Jean-Claude Van Damme Biography

Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (born 18 October 1960), professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme and abbreviated as JCVD, is a Belgian martial artist, actor, and director best known for his martial arts action films. The most successful of these films include Bloodsport (1988), Kickboxer (1989), Universal Soldier (1992), Hard Target (1993), Street Fighter (1994), Timecop (1994), Sudden Death (1995), JCVD (2008) and The Expendables 2 (2012).

Early life

Van Damme was born Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg, on 18 October 1960, in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Brussels, Belgium, the son of Eliana and Eugène Van Varenberg, who was an accountant.

He began martial arts at the age of ten, enrolled by his father in a Shotokan karate school. His styles consist of Shotokan Karate and Kickboxing. He eventually earned his black belt in karate. He started lifting weights to improve his physique, which eventually led to a Mr. Belgium bodybuilding title. At the age of 16, he took up ballet, which he studied for five years. According to Van Damme, ballet "is an art, but it's also one of the most difficult sports. If you can survive a ballet workout, you can survive a workout in any other sport."

Martial arts career

At the age of 11, Van Damme joined the Centre National De Karaté (National Center of Karate) under the guidance of Claude Goetz in Belgium. Van Damme trained for four years and he earned a spot on the Belgian Karate Team; later training in full-contact karate and kickboxing by Dominique Valera.

Semi-contact karate career

At the age of 15, Van Damme started his competitive karate career in Belgium. From 1976-1980, Van Damme compiled a record of 44 victories and 4 defeats in tournament and non-tournament semi-contact matches.

Van Damme was a member of the Belgium Karate Team when it won the European Karate Championship on 26 December 1979 at La Coupe Francois Persoons Karate Tournament in Brussels.

Van Damme placed second at the Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials). At the 3-day tournament, Van Damme defeated 25 opponents before losing in the finals to fellow team-mate Angelo Spataro.

1980 Forest National match

On 8 March 1980, in Brussels, Belgium, Van Damme competed against his former team-mate Patrick Teugels at the Forest National Arena on the undercard of the Dan Macaruso-Dominique Valera PKA Light-Heavyweight World Championship bout. Prior to this match, Teugels had defeated Van Damme twice by decision, including a match for the Belgium Lightweight Championship. Van Damme had a 1977 victory over Teugels. Teugels was coming off an impressive showing at the WAKO World Championships four months earlier, and was favored by some to win this match. According to reports, and Patrick Teugels' own interview (with photos), Teugels lost to Van Damme by TKO in the 1st round. Teugels was kicked in the nose and was unable to continue as a result. In a 2013 interview, Van Damme called this fight his most memorable match.

Kickboxing and full-contact karate career

Van Damme began his full-contact career in 1977, when Claude Goetz promoted the first ever full-contact karate tournament in Belgium.

From 1977 to 1982, Van Damme compiled a record of 18 victories (18 knockouts) and 1 defeat.

During his 5-year full-contact career, Van Damme was only knocked down once, in a match with Sherman Bergman. Van Damme went on to knock out Bergman in 56 seconds of the first round. In 1980, Van Damme caught the attention of Professional Karate Magazine publisher and editor Mike Anderson, and multiple European champion Geet Lemmens. Both men tabbed Van Damme as an upcoming prospect. Van Damme retired from competition in 1982.

Since 2009, Van Damme has been planning to make a comeback to fight former boxing Olympic gold-medalist Somluck Kamsing. The fight was a focal point in his ITV reality show Jean Claude Van Damme: Behind Closed Doors. The fight has been repeatedly postponed with many critics doubting it would ever happen, especially since booking the venue has even been a problem. Van Damme remains determined to fight Kam Sing.

December 2012, Van Damme was seen as part of Kamsing's ring crew, when he fought against Jomhod Kiatadisak. After the fight Kam Sing was interviewed and Van Damme joined him to compliment his "beautiful Hollywood face despite taking so many kicks". Van Damme was interviewed after the fight where he reaffirmed his commitment in fighting Kam Sing stating that the match has been postponed due to Expendables 2 and may be further postponed if he is involved in Expendables 3.

