The World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (W.A.K.O or WAKO) is an international kickboxing organization counting over 120 affiliated countries representing all five continents. WAKO is a major governing body of amateur kickboxing and is responsible for the development of kickboxing worldwide. The organization was officially recognized as an official kickboxing governing body by Sport Accord. WAKO is recognized by the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
History In 1977, WAKO was founded in Europe and formulated the rules and regulations acting as the Kickboxing Federation of the World. It was founded by American Kickboxing promoter Mike Anderson, and his friend, German Kickboxing promoter Georg Brueckner. WAKO was officially registered in Zurich, Switzerland and become the largest unified kickboxing organization in the world. In 2006, the International Amateur Kickboxing Sports Association (I.A.K.S.A) and WAKO merged under the umbrella of WAKO, making its acceptance possible by the General Association of International Sports Federations (G.A.I.S.F) as the governing body for the sport of Kickboxing.
WAKO became a member of Sport Accord and was officially recognized as the official Kickboxing governing body by Sport Accord, Olympic Council of Asia, WADA and the International World Games Association. Kickboxing is included in World Combat Games, Asian Indoor Games, and the Martial Arts Games (promoted by OCA) in the 2017 International World Games. WAKO has five continental divisions functioning under the auspices of the WAKO International Federation which are WAKO Europe, WAKO Pan America, WAKO Asia, WAKO Oceania and WAKO Africa. WAKO hosts its ordinary General Assemblies in Antalya, Turkey.
In 1991, WAKO PRO was officially established during a WAKO Board meeting in Spain. After a their career as amateurs in the organization, fighters were now able to continue as professional fighters in WAKO Pro.
Olympic recognition On the July 20, 2021, the International Olympic Committee officially recognised kickboxing as an Olympic sport, and recognised WAKO as the world governing body for the sport.
Ranking system While WAKO was founded primarily as a competitive sanctioning body, it has maintained a structured technical grading system (consisting of Dan and Kyū levels) since the 1980s. Prior to the 2020s, individual national federations, such as WAKO GB, operated under their own unified syllabi established in the 1990s to standardize technical proficiency across member clubs.
Following the organization's full recognition by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2021, WAKO initiated a global administrative transition scheduled for completion in 2025–2026. This transition involves the implementation of a centralized "Global Athlete ID" and an international grading database to formalize and verify existing historical ranks on a digital platform to meet Olympic standards for transparency and eligibility. This digital "passport" system ensures that black belts recorded as early as the 1980s are retroactively verified within the unified global framework.
The grading structure typically follows a progression of seven to nine colored belts (Kyū) before reaching the black belt (Dan). Advancement through these ranks requires a formal examination involving a "test of knowledge," which evaluates technical execution of punches, kicks, and combinations. Furthermore, the syllabus mandates specific fitness benchmarks and, for intermediate and advanced grades, the completion of controlled sparring rounds to demonstrate practical application under pressure.
Styles WAKO supports 7 different styles, four on the tatami and three in the ring.
Tatami sports Musical form A musical form is a staged or imaginary fight against one or more opponents in which the performer uses techniques from Oriental Martial Arts to personally selected music.
Point fighting Also known as semi-contact, point fighting is a discipline where two contestants fight with the primary goal of scoring defined points. All strikes are controlled; full force is prohibited.
Opponents are allowed to hit each other with punches and kicks. Striking is allowed only above the waist. Foot sweeps are allowed. Elbows and knees are forbidden. Clinch fighting and throws are forbidden.
Light contact In the past, light contact was seen as an intermediate stage between semi contact and full contact kickboxing. Modern Light Contact has evolved into its own unique style of fast and dynamic continuous kickboxing. Unlike Point Fighting, athletes will fight continuously amassing scores over 3x2 minute rounds. All strikes are controlled; full force is prohibited.
Opponents are allowed to hit each other with punches and kicks. Striking is permitted above the waist and below ankle/mid-calf. Foot sweeps are allowed. Elbows and knees are forbidden. Clinch fighting and throws are forbidden.
