Jean-Claude Van Damme

Karate and full contact in Brussels

Jean-Claude Van Damme was born Jean-Claude Van Varenberg on 18 October 1960 in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, in the Brussels region. He took up Shotokan karate at ten and at twelve joined Claude Goetz's Centre National de Karaté, where he made the Belgian team. A black belt at 18, he later reached 2nd dan. To gain flexibility he studied ballet for five years, which goes a long way to explaining his splits and high kicks. He also lifted weights and later tried taekwondo and Muay Thai.

He had his first karate bouts at 15, then moved into full contact in 1977, when Claude Goetz staged Belgium's first tournament in the discipline. He trained with Dominique Valera. Published records credit him with 18 wins, all inside the distance, against one loss between 1977 and 1982. On 8 March 1980 at Forest National he stopped Patrick Teugels in the first round, a fight he has called the most memorable of his career. He retired from competition in 1982.

Hollywood career

In 1982 he left for Los Angeles with his friend Michel Qissi. He took odd jobs, worked as a bouncer and gave private karate lessons. He can be spotted as an extra in Breakin' (1984) and in the short Monaco Forever. His first real part was Ivan, the Soviet fighter in Corey Yuen's No Retreat, No Surrender (1986). Hired to play the creature in Predator (1987), he left the shoot after a few days.

Bloodsport (1988), made by Cannon for 1.5 million dollars, was his breakthrough: he plays Frank Dux, an American entered in an underground tournament, the kumite, in Hong Kong. It was a US hit. He followed with Albert Pyun's Cyborg and Kickboxer (1989), in which he learns Muay Thai to avenge his brother. Kickboxer made more than 50 million dollars on a 3 million budget.

Death Warrant and Lionheart (1990), then Double Impact (1991), where he plays twins, built his following. Roland Emmerich's Universal Soldier (1992), opposite Dolph Lundgren, passed 100 million dollars worldwide. He then worked with three Hong Kong directors on their American debuts: John Woo (Hard Target, 1993), Ringo Lam (Maximum Risk, 1996) and Tsui Hark (Double Team, 1997). Peter Hyams's Timecop (1994) is still his biggest hit as a lead. The same year he played Colonel Guile in Street Fighter, based on the video game. He made his directing debut with The Quest (1996), a martial arts tournament story set in the 1920s.

Comeback

After Universal Soldier: The Return (1999), his films went mostly straight to video, often directed by Ringo Lam or Sheldon Lettich. Mabrouk El Mechri's JCVD (2008), in which he plays himself, earned strong reviews. He returned to the big screen as the villain Jean Vilain in The Expendables 2 (2012), voiced Master Croc in Kung Fu Panda 2 and 3, and came back to the Kickboxer series as Master Durand. In 2013 a Volvo Trucks advert showing him doing the splits between two moving lorries drew tens of millions of views. He then led The Last Mercenary (2021) for Netflix.

Fighting style

On screen Van Damme fights with his legs: jumping spinning kicks, high kicks and the splits, often replayed several times in slow motion. His years as a competitive karateka show in his distance control and fast combinations, his dance training in his balance and flexibility. His nickname, "The Muscles from Brussels", has stuck throughout his career.