Film career

In 1982, Van Damme and childhood friend, Michel Qissi, moved to America in the hope of becoming action stars. They both were cast as extras in the film, Breakin'. Van Damme also had a non-speaking part as a Secret Service agent who carries a polio-crippled President Franklin Roosevelt (Ralph Bellamy) out of a pool in the 1988 TV miniseries War and Remembrance. After a small part in Missing In Action, Van Damme was next cast in the film No Retreat, No Surrender, as the role of the villain, Ivan the Russian. Van Damme worked for director John McTiernan for the 1987 film Predator as an early (eventually abandoned) version of the titular alien, before being removed and replaced by Kevin Peter Hall. His breakout film was Bloodsport, based on the alleged true story of Frank Dux. Shot on a 1.5 million dollar budget, it became a U.S. box-office hit in the spring of 1988. He then starred in the smaller budgeted film Cyborg. His last role for 1989 was Kurt Sloane in the successful Kickboxer. In this film, his character fights to avenge his brother who has been paralyzed by a Thai kickboxing champion (Qissi).

Double Impact featured Van Damme in the dual role of Alex and Chad Wagner, estranged twin brothers fighting to avenge the deaths of their parents. This film reunited him with his former Bloodsport co-star, Bolo Yeung. He then starred opposite Dolph Lundgren in the action film Universal Soldier. While it grossed $36,299,898 in the U.S., it was an even bigger success overseas, making over $65 million, well over its modest $23 million budget, making it Van Damme's highest grossing film at the time. Van Damme followed Nowhere To Run and Hard Target with Timecop in 1994. The film was a huge success, grossing over $100 million worldwide. In the film, Van Damme played a time traveling cop, who tries to prevent the death of his wife. It remains his highest grossing film in a lead role to date.

After his role in the poorly received Street Fighter, his projects started to fail at the box office. Sudden Death (1995); The Quest (1996), which he directed; Maximum Risk (1996), Double Team (1997) and Knock Off (1998) were box-office flops. The 1999 film Universal Soldier: The Return, also a box-office flop, was Van Damme's last theatrically released film until 2008. In 2003, Van Damme employed his dancing training in the music video for Bob Sinclar's "Kiss My Eyes."

Van Damme returned to the mainstream with the limited theatrical release of the 2008 film JCVD, which received positive reviews. Time Magazine named Van Damme's performance in the film the second best of the year (after Heath Ledger's The Joker in The Dark Knight), having previously stated that Van Damme "deserves not a black belt, but an Oscar." Van Damme indicated while promoting the film, he experienced a period of homelessness "sleeping on the street and starving in L.A."

Van Damme reprised his role as Luc Deveraux in the 2009 film Universal Soldier: Regeneration. Subsequently he voiced "Master Croc" in the 2011 animated film Kung Fu Panda 2. Also in 2011, Van Damme participated in various commercials for Coors Light beer, in which he is located on a snow-covered mountain wearing a sleeveless denim jacket, and for washing powder "Dash".

He was offered a lead role in Sylvester Stallone's film The Expendables (2010). Stallone called Van Damme personally to offer him the role, but Van Damme turned it down. He scheduled a series of film projects for 2011, including another Universal Soldier movie. On 30 June 2011, Van Damme confirmed his participation in The Expendables 2, which was released on 17 August 2012.

One of Van Damme's latest projects is an upcoming (2013) comedy Welcome To The Jungle directed by Rob Meltzer, in a role as a workplace team building trainer opposite Adam Brody, Rob Huebel, Kristen Schaal, Megan Boone, and Dennis Haysbert. He is also preparing to star in the thriller Enemies Closer which would re-unite him with Timecop and Sudden Death director Peter Hyams.

In August 2012 Van Damme confirmed that Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning would be released on 30 November 2012 to theaters. The film would also again co-star Dolph Lundgren. Van Damme also said that he would love to make a sequel to what he considers his best film, Double Impact, and that a script, which he co-wrote for the sequel, has been written, and that he is hoping to find a producer that will get behind the project.

