"Soria Moria" by Theodor Kittelsen: a hero glimpses the end of his quest.

This article discusses significance-laden journeys. For other meanings see Quest (disambiguation)

In mythology and literature, a quest, a journey towards a goal, serves as a plot device and (frequently) as a symbol. Quests appear in the folklore of every nation^[1] and also figure prominently in non-national cultures. In literature, the objects of quests require great exertion on the part of the hero, and the overcoming of many obstacles, typically including much travel. The aspect of travel also allows the storyteller to showcase exotic locations and cultures (an objective of the narrator, not of the character).^[2]

Quest objects[link]

The hero normally aims to obtain something or someone by the quest, and with this object to return home.^[3] The object can be something new, that fulfills a lack in his life, or something that was stolen away from him or someone with authority to dispatch him.^[4]

Sometimes the hero has no desire to return. Sir Galahad's quest for the Holy Grail is to find it, not return with it. A return may, indeed, be impossible: Aeneas quests for a homeland, having lost Troy at the beginning of Virgil's Aeneid, and he does not return to Troy to re-found it but settles in Italy (to become an ancestor of the Romans).

If the hero does return after the culmination of the quest, he may face false heroes who attempt to pass themselves off as him,^[5] or his initial response may be a rejection of that return, as Joseph Campbell describes in his critical analysis of quest literature, The Hero With a Thousand Faces.

If someone dispatches the hero on a quest, the overt reason may be false, with the dispatcher actually sending him on the difficult quest in hopes of his death in the attempt, or in order to remove him from the scene for a time, just as if the claim were sincere, except that the tale usually ends with the dispatcher being unmasked and punished.^[6] Stories with such false quest-objects include the legends of Jason and Perseus, the fairy tales The Dancing Water, the Singing Apple, and the Speaking Bird, Go I Know Not Whither and Fetch I Know Not What, and the story of Beren and Lúthien in J. R. R. Tolkien's Silmarillion.

The quest object may, indeed, function only as a convenient reason for the hero's journey. Such objects are termed MacGuffins. When a hero is on a quest for several objects that are only a convenient reason for his journey, they are termed plot coupons.

Literary analysis[link]

The quest, in the form of the Hero's Journey, plays a central roles in the Monomyth described by Joseph Campbell; the hero sets forth from the world of common day into a land of adventures, tests, and magical rewards. Most times in a quest, the knight in shining armor wins the heart of a beautiful maiden/ princess.

Historical examples[link]

An early quest story tells the tale of Gilgamesh, who seeks a secret to eternal life after the death of Enkidu, including the search for an emerald.

Another ancient quest tale, Homer's Odyssey, tells of Odysseus, whom the gods have cursed to wander and suffer for many years before Athena persuades the Olympians to allow him to return home. Recovering the Golden Fleece is the object of the travels of Jason and the Argonauts in the Argonautica. Psyche, having lost Cupid, hunted through the world for him, and was set tasks by Venus, including a descent into the underworld.

Many fairy tales depict the hero or heroine setting out on a quest, such as:

• East of the Sun and West of the Moon where the heroine seeks her husband
• The Seven Ravens where the heroine seeks her transformed brothers
• The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was
• The Golden Bird where the prince sets out to find the golden bird for his father

Other characters may set out with no more definite aim that to "seek their fortune", or even be cast out instead of voluntarily leaving, but learn of something that could aid them along the way and so have their journey transformed from aimless wandering into a quest.^[7] Other characters can also set forth on quests — the hero's older brothers commonly do — but the hero is distinguished by his success.

