W.A.K.O. European Championships 1990 were the tenth European kickboxing championships hosted by the W.A.K.O. organization and the first ever to be held in Spain. The event was open to amateur men and women from twenty-four countries across Europe, with four styles on offer; Full-Contact (men only), Semi-Contact, Light-Contact and Musical Forms (men only), with women participating in Light-Contact for the first time ever. Each country was allowed one competitor per weight division per category, although fighters could take part in more than one style. By the end of the championships, Great Britain was the top nation in terms of medals won, with West Germany second and Italy third. The event was held over three days in Madrid, Spain, from Friday 16 November to Sunday 18 November, 1990.
Full-Contact
At Madrid Full-Contact was available to men only and was made up of ten weight divisions ranging from 54 kg/118.8 lbs to over 91 kg/+200.2 lbs. All bouts were fought under Full-Contact kickboxing rules - more detail on the rules can be found at the W.A.K.O. website, although be aware that they may have changed slightly since 1990. The most notable winner was future pro boxer Przemysław Saleta who added to the gold medal he had won at the European championships at the beginning of the year by claiming gold in the -91 kg category. By the end of the championships CIS was the top nation in Full-Contact, winning two golds, one silver and two bronze medals.
Men's Full-Contact Kickboxing Medals Table
-54 kgMassimo Spinelli Oskar Balough Yilmaz Demirkapu Huete -57 kgAlexeji Nechaev Erdogan Lombardi Pina -60 kgIvan Aksutin Helge Halvorsen Bogdan Sawicki Diaz -63.5 kgPinel Ivanov Bruno Chesnot Carvalho -67 kgKlemens Willner Imed Matlouti Teixeira Hsaine -71 kgGerd Dittrich Baard Trones Ruggiero Zelevic -75 kgFernandez Riccio Jozef Warchol Sharepo -81 kgSanchez Jorge Spiridon Pavel Rumas -91 kgPrzemysław Saleta Mutavlic Lopez Perreira +91 kgPaolo Zorello Bernard Fucho Hubert Numrich Igor Sharapov
Semi-Contact
Semi-Contact was available to both men and women in Madrid. Semi-Contact differed from Full-Contact in that fights were won by points given due to technique, skill and speed, with physical force limited - more information on Semi-Contact can be found on the W.A.K.O. website, although the rules will have changed since 1990. The men had seven weight classes, starting at 57 kg/125.4 lbs and ending at over 84 kg/+184.8 lbs, while the women's competition had four weight classes beginning at 50 kg/110 lbs and ending at over 60 kg/132 lbs. The most notable winner was Abidin Uz who won his second gold medal at Madrid, having picked up a gold in Light-Contact as well. By the end of the championships Great Britain was by far the most successful nation in Semi-Contact, picking up five gold, two silvers and one bronze in the male and female categories.
Men's Semi-Contact Kickboxing Medals Table
-57 kgAbidin Uz Oliver Drexler Piotr Siegoczynski Tony Byrne -63 kgReiner Stadtmuller Luisa Lico Juan Perez Sosa -69 kgBilly Bryce M. Niola Walder Hortobagy -74 kgStephen Thompson Lajos Hugyetz Sergio Portaro Andreas Lindemann -79 kgPeter Edwards Markus Zadra Ralf Kunzler Flanagan -84 kgPeter Bernt Kevin Brewerton Riboud Zoltán Szűcs +84 kgAlfie Lewis Valentini O'Brian No Medallist Recorded
Women's Semi-Contact Kickboxing Medals Table
-50 kgKarin Schiller Quansah Szepressi Diego -55 kgLajos Hugyetz Rosaria Rotario Mahner Smith -60 kgLahnsen Roberta Vitali Gabriella Bady Van Eetveld +60 kgTiziana Zennaro Moffett Mestar Rivilla
Light-Contact
Light-Contact in Madrid was available to men and, for the first time ever at a W.A.K.O. championships, to women. Involving more physical contact than Semi but less so than Full, points were awarded on the basis of speed and technique over power. Light-Contact was also seen by some as an intermediate stage for kickboxers who were considering a move from Semi to Full-Contact. More information on Light-Contact can be found on the W.A.K.O. website although be aware that the rules may have changed since 1990. Like Semi-Contact, the men had seven weight classes, starting at 57 kg/125.4 lbs and ending at over 84 kg/+184.8 lbs, while the women had four weight classes beginning at 50 kg/110 lbs and ending at over 60 kg/132 lbs. The most notable winner was Abidin Uz who won his second gold medal at Madrid, having picked up a gold in Semi-Contact as well. By the championships end, Hungary was the most successful nation in Light-Contact, winning three golds and two bronzes.
Men's Light-Contact Kickboxing Medals Table
-57 kgAbidin Uz Jakob Jurgen Conrad Melo -63 kgRafael Neito Axel Briesenich Duponchel Silvano Cosentino -69 kgClaudio Pattarino Marough Ernison Surkovic Dimont -74 kgLajos Hugyetz Robert Steiner Nicolo Karpov -79 kgRay McKenzie Stefano Rigamonti Dunglas Harald Zimmermann -84 kgZoltán Szűcs Wilkinson Giorgio Colombo Deveci +84 kgBruno Campiglia Ray McKenzie Kabba Barnabás Katona
Women's Light-Contact Kickboxing Medals Table
-50 kgSzepessi Alò Diego Keogh -55 kgK. Leclerc Smith Kirschbaum Anna Maria Milani -60 kgSonia Bonazza Rylik Hebert Harris +60 kgClaudia Schregle Bailey Byrne Éva Szűcs
Musical Forms
Musical Forms was open to men only at Madrid. Musical Forms is a non-physical competition which sees the contestants fighting against imaginary foes using Martial Arts techniques - more information can be accessed on the W.A.K.O. website, although be aware that the rules may have changed since 1990. Musical Forms at these championships was not well documented and several winners are absent, but from the existing records it would appear that the Netherlands were the most successful nation with one gold and one silver.
Men's Musical Forms Medals Table
Soft StylesEarl Blijd Simon Keith Name unknown WeaponsMedallist not recorded Earl Blijd Medallist not recorded
Overall Medals Standing (Top 5)
Ranking Country Gold Silver Bronze 1 Great Britain 7 7 3 2 West Germany 6 3 6 3 Italy 5 9 6 4 Hungary 4 1 6 5 Poland 2 1 4
See also List of WAKO Amateur European Championships List of WAKO Amateur World Championships
References
External links WAKO World Association of Kickboxing Organizations Official Site