Van Damme indicated that Stallone might include him in The Expendables 3, in which Van Damme would play Claude Villain, the brother to his Expendables 2 character Jean Villain. The casting of Mel Gibson as the film's villain, however, has made this less than likely.

Controversies

Lawsuit and fight record controversy

In 1997, Frank Dux, the martial artist whom Van Damme portrayed in Bloodsport, filed a lawsuit against Van Damme for $50,000 for co-writing and consultation work Dux did on the 1996 film The Quest. According to the lawsuit, Dux also accused Van Damme of lying to the public about his martial arts fight record, stating that when Dux tutored Van Damme while Van Damme was laying carpet for a living, Van Damme exhibited a lack of martial arts skills. Van Damme's lawyer, Martin Singer, responded, "There are records to document his martial arts acclaim. Why, just look at his movies; he didn't get those roles on his acting ability! He's the one who does those splits on chairs. He doesn't have a stuntman to do that."

Kadyrov event

In October 2011, Van Damme, along with other celebrities including Hilary Swank, Vanessa-Mae and Seal attracted criticism from human rights groups for attending an event in Russian federal subject Chechnya's capital Grozny on the 35th birthday of Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov on 5 October. Human rights groups, who had urged the celebrities to cancel their appearances because of abuses carried out under Kadyrov, criticised the celebrities for attending the event. Human Rights Watch released a statement which said, "Ramzan Kadyrov is linked to a litany of horrific human rights abuses. It's inappropriate for stars to get paid to party with him (...) And getting paid to be part of such a lavish show in Chechnya trivializes the suffering of countless victims of human rights abuses there."

Public image and influence

In the French-speaking world, Van Damme is well known for the picturesque aphorisms that he delivers on a wide range of topics (personal well-being, the environment, etc.) in a sort of Zen franglais.

The original video game Mortal Kombat was conceived as a fighting game based on Van Damme. Creators Ed Boon and John Tobias originally had desired to author the game starring Van Damme himself. That fell through as Van Damme had a prior deal for another game under the auspices of the Sega Genesis platform. Ed Boon and John Tobias eventually decided to create a different character for the game named Johnny Cage, who is modelled after Jean-Claude Van Damme, primarily from Van Damme's appearance and outfit in the martial arts film Bloodsport.

On 21 October 2012, Van Damme was honored with a life-size statue of himself in his hometown of Brussels. He told reporters during the unveiling, "Belgium is paying me back something, but really it's to pay back to the dream. So when people come by here, it is not Jean-Claude Van Damme but it's a guy from the street who believed in something. I want the statue to represent that".

On 13 November 2013, Volvo Trucks released an advert on YouTube that shows Van Damme doing the splits between two reversing trucks, in what Van Damme describes as "the epic split". The video quickly went viral around the web, receiving more than 11 million views in just 3 days.

Personal life

Van Damme chose to engage in substance abuse beginning in 1995, to the point where he became physically addicted. He entered a month-long rehabilitation program in 1996 but left it after only one week. In 1996, he spent up to $10,000 a week on cocaine. After the filming of the 1998 film Knock Off, Van Damme was diagnosed with rapid cycling bipolar disorder after becoming suicidal and started treatment on the mood stabilizer, sodium valproate. A turning point toward improvement of his health came from late 1997 onwards, after having finished divorce procedures.

He has been married five times to four different women. In 1994 he married his fourth wife, Darcy LaPier. After leaving LaPier, he remarried bodybuilder Gladys Portugues, his third wife, in 1997. They have two children: Kristopher (born 1987) and Bianca (born 1990).

