty-eight countries from across the world. Originally, world championships were scheduled to take place in the USA in October 1989, but due to errors in event planning Italy saved the championships by organizing the tournament 3 months later. There were four categories on offer; Full-Contact, Semi-Contact, Light-Contact and Musical Forms, with each country typically allowed one competitor per weight division. Competitors were allowed to participate in more than one category, however, with double winners in Light and Semi-Contact. By the end of a competitive championships, USA were the top nation, with Poland a close second, and Canada in third. The event was held over three days at the Palasport Taliercio in Mestre Italy, starting on Friday 19 January and ending on Sunday 21 January, 1990.
W.A.K.O. European Championships 1990 were the tenth European kickboxing championships hosted by the W.A.K.O. organization and the first ever to be held in Spain. The event was open to amateur men and women from twenty-four countries across Europe, with four styles on offer; Full-Contact, Semi-Contact, Light-Contact and Musical Forms, with women participating in Light-Contact for the first time ever. Each country was allowed one competitor per weight division per category, although fighters could take part in more than one style. By the end of the championships, Great Britain was the top nation in terms of medals won, with West Germany second and Italy third. The event was held over three days in Madrid, Spain, from Friday 16 November to Sunday 18 November, 1990.
W.A.K.O. World Championships 1991 were the eight world kickboxing championships hosted by the W.A.K.O. organization. It was the third world championships to be held in London, involving amateur men and women from twenty-eight countries across the world. There were three styles on offer; Semi-Contact, Light-Contact and Musical Forms, and for the first time since Milan 1981, there would be no Full-Contact kickboxing competition at a W.A.K.O. world championships. Each country was allowed one competitor per weight division per category, although participants were allowed to participate in more than one category.
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. European Championships 1998 in Leverkusen were the joint fourteenth European kickboxing championships hosted by the W.A.K.O. organization and the fourth championships to be held in Germany. The event was open to amateur men and women based in Europe only and there were just the two styles on offer; Full-Contact and Light-Contact kickboxing. By the end of the championships Russia was by far the dominant nation in terms of medals won, with Poland second and Hungary third. The event was held in Leverkusen, Germany over six days starting on Tuesday, 1 December and ending on Sunday, 6 December 1998.
W.A.K.O. European Championships 2000 in Jesolo were the joint fifteen European kickboxing championships hosted by the W.A.K.O. organization and the sixth championships to be held in Italy. The event was open to amateur men and women from across Europe and there were three styles on offer; Low-Kick, Light-Contact and Semi-Contact. By the end of the championships the most successful nation was the hosts Italy, followed by Hungary in second and Kyrgyzstan in third. The event was held over five days at the Palasport Cornaro in Jesolo, Italy starting on Wednesday, 18 October and ending on Sunday, 22 October 2000.
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. World Championships 2001 were the joint thirteenth world kickboxing championships hosted by the W.A.K.O. organization. It was the second championships to be held in Serbia and Montenegro and was open to amateur men and women 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. 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 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.
London, England, UK 
