Georg Bruckner 1930 – 1992 “Masterful Organizer of Tournaments”
“Masterful Organizer of Tournaments”
Bruckner was one of the most influential martial artists in all of Europe and especially kickboxing and is considered the father of European Kickboxing.
He began his martial arts training in the 1950’s by studying Judo, Ju Jitsu, Karate and Tae Kwon Do. In 1961, he opened a school in Berlin, Germany--one of the first in Europe.
Soon after, he met Mike Anderson and through him came the American form of sport karate now known as kickboxing. During their continuing contacts, an increased interest in bringing the sport to Europe emerged, and the decision was made to lay out plans to found a bedrock organization. An interim association named The World of Mixed Martial Arts Association was the forerunner, and in 1976 preliminary activities started in Germany, during which the rules and regulations, and preliminary marketing for the new fighting sport were concluded. In 1977, American kickboxing promoter Mike Anderson and his friend German kickboxing promoter Georg Anderson officially founded WAKO, the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations.
The 1st WAKO Amateur European Championships was organized by Bruckner in 1977 and held in Vienna Austria in 1978; followed by the Inaugural WAKO World Champion- ships held in 1978, in Berlin, West Germany, with semi and full contact allowed. This was followed by the 1979 Amateur European championships held in Wolfsburg, West Germany.
The WAKO Championships were open to amateur men only from 18 countries across the world, and all bouts were fought under Full-Contact kickboxing rules—differing from modern rules in that there was a platform instead of a ring and fighters wore no protective clothing or head guards. Semi contact, introduced at the 1978 European championships, had no place at this event. At the end of the championships, the USA was the top nation, with hosts West Germany a close second. The event was held in West Berlin on November 5, 1978. In 1979, the rival USA team won.
In the 1980’s Bruckner organized many martial arts events in Europe.
In the quarter century since Georg Bruckner’s death, WAKO has grown in status. The organization consists of approximately 118 affiliate nations in five continents.Georg Bruckner’s legacy to kickboxing involvement and competition throughout Europe and the world has been achieved through his capable and visionary second-in command Dr. Ennio Falsoni from Milan Italy. With a solid background in the workings of WAKO, and the growing interest of local amateur organizations in registering their members in the Europe and World championships and special events, Falsoni has clearly hit his stride in catering to the needs and aspirations of future generations of European and World kickboxers.
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