"Vision of the Holy Grail" (1890) by William Morris

Many medieval romances sent knights out on quests. The term "Knight-errant" sprang from this, as errant meant "roving" or "wandering". Sir Thomas Malory included many in Le Morte d'Arthur. The most famous—perhaps the most famous quest in western literature—centers on the Holy Grail in Arthurian legend. This story cycle recounts multiple quests, in multiple variants, telling stories both of the heroes who succeed, like Percival (in Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival) or Sir Galahad (in the Queste del Saint Graal), and also the heroes who fail, like Sir Lancelot. This often sent them into a bewildering forest. Despite many references to its pathlessness, the forest repeatedly confronts knights with forks and crossroads, of a labyrinthine complexity.^[8] The significiance of their encounters is often explained to the knights—particularly those searching for the Holy Grail -- by hermits acting as wise old men -- or women.^[9] Still, despite their perils and chances of error, such forests, being the location where the knight can obtain the end of his quest, are places where the knights may become worthy; one romance has a maiden urging Sir Lancelot on his quest for the Holy Grail, "which quickens with life and greenness like the forest."^[10]

So consistently did knights quest that Miguel de Cervantes set his Don Quixote on mock quests in a parody of chivalric tales. Nevertheless, while Don Quixote was a fool, he was and remains a hero of chivalry.

Modern literature[link]

Quests continued in modern literature. Analysis can interpret many (perhaps most) stories as a quest in which the main character is seeking something that he desires,^[11] but the literal structure of a journey seeking something is, itself, still common. Quests often appear in fantasy literature,^[12] as in Rasselas by Samuel Johnson, or The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, where Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion go on a quest for the way back to Kansas, brains, a heart, and courage respectively. ^[13]

A familiar modern literary quest is Frodo Baggins's quest to destroy the One Ring in The Lord of the Rings.^[14] The One Ring, its baleful power, the difficult method which is the only way to destroy it, and the spiritual and psychological torture it wreaks on its Bearer; J. R. R. Tolkien uses all these elements to tell a meaningful tale of friendship and the inner struggle with temptation, against a background of epic and supernatural warfare.

The Catcher in the Rye is often thought of as a quest plot, detailing Holden's search not for a tangible object but for a sense of purpose or reason.

Some writers, however, may devise arbitrary quests for items without any importance beyond being the object of the quest. These items are known as MacGuffins, which is sometimes merely used to compare quests and is not always a derogatory term. Writers may also motivate characters to pursue these objects by meanings of a prophecy that decrees it, rather than have them discover that it could assist them, for reasons that are given.

See also[link]

• Monomyth

Further reading[link]

• Vladimir Propp, Morphology of the Folk Tale

References[link]

This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (December 2010)

Bryn Christopher (born 8 November 1985,^[2] Birmingham, England) is a British singer-songwriter.

Influences[link]

Bryn cites his influences as greats such as Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, Nina Simone and Stevie Wonder.

Musical career[link]

Early years[link]

Bryn was brought up in Great Barr, Birmingham, one of four children born to a black father and a white mother. He went to Barr Beacon School, Great Barr. His parents separated before Bryn's seventh birthday, and he was raised by his mother and maternal grandmother. Painfully skinny, with different interests from the other kids, Bryn was teased mercilessly and began to dread going to school, until he joined a youth theatre company at the age of 12. Here he discovered a sense of confidence and the kind of pop music - Alicia Keys, Michael Jackson - that he could relate to.^[3]

He joined a soul band at his secondary school and wrote his first songs as part of his music GCSE. But perhaps the pivotal moment in his aural education came when Bryn and some school friends attended a play and heard Try A Little Tenderness sung on the backing track by someone who clearly wasn't The Commitments... "I was shouting out to my friends during the play," he recalls. "I was like, This guy is amazing! Who is it?' I'd never heard anyone sing like that. And someone told me it was Otis Redding."^[3]

A crash-course in Redding's music turned Bryn's musical life upside down: suddenly, he knew that he wanted to make music with this combination of passionate intensity and melodic accessibility. He then discovered Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. "It was incredible suddenly being exposed to these unbelievable people that had been around all this time whose existence I had no idea of. It totally changed my outlook."^[3]

Doing something about it was another matter. He was living in a small town with no musical mentor and with peers who were happier hanging out on the streets playing football. "I could definitely have ended up in a very different place if I'd given in to the bullies. You either beat them or join them". So with a massive desire to be a successful singer, a determined teenage Bryn went against the grain.^[3]

With no real idea how to break into the music industry Bryn was tempted, like most young singers are these days, towards auditioning for talent shows. He's thankful now that it proved a non-starter. "It was a learning curve - I didn't know any other way, I had no-one to tell me what was right and wrong and I couldn't think of any other way to move forward as a wannabe singer in the town I was living". He now marvels at his narrow escape. "Those things have had some really talented people that have come through them but I often catch the shows and think 'thank God I didn't end up there. It's just not me'"^[3]

