Jean-Claude Camille François van Varenberg, also known as JCVD, is a Belgian actor, screenwriter, producer, director, fight choreographer and retired martial artist. His most notable action projects include Bloodsport, Cyborg, Kickboxer, Lionheart, Death Warrant, Double Impact and Universal Soldier. He made his directorial debut with the 1996 martial arts film The Quest and also directed the upcoming action drama Frenchy.
About Jean-Claude Van Damme in brief
Jean-Claude Camille François van Varenberg, also known as JCVD, is a Belgian actor, screenwriter, producer, director, fight choreographer and retired martial artist. His most notable action projects include Bloodsport, Cyborg, Kickboxer, Lionheart, Death Warrant, Double Impact and Universal Soldier. He is also known for portraying antagonist characters in such films as No Retreat, No Surrender, Black Eagle, Replicant, The Expendables 2, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning and Enemies Closer. He made his directorial debut with the 1996 martial arts film The Quest and also directed the upcoming action drama Frenchy. Van Damme was born on 18 October 1960, in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Brussels, Belgium. He began martial arts at the age of ten, enrolled by his father in a Shōtōkan karate school. He eventually earned his black belt in karate at 18. He started lifting weights to improve his physique, which eventually led to a Mr. Belgium bodybuilding title. In 1979, he had an uncredited role in André Delvaux’s Woman’s Dog, a Belgian drama starring Marie-Christine Barrault, and Marie- Christine Barriere. In 1980, he won the European Karate Championship on 26 December 1979 at La Coupe François Persoons Karate Tournament in Brussels. On 8 March 1980, in Brussels, he competed against his former teammate Patrick Teugels at the Forest National Arena on the undercard of the Dan Macaruso-Dominique Valera Professional Karate Association Light-Heavyweight World Championship bout.
He called this fight his most memorable match. In a 2013 interview, he said: ‘If you can survive a ballet workout, you can survived a workout in any other sport’ He was also named in a bodybuilding competition in Belgium in 1977. Both men tabbed as an upcoming prospect as well as a professional boxer. In 2008, he announced his retirement from professional martial arts. In 2009, he released his first book, The Art of Karate: The Ultimate Guide to Karate and Other Martial Arts. In 2010, he published a book about his experiences as a martial arts competitor, The Ultimate Karate Handbook: The Art Of Karate And The Other Side Of The Karate Box. In 2011, he wrote a second book, Karate & Other Side of the Box: The Total Karate Experience. In 2012, he co-authored a book on the history of the martial arts, The Martial Arts Handbook: From Karate to the Martial Arts Game. In 2013, he also published a second volume of his autobiography, The Master Karate Guide: The Complete Guide to The Martial Art of the Martial Art Of The Martial Game. He also has a book published in 2014, The Masters of Kararate: The Master Karate Handbook. In 2015, he will release a third volume of the Master K martial arts guide, The Total Karate Encyclopedia: The Final Master K Martial Arts Guide.
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