Kick-light Kick-light is an intermediate stage between semi-kick and low-kick kickboxing. All strikes are controlled; full force is prohibited.
Opponents are allowed to hit each other with punches and kicks. Kicks striking the thigh (only from outside to inside and vice versa) are permitted. Foot sweeps are allowed. Elbows and knees are forbidden. Clinch fighting and throws forbidden.
Ring sports Full contact Full contact is a discipline of kickboxing where the intention is to mimic the pressure felt during a real fight.
Opponents are allowed to hit each other with punches and kicks, striking above the waist and below the ankle/mid-calf. Foot sweeps are allowed. Elbows and knees are forbidden. Clinch fighting and throws are forbidden.
Low-kick In low-kick Kickboxing, there is the possibility of attacking the opponent's legs with clean kicks.
Opponents are allowed to hit each other with punches and kicks, striking the thigh (only from outside to inside and vice versa) which can be attacked using the shin. Foot sweeps are allowed. Elbows and knees are forbidden. Clinch fighting and throws forbidden.
K1-style Opponents are allowed to hit each other with punches, knees and kicks. Legs and any other part of the body can be attacked using the shin. Foot sweeps are forbidden. Elbows are forbidden. Throws are forbidden. Clinching must be less than 5 seconds. Kickboxers are allowed to hold the opponent's neck with both hands in order to attack only with the knee and are only allowed one knee strike per clinch.
Competitions WAKO holds a world championship every two years, with youth (18 and under) and adult (18–45) championships in separate years; only national teams are accepted. Each member country can present only one competitor in each weight class. Competitors are commonly the national champion of their weight class in that particular Kickboxing style and many are also officially recognized by their National Olympic Committees or Ministry of Sports.
WAKO Kickboxing was one of thirteen combat sports participating in the first Combat Games being held in Beijing, China under the patronage of the IOC and SportAccord. WAKO participated in the World Combat Games in St. Petersburg, Russia in September 2013, under the patronage of the IOC and SportAccord. There were three styles at the Combat Games: Low Kick, Points Fighting (formally called Semi Contact), and Full Contact.
K-1 Rules World Champions The list includes Wako Pro K-1 Rules world title holders. (title defenses are not included).
(Thai Boxing titles until 2007 (not to be confused with Muay Thai titles) Super Heavyweight Mark Russell - 2003 Defeats Sinisa Andrejasvic; renamed K-1 Rules title in 07; still listed as champion as of 07-06-12. Djamal Kasymov - 2007 Sebastien Van Thielen - 2009 Defeats Paolo Reverberi. Vladimir Mineev - 2009 Defeats Sergey Zelinskiy Freddy Kemayo - 2013 Defeats Dino Belošević Petr Vondráček - 2014 Defeats Nicolas Vermont Daniel Skvor - 2017 Defeats Stefan Andjelkovic. Roman Kryklia - 2018 Tomáš Hron - 2019 Defeats Michal Blawdziewicz.