Instead Bryn got a scholarship to a top London stage school, where he spent a largely unhappy two years before catching the attention of the management team who brought him to Polydor's Colin Barlow. For Barlow, Bryn's appeal was instant: "His voice just floored me," he says.^[3]

Finally, things began to happen for 21-year-old Bryn. The first show he played for a potential publisher saw the deal done and dusted that very night. A similar thing happened when the support for the Amy Winehouse tour came up, one of the highest-profile string of dates in 2007. "I knew everybody else was going up for it," he says, still slightly dumbfounded at being given the chance. "Amy gets to choose who she wants, so she must've liked my music." He doesn't know for sure, though, as he never got to meet Winehouse. "She would turn up and go straight on stage," he recalls. "Anyway, her husband had just been sent to prison: I was hardly going to be going up to her and going, 'Hi! What do you think of my music?' And I wasn't expecting her to stop and chat."^[3][4]

Bryn’s was the support slot on the Amy Winehouse tour at the rear end of 2007, while he was still relatively unknown (he also supported US Soul artist Rahsaan Patterson at London's Jazz Café.^[5] More recently, he has been picked up by the US agent, William Morris Agency. He also co-wrote the Leon Jackson hit song Don't Call This Love with British producer/ writer Chris Braide. Bryn's also was Mary J. Blige open act on her European tour 'Growing Pains' in 2008.

The Quest[link]

His first single release "The Quest" was released on 8 June 2008 through Polydor Records. The single draws on his brother’s personal experience as a soldier stationed in Basra. His brother 2 years later would be seriously injured in Afghanistan losing both of his legs . "The Quest" was featured in the closing scene of Grey's Anatomy's season 4 conclusion, which caused the song to become more known in the US. The song was made into a music video for the show to promote its fifth season, with scenes of Christopher singing in London as well as scenes from the show. The song was also featured in an episode of the BBC drama Waterloo Road.

It was also covered by Grigory Leps in Russian which became a popular version.

Bryn teamed up with co-writer/producer Jarrad Rogers and production team Midi Mafia (Jennifer Lopez, Talib Kweli, Nelly) to make his debut album My World, which was released September 2008. Midi Mafia recently secured the exclusive rights to use samples from the Stax Records Catalogue, and has used some of these for the first time ever on Bryn’s album.

His second single was called 'Smilin' released on 2 September 2008. It peaked at #31. His third single 'Fearless' was released on 18 January 2009, and failed to chart. His final single was 'Taken Me Over', released on 4 August 2009 as a digital only single. It also failed to chart.^[6]

Christopher has since parted ways with his record label Polydor, and has signed with Geffen Records UK. He is currently working on his second album for Geffen.^[1]

Festival appearances[link]

Bryn recently hosted a residency at North London’s live spot The Boogaloo throughout April 2007, and will be following this with dates at London’s Soho Revue Bar. He has also played at this summer’s Wireless Festival in Hyde Park on the same day as Jay Z, as well as Glastonbury, T in the Park, Oxegen and V Festival.

2010-present[link]

In October 2010, he featured in Aggro Santos' music video, "Stamina".

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

Promo singles[link]

Notes

• A ^ "Taken Me Over" was released as a digital download single.^[7]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Bryn Christopher

• Bryn Christopher’s official website
• Bryn Christopher MySpace page
• Polydor Records website
• Geffen Records website
• Bryn Christopher interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' September 2008
• Bryn Christopher on Last.fm
• Bryn Christopher French Site