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984	Monaco Forever	Gay Karate Man
1984	Breakin'	Spectator in First Dance Sequence	Uncredited
1986	No Retreat, No Surrender	Ivan Krushensky	Also known as Karate Tiger (European)
1987	Bloodsport	Frank Dux	Fight choreographer, Writer, Editor First work with Bolo Yeung.
1988	Black Eagle	Andrei	Also known as Red Eagle or Red Hunter (European)
1989	Cyborg	Gibson Rickenbacker	Editor
1989	Kickboxer	Kurt Sloane	Writer Also known as Karate Tiger 3 (European)
1990	Death Warrant	Louis Burke
1990	Lionheart	Lyon Gaultier	Fight choreographer, Writer Also known as Leon or A.W.O.L. " Absent Without Leave (European)
1991	Double Impact	Alex Wagner/Chad Wagner	Dual role, Producer, Writer Second work with Bolo Yeung.
1992	Universal Soldier	Luc Deveraux/GR44	First work with Dolph Lundgren.
1993	Last Action Hero	Himself
1993	Nowhere to Run	Sam Gillen
1993	Hard Target	Chance Boudreaux
1994	Timecop	Max Walker	Dual role
1994	Street Fighter	Colonel William F. Guile
1995	Sudden Death	Darren McCord
1996	Maximum Risk	Alain Moreau/Mikhail Suverov	Dual role
1996	'	Christopher Dubois	Director, Writer
1997	Double Team	Jack Quinn
1998	Knock Off	Marcus Ray
1998	Legionnaire	Alain Lefevre	Writer, Producer
1999	Universal Soldier: The Return	Luc Deveraux	Producer
1999	Inferno	Eddie Lomax	Producer Also known as Desert Heat
2001	'	Rudy Cafmeyer/Charles Le Vaillant	Dual role, Writer
2001	Replicant	Edward "The Torch" Garrotte/Replicant	Dual role
2002	Derailed	Jacques Kristoff
2003	In Hell	Kyle LeBlanc
2004	Wake of Death	Ben Archer
2004	Narco	Jean's ghost by Lenny	minor role
2006	'	Phillip Sauvage
2006	Second in Command	Sam Keenan
2006	'	Charles
2007	Until Death	Anthony Stowe
2008	'	Jack Robideaux	First work with Scott Adkins.
2008	JCVD	JCVD	Executive producer
2010	Universal Soldier: Regeneration	Luc Deveraux	Second work with Dolph Lundgren. First work with Andrei Arlovski. Limited theatrical release in Israel, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, India, Jordan, Lebanon, Italy, Japan, and Pakistan.
2011	Kung Fu Panda 2	Master Croc	Voice only
2011	Assassination Games	Vincent Brazil	Limited theatrical release in US, Russia, and Ukraine. Second work with Scott Adkins. Executive producer. Also known as Weapon (European)
2011	Beur sur la ville	Colonel Merot
2012	Rzhevskiy vs. Napoleon	Himself
2012	Dragon Eyes	Jean-Luis Tiano	First work with Cung Le and Peter Weller.
2012	'	Jean Vilain	Third work with Scott Adkins and Dolph Lundgren.
2012	Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning	Luc Deveraux	Fourth work with Scott Adkins and Dolph Lundgren. Second work with Andrei Arlovski.
2012	Six Bullets	Samson Gaul
2012	U.F.O.	George
2013	Enemies Closer	Xander	Completed
2014	Swelter	Stillman	Post-production
2014	Welcome to the Jungle	Storm Rotchild	Completed
2014	Full Love	Frenchy	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	Friends	Himself	"The One After the Superbowl" (Season 2, Episode 12"13)
2004	Las Vegas	Himself	"Die Fast, Die Furious" (Season 1, Episode 15)
2009	Robot Chicken	Himself Count Dracula Rhett Butler	Voice only "Maurice Was Caught" (Season 4, Episode 12)
2011	Jean Claude Van Damme: Behind Closed Doors	Himself	1 season (8 episodes)
2011	Les Anges Gardiens	Himself	1 season (20 episodes)

Video clips

Song	Artist
"Body Count's In The House"	Body Count
"Time Won't Let Me"	The Smithereens
"Straight To My Feet"	MC Hammer feat. Deion Sanders
"Something There"	Chage and Aska
"Crush 'Em"	Megadeth
"Kiss My Eyes"	Bob Sinclar
"Ya Lyublyu Ego"	Iryna Bilyk and Olga Gorbacheva