Cruiserweight Kirkwood Walker - 1997 Musashi (kickboxer) (Mori Akio) - 1999 Duncan Airlie James (Duncan Campbell) - 2003 Defeats Angelo Grenata
Heavyweight Guy N'Guessan - 2006 Defeats Patrice Quarteron. Clei Silva - 2010 Defeats António Sousa; Light Cruiserweight Ivica Tekic - 2005 Still champion as of 06-05-16; renamed K-1 Rules title in 07; vacant as of 07-06-12. Alex McKenzie - 2008 Horace Martin - 2011 Defeats Andrei Manhole Gabriele Casella - 2016 Defeats Gregory Grossi Elijah Bokeli - 2021 Defeats Samuel Dbili Bilal Bakhouche-Chareuf - 2022 Defeats Mohamed Hamdi. Light Heavyweight Andre Mannaart - 1997 Defeats Franz Haller. Franz Haller - 1997 Sissoko Moussa - 2005 Renamed K-1 Rules title in 07; still listed as champion as of 07-06-12. Federico Spitaletto - 2011 Nicola Gallo - 2013 Defeats Sidney Mokgolo Cédric Tousch -2016 Defeats Aleksandar Petrov Elijah Bokeli - 2017 Defeats Alexandar Petrov for the vacant title. Alexandar Mekovic - 2020 Sergej Braun - 2021
Super Middleweight Cosmo Alexandre - 2010 Defeats Dmitry Shakuta Datsi Datsiev - 2014 Defeats Thiago Michel. Yohan Lidon - 2016 Aleksandr Menkovic - 2017 Defeats Cristian Torres Nikola Todorovic - 2021 Defeats Zakaria Laaouatni. Middleweight Habib Gadjiev - 2005 Renamed K-1 Rules title in 07; vacant in 08. Mohamed Rahhaoui - 2008 Defeats Ricardo Fernandes Arnaldo Silva - 2009 Defeats Dennis Schneidmiller Mohamed Rahhaoui - 2011 Yuri Bessmertny - 2013 Defeats Aleksandr Zakharov Cédric Doumbé - 2016 Defeats Ljubo Jalovi; starts competing exclusively for Glory in 16-12; officially vacant sometime in 19. Alexandr Zakharov - 2019 Defeats Zakaria Laaouatni Davide Armanini - 2021 Defeats Maikel Astur.
Light Middleweight Dmitry Shakuta - 2001 Defeats Winston Walker; vacates in 01. Christian Daghio - 2001 Defeats Mario Prinks. Matteo Sciacca - 2005 Still champion as of 06-04-10; vacant as of 06-05-16. Fabrizio Bergamini - 2007 Defeats Frane Radnić. Frane Radnić - 2008 Defeats Foad Sadeghi. Bruno Franchi - 2009 Frane Radnić - 2009 Vacant in 10 (sometime after 10-03-27). Arnaldo Silva - 2010 Defeats Bruno Franchi Chingiz Allazov - 2015 Defeats Djimé Coulibaly; moves down to the super welterweight division in 16. Youssef Boughanem - 2016 Defeats Armen Petrosyan (kickboxer) for the vacant title; vacant in 16. Vladimir Vulev - 2016 Defeats Maksim Kolpak; vacates in 19-04 (Topsport). Atanas Bojilov - 2019 Defeats Maxim Spodarenko; vacant in 22-11 after Bojilov retires. Ziga Pecnik - 2022 Defeats Alessio Zeloni. Super Welterweight Sofiane Allouache - 2003 Peter Crooke - 2005 Renamed K-1 Rules title in 07 Sofiane Allouache - 2008 Defeats Eric Abraham Roqueñi - 2011 Chingiz Allazov - 2016 Defeats Enriko Kehl; vacant in 19. Georgian Cimpeanu -2019 Defeats Urlich Marvin for the vacant title; vacant in 22. Sergio Sanchez - 2022 Defeats Vinicius Bereta. Welterweight Kieran Keddle - 2002 Defeats Lee Chesters. Neil Woods - 2005 Renamed K-1 Rules title in 07; still listed as champion as of 11-08-01; vacant in 11. Diogo Neves - 2011 Defeats Ionuţ Atodiresei for the vacant title. Alessandro Campagna - 2012-04-16 Defeats Luciano Boinha; still champion as of 12-07-10; vacant as of 13-07-01 and 14-03-03. Dylan Salvador 2016 Defeats Aleksei Fedoseev. Mohamed Galaoui - 2019 Defeats Andre Santos for the vacant title; vacant in 22. Andre Santos - 2022 Defeats Luca Mameli. Light Welterweight Mohammed Hamjed - 2005 Renamed K-1 Rules title in 07; still listed as champion as of 08-07-07. Michele Iezzi - 2011 Aitor Eguzkiza - 2012 Ionuţ Atodiresei - 2012 Eddy Nait-Slimani - 2017 Defeats Antoine Habash Václav Sivák - 2021 Defeats Fouad Djebari. Super Lightweight Mojahid Mohammed - 2005 Sometime between 05-03-30 and 05-11-23; renamed K-1 Rules title in 07; still listed as champion as of 11-08-01.