At the age of 12, Van Damme joined the Centre National De Karate (National Center of Karate) under the guidance of Master Claude Goetz in France. Van Damme trained for four years and he earned a spot on the France Karate Team.[3]
Jean-Claude made his debut in 1976, at the age of 16.[15] Competing under his birth name of Jean Claude Van Varenberg, Jean-Claude was staggered by a round-house kick thrown by Toon Van Oostrum in Brussels, Belgium.[16] Van Damme was badly stunned, but came back to knockout Van Oostrum moments later.
In 1977, at the WAKO Open International in Belgium, Jean-Claude lost a decision to fellow team mate Patrick Teugels.[17] The experience left an impact on Claude Goetz and he felt that Jean-Claude needed more training before competing again.
After six months of intense training and sparring, Master Goetz decided to unleash his prized pupil on the European Full-Contact scene. Jean-Claude won his first tournament by scoring three knockout victories in one evening. However, in a 1978 match for the Belgium lightweight title, he again lost a decision to Patrick Teugels.[17] Once again, the loss left an impact on Claude Goetz and a few months later at Iseghem, Belgium, Van Damme came back and knocked out Emile Leibman in the first round. In 1979, Jean-Claude and the Belgium Team became European Team Champions.[18]
Next, Jean-Claude faced Sherman Bergman, a kick-boxer from Florida (USA) with a long string of knockout victories.[19] For the first and only time in his career, Jean-Claude was knocked to the canvas after absorbing a powerful left hook.[16] However, Jean-Claude climbed off the canvas and with a perfectly timed ax-kick, knocked Bergman out cold in 59 seconds of the first round. Van Damme ended 1979 with a stoppage of Gilberto (Gil) Diaz in one round.
In 1980, Jean-Claude Van Damme defeated former Great Britain karate champion Michael J. Heming. Next, Van Damme scored a knockout over France's Georges Verlugels in two rounds. After these victories, Jean-Claude caught the attention of the European martial arts community. Professional Karate Magazine publisher and editor Mike Anders, and multiple European champion Geet Lemmens tabbed Jean-Claude Van Damme as an upcoming prospect. However, Jean-Claude's ambitions now focused in the direction of movie acting.
Van Damme ended his fight career at the Forest Nationals in Brussels. He knocked Patrick Teugels down and scored a first round technical knockout victory. Teugels suffered a nose injury and was unable to continue.
Following the victory, Van Damme retired from martial arts competition. His final fight record was 18–1, with all wins being knockouts and the loss being a decisions after two rounds.