Video Games

Year	Title	Role
1995	Street Fighter: The Movie	Colonel Guile

Awards and nominations

Year	Nominated work	Award	Category	Results
1988	Bloodsport	Golden Raspberry Award	Worst New Star
1992	Double Impact	MTV Movie Award	Most Desirable Male
1993	Nowhere to Run	MTV Movie Award	Most Desirable Male
1994	Hard Target	MTV Movie Award	Most Desirable Male
1994	Hard Target	MTV Movie Award	Best Action Sequence
1994	Hard Target	Saturn Award	Best Horror Film
1998	Double Team	Golden Raspberry Award	Worst Screen Couple (with Dennis Rodman)
1999	Legionnaire	Saturn Award	Best Home Video Release
2001	Replicant	Video Premiere Award	Best Actor
2008	JCVD	Silver Leopard	Best Actor
2009	JCVD	Chlotrudis Award	Best Actor
2009	JCVD	TFCA Award	Best Performance, Male

Semi-contact/light-contact record

|-class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:0.5em auto; font-size:100%; text-align:left; width:100%;" !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Result !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Record !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Opponent !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Method !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Date !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Round !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Time !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Event !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Location !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Notes |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|44-4-0 |align='left'| Jonny Wellum |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|7 May 1980 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|W.A.K.O. |Brussels, Belgium |Light-Contact(Van Damme avenges early career defeat) |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|43-4-0 |align='left'| Jordy Claes |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1980 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|Gala InternationalW.A.K.O. |Brussels, Belgium |Light-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|42-4-0 |align='left'| Patrick Teugels |align='left'|l'abandon (TKO) |align='left'|8 March 1980 | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|Forest Nationals |Brussels, Belgium |Light-Contact:Teugels suffers a broken nose and is unable to continue.) |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|41-4-0 |align='left'| Andres Kovac |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1980 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|W.A.K.O. |Brussels, Belgium |Semi-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|40-4-0 |align='left'| Bekim-Moussa Muhammad |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1980 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|W.A.K.O. |Brussels, Belgium |Semi-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|39-4-0 |align='left'| Mustapha-Ahmad Benamou |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1980 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|W.A.K.O. |Brussels, Belgium |Semi-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|38-4-0 |align='left'| Reinhard Krass |align='left'|Disq. |align='left'|26 December 1979 | style="text-align:center;"|2 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|Karate Tournament: Belgium Team vs. German Team |Woluwe, Brussels, Belgium |Light-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|37-4-0 |align='left'| Gilberto Dias |align='left'|l'abandon |align='left'|November 1979 | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|World-All Styles Karate Organization |Brussels, Belgium |Light-Contact (Dias suffers ankle injury and is unable to continue.) |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|36-4-0 |align='left'| Hans Kohler |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1979 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|World-All Styles Karate Organization |Ingelmunster, Belgium |Semi-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Loss | style="text-align:center;"|35-4-0 |align='left'| Patrick Teugels |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1979 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|Cup of AntwerpWorld-All Styles Karate Organization |Antwerp, Belgium |Light-Contact(Both men fight in karate gi uniforms, no pads or gloves) |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|35-3-0 |align='left'| Matthias Evrard |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1979 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|Cup of AntwerpWorld-All Styles Karate Organization |Antwerp, Belgium |Semi-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|34-3-0 |align='left'| Paul Sperati |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1979 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|World-All Styles Karate Organization |Opprebais, Belgium |Semi-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|33-3-0 |align='left'| Lucus Reinfeld |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1979 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|World-All Styles Karate Organization, Europe Interland Cup |Mulhouse, Belgium |Semi-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|32-3-0 |align='left'| Robbe Bogaerts |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1978 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|Hope CupWorld-All Styles Karate Organization |Brussels, Belgium |Semi-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|31-3-0 |align='left'| Leonard Baptiste |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1978 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|World-All Styles Karate Organization |Izegem, Belgium |Semi-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|30-3-0 |align='left'| Fernando Cabanela |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1978 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|World-All Styles Karate Organization |Izegem, Belgium |Semi-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Loss | style="text-align:center;"|29-3-0 |align='left'| Angelo Spataro |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1978 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials) |Antwerp, Belgium |Light-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|29-2-0 |align='left'|Gabriel Van Der Driessche |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1978 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials) |Antwerp, Belgium |Light-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|28-2-0 |align='left'|Farid Muhammad Mousseau |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1978 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials) |Antwerp, Belgium |Light-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|27-2-0 |align='left'| Jacques van Laere |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1978 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials) |Antwerp, Belgium |Light-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|26-2-0 |align='left'| Christian Hedin |align='left'|Decsion |align='left'|1978 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials) |Antwerp, Belgium |Light-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|25-2-0 |align='left'| Gerard Charon |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1978 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials) |Antwerp, Belgium |Light-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|24-2-0 |align='left'| David Arranz |align='left'|Decsion |align='left'|1978 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials) |Antwerp, Belgium |Light-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|23-2-0 |align='left'|Bernard Redden |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1978 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials) |Antwerp, Belgium |Light-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|22-2-0 |align='left'|Antoine Redi |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1978 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials) |Antwerp, Belgium |Light-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|21-2-0 |align='left'| Ben Salah Ellah |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1978 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials) |Antwerp, Belgium |Light-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|20-2-0 |align='left'| Gaston Airey |align='left'|Foul |align='left'|1978 | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials) |Antwerp, Belgium |Light-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|19-2-0 |align='left'| Abdembi Hassan Ali |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1978 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials) |Antwerp, Belgium |Light-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|18-2-0 |align='left'| Jonas "Marcel" Cohen |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1978 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials) |Antwerp, Belgium |Light-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|17-2-0 |align='left'| Christian Van Tieghem |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1978 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials) |Antwerp, Belgium |Light-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|16-2-0 |align='left'| Max Roelandt |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1978 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials) |Antwerp, Belgium |Light-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|15-2-0 |align='left'| Andre Verbon |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1978 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials) |Antwerp, Belgium |Light-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|14-2-0 |align='left'| Michel Juvillier |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1978 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials) |Antwerp, Belgium |Light-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|13-2-0 |align='left'| Joel Maoreau |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1978 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials) |Antwerp, Belgium |Light-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|12-2-0 |align='left'| Ronald Duivenbode |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1978 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials) |Antwerp, Belgium |Semi-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Loss | style="text-align:center;"|11-2-0 |align='left'| Patrick Teugels |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1978 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'| Belgium Lightweight Championship |Antwerp, Belgium |Light-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|11-1-0 |align='left'| Gris Lubbers |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1976 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|European Karate Union |Ingelmunster, Belgium |Semi-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|10-1-0 |align='left'| Andre Lemaire |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1977 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'| World Association of Kickboxing Organizations Open International |Izegem, Belgium |Semi-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|9-1-0 |align='left'| Patrick Teugels |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1977 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'| Antwerp Open International Competition W.A.K.O. |Antwerp, Belgium |Light-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|8-1-0 |align='left'| Maurice Devos |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1977 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|World Allstyles Kickboxing Organization |Antwerp, Belgium |Semi-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|7-1-0 |align='left'| Jacques Berri |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1976 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'| Antwerp Open WAKO |Antwerp, Belgium |Semi-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|6-1-0 |align='left'| Johannes Binding |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1976 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'| Antwerp Open WAKO |Antwerp, Belgium |Semi-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|5-1-0 |align='left'| Jean-Morin Devigne |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1976 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|Antwerp Open WAKO |Antwerp, Belgium |Semi-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|4-1-0 |align='left'| Roland Vedani |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1976 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|European Karate Union |Ingelmunster, Belgium |Semi-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|3-1-0 |align='left'| Jean-Paul Gaston |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|1976 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|European Karate Union |Brussels, Belgium |Semi-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Loss | style="text-align:center;"|2-1-0 |align='left'| Jonny Wellum |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|22 January 1976 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|La Federation Europeene de Karate (European Karate Federation) |Brussels, Belgium |Semi-Contact(J.Vandenberg credit with Defaite (loss) |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|2-0-0 |align='left'| Bernard Briers |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|22 January 1976 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|La Federation Europeene de Karate(European Karate Federation) |Brussels, Belgium |Semi-Contact(J.Vandenberg credit with victoire (win) |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|1-0-0 |align='left'| Robin Lomard |align='left'|Decision |align='left'|22 January 1976 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|La Federation Europeene de Karate (European Karate Federation) |Brussels, Belgium |Semi-Contact(J.Vandenberg credit with victoire (win))-Magazine "boxe francise" (Karate)

