W.A.K.O. held its first amateur world championships in 1978 in West Berlin, [1] after having previously staged two European championships the two years previously. It followed this with a second world championships a year later in Tampa, Florida. During the 1980s the world championships were held every other year except for in 1985 when a feud within the W.A.K.O. organization led to two versions of the championships being held on the same date – one in London, the other in Budapest. [2]
In the 1990s W.A.K.O. held its world championships intermittently with at least one every other year although, in 1993 the organization again had a temporary political dispute which like 1985 meant two championships in one year. [3] Additionally, the outbreak of the Balkan War resulted in the 1995 world championships being moved to Kyiv and in 1997 to Gdańsk. [4] By the turn-of-the-twentieth-century, the organization began introducing two different world championships every two years - one typically covering forms of kickboxing such as full-contact, semi-contact and musical forms, while the other types such as Thai-boxing, low-kick kickboxing and later K-1 rules. Of late, W.A.K.O. have begun to get involved with the SportAccord World Combat Games, hosting male and female full-contact, semi-contact and low-contact kickboxing competitions at the 2010 event, [5] with the 2009 world championships (both events) being used as qualifiers. [6] [7]
W.A.K.O. Amateur Kickboxing World Championships
| Edition | Year | Host City | Country | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1978 | West Berlin | 7 | |
| 2 | 1979 | Tampa | 14 | |
| 3 | 1981 | Milan | 7 | |
| 4 | 1983 | London | 16 | |
| 5 | 1985 | London | 22 | |
| 5 | 1985 | Budapest | 20 | |
| 6 | 1987 | Munich | 24 | |
| 7 | 1990 | Mestre | 32 | |
| 8 | 1991 | London | 28 | |
| 9 | 1993 | Atlantic City | 34 | |
| 9 | 1993 | Budapest | 30 | |
| 10 | 1995 | Kyiv | ||
| 11 | 1997 | Gdańsk | ||
| 12 | 1999 | Bishkek | ||
| 12 | 1999 | Caorle | 66 | |
| 13 | 2001 | Maribor | 39 | |
| 13 | 2001 | Belgrade | 42 | |
| 14 | 2003 | Paris | +37 | |
| 14 | 2003 | Yalta | ||
| 15 | 2005 | Agadir | ||
| 15 | 2005 | Szeged | ||
| 16 | 2007 | Belgrade | ||
| 16 | 2007 | Coimbra | ||
| 17 | 2009 | Villach | ||
| 17 | 2009 | Lignano | ||
| 18 | 2011 | Skopje | ||
| 18 | 2011 | Dublin | ||
| 19 | 2013 | Guarujá | ||
| 19 | 2013 | Antalya | ||
| 20 | 2015 | Belgrade | ||
| 20 | 2015 | Dublin | ||
| 21 | 2017 | Budapest | 136 | |
| 22 | 2019 | Sarajevo | ||
| 22 | 2023 | Great Yarmouth |
| Edition | Year | Host City | Country | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1996 | |||
| 2 | 1998 | |||
| 3 | 2000 | |||
| 4 | 2002 | Budva | ||
| 5 | 2004 | |||
| 6 | 2006 | Zadar | ||
| 7 | 2008 | Naples | ||
| 8 | 2010 | Belgrade | ||
| 9 | 2012 | Bratislava | ||
| 10 | 2014 | Rimini | ||
| 11 | 2016 | Dublin | 230 | |
| 12 | 2018 | Jesolo | 238 |
| Edition | Year | Host City | Country | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2014 | Ufa |