Jean-Claude Van Damme
Van Damme at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival
Born	Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (1960-10-18) 18 October 1960 (age 51) Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Brussels, Belgium
Other names	The Muscles from Brussels, JCVD, Van Damage
Nationality	Belgian
Height	1.76 metres (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Weight	80 kg (180 lb) (currently)[2] 73 kg (160 lb) (fighting weight)
Division	Middleweight
Style	Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Shotokan Karate
Fighting out of	Brussels, Belgium
Team	Team Goetz
Trainer	Claude Goetz Dominique Valera
Rank	black belt in Shotokan
Years active	1976–1982 (martial arts), 1984–present (acting)
Kickboxing record
Total	19
Wins	18
By knockout	18
Losses	1
Amateur career
Total	48
Wins	44
Losses	4
Other information
Occupation	Actor, martial artist, director
Spouse	Maria Rodriguez (m. 1980–1984) «start: (1980)–end+1: (1985)»"Marriage: Maria Rodriguez to Jean-Claude Van Damme" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Jean-Claude_Van_Damme) Cynthia Derderian (m. 1985–1986) «start: (1985)–end+1: (1987)»"Marriage: Cynthia Derderian to Jean-Claude Van Damme" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Jean-Claude_Van_Damme) Darcy LaPier (m. 1994–1997) «start: (1994)–end+1: (1998)»"Marriage: Darcy LaPier to Jean-Claude Van Damme" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Jean-Claude_Van_Damme) Gladys Portugues (m. 1987–1992) «start: (1987)–end+1: (1993)»"Marriage: Gladys Portugues to Jean-Claude Van Damme" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Jean-Claude_Van_Damme)and (1999–present)
Children	Kristopher Van Varenberg Bianca Bree Nicholas Van Varenberg

Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (born 18 October 1960), professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme,^[3] is a Belgian martial artist, actor, and director^[4] best known for his martial arts action films.^[5] The most successful of these films include Bloodsport (1988), Kickboxer (1989), Universal Soldier (1992), Hard Target (1993), Timecop (1994), Sudden Death (1995) and JCVD (2008).^[6] He is known as "The Muscles from Brussels".

After studying martial arts intensively from the age of ten, Van Damme achieved national success in Belgium as a martial artist and bodybuilder, earning the "Mr. Belgium" bodybuilding title.^[7] He emigrated to the United States in 1982 to pursue a career in film, and achieved success with Bloodsport (1988), based on a story written by Frank Dux. He attained subsequent box office success with Timecop (1994), which was his highest grossing film with over $100 million, until 2011's Kung Fu Panda 2, which grossed over $665 million.

Early life[link]

Van Damme was born Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Brussels, Belgium, the son of Eliana and Eugène Van Varenberg, who was an accountant.^[8][9] He began martial arts at the age of ten, enrolled by his father in a Shotokan karate school.^[10] His styles consist of kickboxing, Shotokan karate, Muay Thai and Taekwondo.^[11] He eventually earned his black belt in karate.^[12] He started lifting weights to improve his physique, which eventually led to a Mr. Belgium bodybuilding title.^[7]

Martial arts career[link]

Semi-contact karate career[link]

At the age of 11,^[13] Van Damme joined the Centre National De Karaté (National Center of Karate) under the guidance of Claude Goetz in Belgium. Van Damme trained for four years and he earned a spot on the Belgian Karate Team; later training in full-contact karate and kickboxing by Dominique Valera.^[14]

In 1976, Jean-Claude is reported to have started his competitive career in Ingelmunster, Belgium, in a semi-contact match which was sanctioned by the European Karate Union. He defeated fellow Belgian Roland Vedani. The following year, Van Damme remained undefeated with victories over Maurice Devos, Andre LeMaire and fellow team-mate Patrick Teugels in non-tournament matches sanctioned by the World All-Styles Karate Organization. In his first tournament competition, Van Damme placed second at the Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials). Jean-Claude defeated 25 opponents in the three day tournament before losing in the finals to fellow team-mate Angelo Spataro.^[14]

In Europe, Jean-Claude was a member of the Belgium Team when it won the European Championship on 26 December 1979 at La Coupe Francois Persoons Karate Tournament in Brussels, Belgium. His team won the championship.^[14][15]

1980 Forest National match[link]

On 8 March 1980, in Brussels, Belgium, Van Damme competed against his one-time stablemate Patrick Teugels at the Forest National arena on the amateur undercard of the Dan Macaruso-Dominique Valera PKA Light-Heavyweight World Championship bout.^[14] Prior to this match, Teugels had defeated Van Damme at least twice by decision, including a match for the Belgium Lightweight Championship. Van Damme had a 1977 win over Teugels. Teugels was coming off this latter impressive showing at the WAKO World Championships four months earlier, and was favored by some to win this match. According to reports, and Patrick Teugels' own interview (with photos), Teugels lost by TKO in the 1st round. Teugels was kicked in the nose and was unable to continue due to that injury.^[14]