Kickboxing record

|- class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:0.5em auto; font-size:100%; text-align:left; width:100%;" !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Result !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Record !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Opponent !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Method !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Date !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Round !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Time !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Event !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Location !style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;"|Notes |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|18-1-0 |align='left'| Nedjad Gharbi |align='left'|KKO |align='left'|1982 | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'| |Brussels, Belgium |Kickboxing |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|17-1-0 |align='left'| Daniel Le Jaouen |align='left'|KKO |align='left'|1982 | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"|1:05 |align='left'| |Brussels, Belgium |Kickboxing |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|16-1-0 |align='left'| Lenny Leikman |align='left'|KKO |align='left'|1982 | style="text-align:center;"|3 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|1st Journée Des Arts Martiaux |Brussels, Belgium |Kickboxing |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|15-1-0 |align='left'| Ajom Mahmud Uddin |align='left'|KO |align='left'|1981 | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"|0:19 |align='left'| |Brussels, Belgium |Kickboxing |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|14-1-0 |align='left'| Mustapha-Ahmad Benamou |align='left'|KKO |align='left'|1981 | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'| |Brussels, Belgium |Kickboxing |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|13-1-0 |align='left'| Henk Besselman |align='left'|KO |align='left'|1981 | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'| |Brussels, Belgium |Kickboxing |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|12-1-0 |align='left'| Michael J. Heming |align='left'|KKO |align='left'|1980 | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"|0:46 |align='left'| |Brussels, Belgium |Kickboxing |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|11-1-0 |align='left'| Georges Verlugels |align='left'|KO |align='left'|1980 | style="text-align:center;"|2 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'|P.K.A. |Brussels, Belgium |Kickboxing |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|10-1-0 |align='left'| Sherman Bergman |align='left'|KKO |align='left'|1979 Nov 4 | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"|0:56 |align='left'| |Tampa, Florida, USA |Full-Contact (Van Damme climbs off floor to win.) |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|9-1-0 |align='left'| Rolf Risberg |align='left'|KKO |align='left'|1979 | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'| |Ingelmunster, Belgium |Kickboxing |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|8-1-0 |align='left'| Emile Leibman |align='left'|KKO |align='left'|1979 | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'| |Iseghem, Belgium |Kickboxing |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|7-1-0 |align='left'| Cyrille Nollet |align='left'|KKO |align='left'|1978 | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'| |Iseghem, Belgium |Kickboxing |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|6-1-0 |align='left'| Orlando Lang |align='left'|KO |align='left'|1978 | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"|0:26 |align='left'| |Antwerp, Belgium |Kickboxing |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|5-1-0 |align='left'| Jacques Piniarski |align='left'|KKO |align='left'|1978 | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'| |Belgium |Kickboxing |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|4-1-0 |align='left'| Eric "Basel" Strauss |align='left'|KKO |align='left'|1978 | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"|0:18 |align='left'| |Antwerp, Belgium |Kickboxing |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|3-1-0 |align='left'| Andre "Robar" Robaeys |align='left'|KKO |align='left'|1978 | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"| |align='left'| |Mulhouse, Belgium |Kickboxing |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|2-1-0 |align='left'| Michel Juvillier |align='left'|KO |align='left'|1978 | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"|0:39 |align='left'| |Antwerp, Belgium |Full-Contact |- | style="text-align:center;" Loss | style="text-align:center;"|1-1-0 |align='left'| Etienne "Tuf" Aubry |align='left'|Disq |align='left'|7 March 1977 | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"|1:02 |align='left'| |Marseilles, France |Full-Contact(Magazine "boxe francise"(Karate)) |- | style="text-align:center;" Win | style="text-align:center;"|1-0-0 |align='left'| Toon Van Oostrum |align='left'|KKO |align='left'|1977 | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"|0:46 |align='left'| |Brussels, Belgium |Full-Contact