W.A.K.O. World Championships 2007 in Coimbra were the joint 16th edition of the W.A.K.O. world championships and was the second event. The championships were for amateur male and female kickboxers and martial artists, covering the following categories; Full-Contact, Semi-Contact, Musical Forms and Aero Kickboxing. In the contact kickboxing categories, weight classes ranged from light bantamweight to super heavyweight. The Musical Forms and Aero Kickboxing categories did not have weight classes but had different forms. More information on the categories, weight classes and rules is provided in the various sections below. In total there were around 600 competitors at the event, representing fifty countries from five continents, competing in forty-three competitions. The Coimbra championships were held at the Pavilhão Multiusos de Coimbra in Coimbra, Portugal from Monday, November 26 to Sunday, December 2, 2007.
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 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. 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. European Championships 1984 were the seventh European kickboxing championships hosted by the W.A.K.O. organization arranged by Peter Land. The championships were open to amateur men based in Europe with each country allowed only one competitor per weight division, with the styles on offer being Full-Contact and Semi-Contact kickboxing. Regular European leaders West Germany were the top nation by the end of the championships, followed by Italy in second and hosts Austria in third. The event was held in Graz, Austria on Saturday, 22 September 1984.
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. 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. World Championships 1993 in Budapest were the joint ninth world kickboxing championships hosted by the W.A.K.O. organization arranged by Hungarian kickboxing president Richard Leyrer. As with the 1985 world championships the organization had suffered a temporary split due to political differences, and a previous event had been held in Atlantic City earlier in the month. These political differences would be resolved in the near future and the organization would be re-united.
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. 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.
Paris, France 