Kickboxing and full-contact karate career[link]

Van Damme's martial arts record consists mostly of light and semi-contact matches. However, from 1976 to 1982, Van Damme fought in 19 full-contact matches, and compiled a record of 18 wins, 18 knockouts and 1 defeat.^[16]

Van Damme had his first full-contact match against Toon Van Oostrum in Brussels, Belgium in 1976. The 16 year old Van Damme knocked out Oostrum in 46 seconds of the first round.

Jean-Claude's biggest victories were over the United Kingdom's Michael J. Heming-British and European Middleweight Karate Champion, the United States of America's Sherman Bergman, Turkey's Ajom Mahmud Uddin, and Belgium's Lenny Leikman.

Van Damme's only defeat was early in his career, when he lost to France's Etienne "Tuf" Aubry by 1st round disqualification. Van Damme accidentally kicked and knocked out Aubry when he was down. Aubry was unable to continue and was awarded a victory.

Jean-Claude was only knocked down once in his entire 8-year career. Facing Sherman Bergman, Van Damme was knocked to the canvas after absorbing a powerful left hook,^[17][18] and it was the only knock-down suffered by Van Damme in his fighting career. However, Van Damme got up, and with an axe-kick, knocked Bergman out in 56 seconds of the first round. This match was fought in Tampa, Florida.^[17][18]

Following a knockout victory over France's Georges Verlugels on a Professional Karate Association promotion in 1980(source:FightingArts.com), Van Damme caught the attention of Professional Karate Magazine publisher and editor Mike Anderson, and multiple European champion Geet Lemmens. Both men tabbed Van Damme as an upcoming prospect.^[19]

Jean-Claude Van Damme ended his full-contact career in 1982 following a knockout victory over India's Nedjad Gharbi.

Van Damme was scheduled to fight former boxing Olympic gold-medalist Somluck Kamsing in November 2011.^[20] Early reports have named Las Vegas, USA, Moscow, Russia and Macau, China, Thailand as locations for the bout but it now fight will take place in Dubai, Moscow^[21] or Grozny.^[22] At the prospect of being the first man over the age of 50 to kickbox professionally, Van Damme stated that "it's kind of dangerous, but life is short."^{[dead link][23]} The fight was postponed to May or June 2012.^[21]

Film career[link]

In 1982, Van Damme and childhood friend, Michel Qissi, moved to America in the hope of becoming action stars. They both were cast as extras in the film, Breakin'. Van Damme also had a non-speaking part as a Secret Service agent who carries a polio-crippled President Franklin Roosevelt (Ralph Bellamy) out of a pool in the 1988 TV miniseries War and Remembrance. After a small part in Missing In Action, Van Damme was next cast in the film No Retreat, No Surrender, as the role of the villain, Ivan the Russian. Van Damme worked for director John McTiernan for the 1987 film Predator as an early (eventually abandoned) version of the titular alien, before being removed and replaced by Kevin Peter Hall.^[24] His breakout film was Bloodsport, based on the alleged true story of Frank Dux. Shot on a 1.5 million dollar budget, it became a U.S. box-office hit in the spring of 1988. He then starred in the smaller budgeted film Cyborg. His last role for 1989 was Kurt Sloane in the successful Kickboxer. In this film, his character fights to avenge his brother who has been paralyzed by a Thai kickboxing champion (Qissi).^[25]

Double Impact featured Van Damme in the dual role of Alex and Chad Wagner, two brothers fighting to avenge the deaths of their parents. This film reunited him with his former Bloodsport co-star, Bolo Yeung. He then starred opposite Dolph Lundgren in the action film Universal Soldier. While it grossed $36,299,898 in the U.S., it was an even bigger success overseas, making over $65 million, well over its modest $23 million budget, making it Van Damme's highest grossing film at the time. Van Damme followed Nowhere To Run and Hard Target with Timecop in 1994. The film was a huge success, grossing over $100 million worldwide. In the film, Van Damme played a time traveling cop, who tries to prevent the death of his wife. It remains his highest grossing film in a lead role to date.

