W.A.K.O. (the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations) held its first amateur world championships in 1978 in West Berlin, after having previously staged two European championships the two years previously. It followed this with a second world championships a year later in Tampa, Florida. During the 1980s the world championships were held every other year except for in 1985 when a feud within the W.A.K.O. organization led to two versions of the championships being held on the same date – one in London, the other in Budapest.
In the 1990s W.A.K.O. held its world championships intermittently with at least one every other year although, in 1993 the organization again had a temporary political dispute which like 1985 meant two championships in one year. Additionally, the outbreak of the Balkan War resulted in the 1995 world championships being moved to Kyiv and in 1997 to Gdańsk. By the turn-of-the-twentieth-century, the organization began introducing two different world championships every two years - one typically covering forms of kickboxing such as full-contact, semi-contact and musical forms, while the other types such as Thai-boxing, low-kick kickboxing and later K-1 rules. Of late, W.A.K.O. have begun to get involved with the SportAccord World Combat Games, hosting male and female full-contact, semi-contact and low-contact kickboxing competitions at the 2010 event, with the 2009 world championships (both events) being used as qualifiers.
List of World Championships WAKO World Championships (Seniors and Masters) W.A.K.O. Amateur Kickboxing World Championships
EditionYearHost CityCountryEvents11978 West Berlin 721979 Tampa 1431981 Milan 741983 London 1651985 London 2251985 Budapest 2061987 Munich 2471990 Mestre 3281991 London 2891993 Atlantic City 3491993 Budapest 30101995 Kyiv 111997 Gdańsk 121999 Bishkek 121999 Caorle 66132001 Maribor 39132001 Belgrade 42142003 Paris +37142003 Yalta 152005 Agadir 152005 Szeged 162007 Belgrade 162007 Coimbra 172009 Villach 172009 Lignano 182011 Skopje 182011 Dublin 192013 Guarujá 192013 Antalya 202015 Belgrade 202015 Dublin 212017 Budapest 136222019 Sarajevo 222023 Great Yarmouth 232025 Abu Dhabi https://web.archive.org/web/20160809232051/http://www.wakoweb.com/en/page/official-wako-results/feeb0c9a-67d8-4081-9bda-45384f8ee985
WAKO World Championships (Cadets and Juniors) EditionYearHost CityCountryEvents11996 21998 32000 42002 Budva 52004 62006 Zadar 72008 Naples 82010 Belgrade 92012 Bratislava 102014 Rimini 112016 Dublin 230122018 Jesolo 238
https://web.archive.org/web/20160809232051/http://www.wakoweb.com/en/page/official-wako-results/feeb0c9a-67d8-4081-9bda-45384f8ee985 http://www.wakoweb.com/en/article/2006-a-year-to-remember/028576ff-9873-4616-aa62-c62dc0119c2c http://www.wakoweb.com/en/news/world-cadetjunior-championships-naples-italy/be366fd5-5038-4974-b7be-3917f46db431 http://www.wakoweb.com/en/event/wako-world-cadets-and-juniors-championships/e13a080a-0caa-44e8-b9ca-b33b6b4100e3 http://www.wakoweb.com/en/event/cadets-and-juniors-world-championships/d9885de8-f925-4186-931c-5f80eec9f1a0 2016 Results : https://www.sportdata.org/kickboxing/set-online/veranstaltung_info_main.php?active_menu=calendar&vernr=227
WAKO World University Championships (Students)
EditionYearHost CityCountryEvents12014 Ufa http://www.wakoweb.com/en/event/1st-wako-international-university-kickboxing-championship/01574997-1b7b-471c-8e0e-62e11d2765dc See also List of WAKO Amateur European Championships List of kickboxers
References
External links WAKO World Association of Kickboxing Organizations Official Site