WAKO’s history is deeply intertwined with the evolution of kickboxing in the Western world. It all began in 1970 when the legendary Joe Lewis had what is now recognized as the first “kickboxing fight” against Greg Baines in the USA. This was a groundbreaking event—the first time boxing gloves were used, and the term “kickboxing” was mentioned.
 

The sport gained further momentum in 1974 with the inaugural “World Championship in Full Contact” held in Los Angeles. Organized by pioneers Joe Lewis and Mike Anderson, it was a landmark moment for the sport. Kickboxing legends Bill Wallace, Jeff Smith, and Joe Lewis emerged as the first Full Contact World Champions.
 

Building a strong and lasting world organization for kickboxing was a challenging task amidst the dynamic martial arts scene of the time. George Brueckner and Mike Anderson had the vision to create a global platform for the sport, leading to the formation of the “World All-Style Karate Organization,” soon to be known as WAKO.
 

WAKO’s journey in Europe began in 1976, and the organization was officially founded in Berlin, Germany, on February 26th, 1977, by Mr. Georg Brueckner.

The first-ever World Championships in semi and full-contact karate, as it was then called, took place in 1978, featuring 110 competitors from 18 countries. WAKO quickly established official rules and regulations, incorporating hand and leg techniques for amateur fights with a focus on safety. This marked the official adoption of the term “kickboxing,” with WAKO positioning itself as the world’s authentic Kickboxing Federation.
 

From 1984 to 2013, WAKO was led by Mr. Ennio Falsoni of Italy. Under his leadership, WAKO solidified its reputation as a respected international sports organization, hosting World Championships every two years across different continents. 

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WAKO Canada has a rich history with supportive leaders from across the martial arts and combative sectors that came together to build the first national kickboxing association. In 1987 a handful of Canadian clubs began travelling together to international tournaments and world championship events hosted by a number of different international federations. After these championships a few leaders in the sector began exploring how a legitimate association could be formed in Canada. At this time amateur kickboxing was not recognized by Sport Canada and in many provinces and territories the sport was considered illegal.

In 1993 the Council of Amateur Sport Kickboxing (CASK) was formed with the objective of bringing together National calibre athletes together to represent Canada on the international stage. The second objective was to gain official government recognition in every province and territory. It took a number of years to develop the government requirements for sport recognition which included creating accredited courses for coaches and officials, obtaining the adequate insurance coverage for clubs and competitions, developing a database for clubs, athletes and coaches, hosting regular provincial and national championships, and building a framework for sport development across the country.

In a short span of time our newly minted kickboxing association obtained government recognition in provinces and territories across Canada from as far north as NWT, as west as BC and as east as Newfoundland. In 2010 CASK changed it organizational structure and became a new organization, WAKO Canada. The change was part of an evolution at the international level of the sport. There have always been numerous international kickboxing associations. But in 2018 the International Olympic Committee accepted WAKO as the only international federation they would recognize for the sport of kickboxing. In 2021 WAKO obtained full recognition status.

The mission of WAKO is to build the sport globally and eventually to become a participant in the Olympic Games. Leading up to 2025, WAKO has been made major milestones from its official status as an IOC sport and gaining acceptance into the World Games, World Combat Games, University Games, World Military Games, European Olympics and the South East Asian Games. These are significant milestones that will eventually lead our sport into a future Olympic Games.

WAKO Canada continues to be a trailblazer for the sport and has grown exponentially to over 300 clubs from coast to coast with over 4000 registered athletes; hosting a National Championship with over 500 participants; gaining status in multisport games such as the Winter Games; obtaining funding for past national teams; and working with governments to continue to build the sport in every province and territory.

Over the past few years WAKO Canada has been focusing on building our younger aged athletes with training camps, team events and opportunities for growth and excellence.