# Was Jean-Claude Van Damm a body builder?



## GOtriSports (Dec 7, 2008)

So I am watching bloodsport right now and I began wondering about Jean-Claude Van Damm... Obviously he is not like Jay Cutler body building level, but he is jacked and looks good. SO what category would we put him in?


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## bio-chem (Dec 7, 2008)

his background is dancing if i remember right. so i think the proper category is gay


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## min0 lee (Dec 7, 2008)

bio-chem said:


> his background is dancing if i remember right. so i think the proper category is gay


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## GOtriSports (Dec 8, 2008)

bio-chem said:


> his background is dancing if i remember right. so i think the proper category is gay



I hate dancers that could kick my ass


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## tucker01 (Dec 8, 2008)

You must hate a lot of dancers.


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## AKIRA (Dec 8, 2008)

Hahaha^

Speaking of Bloodsport, I loved this movie when it came out.  However, its pretty bad by todays standards.  I was wondering LAST night how people younger than me would feel about this movie.  The sound effects, the constant screams after each strike, the dumb face expressions, the 1-1 fight choreography etc..


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## min0 lee (Dec 8, 2008)

IainDaniel said:


> You must hate a lot of dancers.


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## BulkMeUp (Dec 8, 2008)

min0 lee said:


>


 

I wish I had his body... I'll pass on his moves!


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## bio-chem (Dec 8, 2008)

GOtriSports said:


> I hate dancers that could kick my ass



i don't think he ever studied martial arts. all of it was scripted. if he needed to know how to throw a kick before a fight scene they showed him. he was little more than a trained monkey addicted to coke.


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## IronAddict (Dec 8, 2008)

Yup, he was a dancer with no martial arts training... That's why in every movie he ever made, he always did those damn splits, and every fight scene was shot in slow motion.


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## crazy_enough (Dec 8, 2008)

LMAO

ahhh yes, J-C VD's infamous slow motion jumping 360 hook kick!!


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## bio-chem (Dec 8, 2008)

crazy_enough said:


> LMAO
> 
> ahhh yes, J-C VD's infamous slow motion jumping 360 hook kick!!


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## IronAddict (Dec 8, 2008)

min0 lee said:


>



This is just hilarious!!!


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## P-funk (Dec 8, 2008)

what movie is that where he is dancing?  hahaha...I never knew he was a dancer.


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## min0 lee (Dec 8, 2008)

I believe it was one of those break dancing movies from the 80's.


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## tucker01 (Dec 8, 2008)

YouTube Video


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## IronAddict (Dec 8, 2008)

P-funk said:


> what movie is that where he is dancing?  hahaha...I never knew he was a dancer.



I'm not to sure if this was Breaking 1or 2? But,  I  recognized bogaloo shrimp, the skinny brutha with the head band. He was the best pop locker here in LA in the 80's... Look at the big cool brutha behind Van Damn haha...

That's so funny!!!


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## P-funk (Dec 8, 2008)

it is hilarious....man, his socks and shoes are intense!  And then that chick steps into the screen with the spandex black pants and the pink undies over top....classic!


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## min0 lee (Dec 8, 2008)

IainDaniel said:


> YouTube Video


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## shiznit2169 (Dec 8, 2008)

AKIRA said:


> Hahaha^
> 
> Speaking of Bloodsport, I loved this movie when it came out.  However, its pretty bad by todays standards.  I was wondering LAST night how people younger than me would feel about this movie.  The sound effects, the constant screams after each strike, the dumb face expressions, the 1-1 fight choreography etc..



I am 22 years old and this movie is in my top 5 favorites list of all time. No joke. I know this movie is bad but it is a CLASSIC and i love the 1-on-1 fights, except for the final battle which could've been better but was a little cheesy. 

The Chong Li guy is hilarious. He was unstoppable and huge too. I loved hearing the crowd chant his name and he would act like a psycho jumping around the platform.

I have this movie recorded on TiVo back home and it's been there for several years. Sadly, i've watched this movie probably 20-30 times. I even watched it last night too.


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## shiznit2169 (Dec 8, 2008)

YouTube Video











It's 10 minutes long but i'd recommend you watch it. It is hilarious.

If you don't have time, i'll list my favorite parts in this clip.

1. Chong Li breaks this guy's leg (0:25 - 1:35)

2. Funniest part of the movie. Van Damme vs. weird black guy (2:10 - 2:40)

3. Van Damme vs some big sumo-like fighter. Funny ending (2:57 - 4:50)

4. Chong Li vs Ray Jackson, another favorite part of mine. I love the Chong Li chants (4:52 - 7:10)

5. Funny fight between Van Damme and Paco (7:12 - 8:25)

6. Chong Li kills a guy (8:34 - 10:00)

Final Battle






YouTube Video









 

Another funny part i like (Dim Mak)






YouTube Video


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## shiznit2169 (Dec 8, 2008)

By the way, i was shocked that Bolo Yeung (Chong Li) was 50 years old in this movie. 50 YEARS OLD! He was in incredible shape.

