was born as Jean-Claude Van Varenberg

nicknamed "The muscles from Brussels"

His father introduced him to martial arts when he saw his son was physically weak. including Shotokan Karate, Kickboxing, Taekwon-Do, and Muay Thai

Former multiple World Kickboxing Champion Don "The Dragon" Wilson offered Jean-Claude a "$100,000" bounty match to get into the ring and fight him. Van Damme brushed off the "challenge" as a publicity stunt.

had a successful kick boxing career at age 18 in the European scene
- 18 second knockout over Germany's Eric "Basel" Strauss at a tournament in Antwerp, Belgium
- A few months later at Iseghem, Belgium, Van Damme knocked out Emile Leibman in the first round
- After fighting on the under-card of the main event between France's Dominique Valera and the U.S.A.'s Dan Macaruso in Brussels, Belgium, in which he knocked out a fighter named Verlugels in 2 rounds
- was defeated by a Belgium fighter named Patrick Teugels at age 19. Teugels goes on to become Vice-Champion of the World. In a rematch a few months later, Van Damme revenges his defeat by beating Teugels in less then two minutes
- record was 9-1 (9 knockouts)

did some action movies in Hong Kong. left for Los Angeles, where he was trying for 5 years. He took English classes while working as carpet layer, pizza delivery man, limo driver

thanks to Chuck Norris he got a job as a bouncer at a club. gave Van Damme a small role in the movie 'Missing in Action'and then as a villain named Ivan in No Retreat, No Surrender

Actor Jean Claude Van Damme recently claimed his buttocks were so tight he could crack walnuts in them and said it was the moves he learnt doing ballet that made them that way

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