Last video (focused on Chong Li's parts in the movie). This guy is my idol.






YouTube Video


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## AKIRA (Dec 8, 2008)

50?  You sure?  How old was he in Double Impact then?


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## AKIRA (Dec 8, 2008)

GOtriSports said:


> So I am watching bloodsport right now and I began wondering about Jean-Claude Van Damm... Obviously he is not like Jay Cutler body building level, but he is jacked and looks good. SO what category would we put him in?





> Van Damme was born Jean-Claude Camille Fran??§ois Van Varenberg[1] (also spelled Varenburg)[2] in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe (Brussels), Belgium, the son of Eliana and Eug??¨ne Van Vaerenbergh, who was an accountant and owned a flower shop.[3][4] He began martial arts at the age of ten, enrolled by his father in a shotokan karate school.[5] He eventually earned his black belt in karate,[6] later winning the European Professional Karate Association's middleweight championship in a stunning upset vs. the former champion Michael J. Heming[5] (although he has claimed that he was "twice world champion"[7]). *He also started lifting weights to improve his physique, which eventually led to a Mr. Belgium bodybuilding title*.[8] At the age of 16 he took up ballet, which he studied for five years. He says of ballet that it "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."[9]





> *Once his film stardom took off, controversy arose regarding Van Damme's fight career. Researchers were unable to uncover any of Van Damme's matches. Van Damme had spent his entire full-contact career under his birth name of Van Varenberg*.



Jean-Claude Van Damme - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## oaktownboy (Dec 8, 2008)

that might be the funniest gif I've ever seen..someone needs to find out what movie that's from...I've seen that clip, but with Manny Ramirez's head on JC's body.


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## oaktownboy (Dec 8, 2008)

oaktownboy said:


> that might be the funniest gif I've ever seen..someone needs to find out what movie that's from...I've seen that clip, but with Manny Ramirez's head on JC's body.








YouTube Video











check this out


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## AKIRA (Dec 8, 2008)

Breakin'


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## shiznit2169 (Dec 8, 2008)

AKIRA said:


> 50?  You sure?  How old was he in Double Impact then?



Bolo Yeung

He was born in 1938. Bloodsport came out in 1988. Double Impact was released in 1991 so he was 53. He is now 70 years old.


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## min0 lee (Dec 9, 2008)

oaktownboy said:


> that might be the funniest gif I've ever seen..someone needs to find out what movie that's from...I've seen that clip, but with Manny Ramirez's head on JC's body.



I used that gif and put Foreman, Kefe and someone else's face in it.


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## Arnold (Dec 9, 2008)

*Fight career*

Van Damme's karate teacher and coach was Master Claude Goetz. According to an article written by Don Warrener for FIGHTINGARTS, Goetz is a pioneer of European karate and studied under Tsutomu Oshima, a disciple of Gichin Funakoshi. Jean-Claude studied in Goetz's dojo in Brussels, Belgium. Under Goetz's guidance, Van Damme developed an impressive array of kicks and strikes. Van Damme has also studied Taekwondo and Muay Thai.

In 1976, at the age of 16, Jean-Claude made his semi-contact debut under his birth name, Jean Claude Van Varenbergh. Fighting at an event sanctioned by the European Karate Union (EKU) in Brussels, Jean-Claude overcame a shaky start to stop fellow-countryman, Toon van Oostrum in 46 seconds. Knockouts were prohibited under the rules, however, van Oostrum quit and the result was listed as "stoppage 0:46". Master Goetz realized his young pupil needed more schooling before he was ready to compete again.

In 1978, after two years of training, 18 year old Jean-Claude entered his first EKU tournament in Antwerp, Belgium (under "full-Contact" rules) in the Beginner's Division. Equipped with more confidence and skill, Jean-Claude had little trouble in winning the tournament. He scored three victories; an 18 second knockout over German-born prospect Eric "Basel" Strauss, a 39 second stoppage over Michel Juvillier (Juvillier quit), and a 12 second stoppage of Orlando Lang.

Two months later at a tournament in Izegem, Belgium, sanctioned by the World-All Styles Karate Organization (WAKO), Van Damme won his first "Semi-Contact" championship in the Beginners Category. He scored stoppage victories over countrymen Emile Leibman and Cyrille Nollet. The WAKO was formed in Europe in 1975, under the leadership of Germany's George Bruckner and Mike Anderson of the United States. Bruckner was based in Berlin, Germany and was a tae-kwon-do and karate instructor. Officially the WAKO classified its full-contact promotions as amateur, competitors were given substantial "training fees". The WAKO held their world tournaments in both Long Beach, California and Tampa, Florida (some sources incorrectly list Orlando, Florida) in the 1970s.

Fighting under the WAKO sanctioning body, Van Damme scored stoppages over Andre Robaeys, Jacques Piniarski, and Rolf Risberg; under WAKO rules which differed from those in the United States. Judo throws, footsweeps were permitted, although thigh kicks were not. There were no minimum kick requirements, and bouts were sometimes held on an open mat, instead of a roped ring. World Title bouts lasted six rounds, while contender bouts lasted five. Once a year, top competitors were required to participate in two-round, tournament-style eliminations to determine the year's top ten in each division.

In November, 1979, Jean-Claude Van Damme took his 10-0 record to Tampa, Florida to compete in the 2nd WAKO World Championships at Hillsborough Community College (promoted by Mike Anderson). Competing in the Men's Fighting Category, Jean-Claude entered the 69 kg. division. On 3 November, in his first tournament match (scheduled for 2-2 minute rounds)he met Sherman Bergman from Miami Beach, Florida (USA). After being knocked down early in the match, Van Damme scored a 1st round victory when Bergman was unable to continue. In his next match, Van Damme defeated Portugal's Gilberto (Gil) Dias in the first round after Diaz quit due to injury. In the quarter-finals, Van Damme lost a 2-round decision to fellow countryman, Patrick Teugels.

Returning to Europe, Van Damme fought in a two independent events sanctioned by the European Professional Karate Association (EPKA), in which he knocked out Algeria's Mustapha Ahmad Benamou and Bekim Moussa Muhammad. According to a 2 April 1989 article in the San Francisco Chronicle by John Stanley, Van Damme scored an upset victory over former European Middeweight Full-Contact Champion Michael J. Heming of England in 1980.

Van Damme's big break came on 8 March 1980 in Brussels, Belgium, on a Professional Karate Association (PKA) event, in which France's Dominique Valera met the United States, Dan Macaruso for the PKA World Heavyweight Kickboxing Title. After Macaruso defeated Valera by 6th round knockout, Van Damme knocked out France's Georges Verlugels in 2 rounds to win the "Professional" European Middleweight Kickboxing Championship.

According to an article written by Mike Anders, founder of Professional Karate Magazine, based on his victory over Verlugels, " Van Damme was definitely an upcoming prospect." Multiple European Full-Contact Champion Geet Lemmens supported Anders opinion.

By now, Van Damme had his sights on a motion-picture career. Before he retired from active competition, he requested a rematch with Patrick Teugels, the only man to defeat him. Teugels was now rated 2nd in the world in the middleweight division by the WAKO. The rematch in Brussels was scheduled for 5 two-minute rounds. At the bell, Van Damme came out punching and kicking. His overwhelming aggression was too much for Teugels and the match was halted in under the 2-minute mark (A video of this fight now appears on aol.videos). Following the victory, Jean-Claude retired from active competition with a 18-1 (18 knockouts) record.

Once his film stardom took off, controversy arose regarding Van Damme's fight career. Researchers were unable to uncover any of Van Damme's matches. Van Damme had spent his entire full-contact career under his birth name of Van Varenberg.


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## CORUM (Dec 9, 2008)

I didn't know he was actually a fighter!! i knew about his ballet though. I guess he might have been a bad ass after all. I remember hearing Segal wanted to fight him, but I guess that never happened


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## TrojanMan60563 (Dec 9, 2008)

shiznit2169 said:


> Bolo Yeung
> 
> He was born in 1938. Bloodsport came out in 1988. Double Impact was released in 1991 so he was 53. He is now 70 years old.



Thats real impressive. That guy's pecks are real real thick! For an asian he is built. I wonder if that is natural muscle?


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## The Monkey Man (Dec 10, 2008)

min0 lee said:


>



That one is nice...  But nothing beats Z-Cavaricci's and a suspender strap tank.


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## The Monkey Man (Dec 10, 2008)

uuughh, now I want to throw up


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## samadamsboyee (Dec 12, 2008)

JC Van Damme is a puss


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## IronAddict (Dec 13, 2008)

Hahaha...maybe I should take back the part where I called him a dancer!


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## KelJu (Dec 13, 2008)

samadamsboyee said:


> JC Van Damme is a puss



As gay as he looks and acts, the fact that he gets all the puss he wants negates that fact turning him into the man.


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