After his role in the poorly received Street Fighter, his projects started to fail at the box office. The Quest (1996), which he directed; Maximum Risk (1996), Double Team (1997) and Knock Off (1998) were box-office flops. The 1999 film Universal Soldier: The Return, also a box-office flop, was Van Damme's last theatrically released film until 2008. In 2003, Van Damme employed his dancing training in the music video for Bob Sinclar's "Kiss My Eyes."

Van Damme returned to the mainstream with the limited theatrical release of the 2008 film JCVD, which received positive reviews. Time Magazine named Van Damme's performance in the film the second best of the year (after Heath Ledger's The Joker in The Dark Knight),^[26] having previously stated that Van Damme "deserves not a black belt, but an Oscar."^[27] Van Damme indicated while promoting the film, he experienced a period of homelessness "sleeping on the street and starving in L.A."^[28]

Van Damme reprised his role as Luc Deveraux in the 2009 film Universal Soldier: Regeneration. Subsequently he voiced "Master Croc" in the 2011 animated vilm Kung Fu Panda 2. Also in 2011, Van Damme participated in various commercials for Coors Light beer, in which he is located on a snow-covered mountain wearing a sleeveless denim jacket, and for washing powder "Dash".

He was offered a lead role in Sylvester Stallone's latest film The Expendables. Stallone called Van Damme personally to offer him the role, but Van Damme turned it down. He scheduled a series of film projects for 2011, including another Universal Soldier movie. On 30 June 2011, Van Damme confirmed his participation in The Expendables 2.^[29]

Van Damme's latest project is starring in an upcoming (2013) feature Welcome To The Jungle directed by Rob Meltzer, in a role as a workplace team building trainer opposite Adam Brody, Rob Huebel, Kristen Schaal, Megan Boone, and Dennis Haysbert.^[30]

Controversies[link]

Fight record[link]

In an interview on his website, Van Damme rival, Patrick Teugels states that Van Damme never fought at the 1979 WAKO World Championships in Tampa, Florida, and posts a Dutch-language Samurai magazine report on the tournament in which Van Damme (Van Varenberg) is not mentioned.^[31] On Van Damme's imdb page, as well as his official webpage, Van Damme makes no claims of having fought at the 1979 or 1980 WAKO World Championships. Van Damme's fight with Bergman in Tampa, Florida^[32] was always billed as a non-tournament match, and was not under the sanction of the WAKO World Championships and was not recorded as a championship bout.

At the same time, while Teugels takes credit for two victories over Van Damme (one for the Belgium light-contact Championship), records show that Van Damme defeated Teugels in at least two matches, including one at the Forest National arena in which Van Damme broke Teugels's nose.^[33] At the STAR System World Kickboxing Ratings^[14] website, event coverages and results are posted from France's Karate Magazine and from the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO) that show Van Damme was an active semi-contact fighter in Europe between 1978–1980, but that he never placed at the 1979 WAKO World Championships. Newspaper clippings do provide information that Van Damme fought in various tournaments from 1978-1980, but internet photos show that Van Damme competed from 1976-1982.

When Van Damme became an action film star a controversy arose because leading martial arts magazines could not find any fights listed for Jean-Claude Van Damme. Jean-Claude had competed under his birth name of Jean-Claude Van Varenberg. Van Damme's office supplied a list of four European karate trophies that he earned under his real name, Van Varenberg, between 1978 and 1981: the Hope Cup; the Cup of Antwerp; World Championship, WAKO; and the Gala International. Van Damme's lawyer, Martin Singer, made a public statement defending his client: "There are records to document his martial-arts acclaim. He's the one who does those splits on chairs. He doesn't have a stunt man do that."^[34]

Paul Maslak of the STAR System World Kickboxing Ratings, who was also the casting director who helped cast Van Damme in his first theatrical role, No Retreat No Surrender, and who was therefore always aware of Van Damme's legal name, researched Van Damme's competitive history and came up with documentation that showed most fights were in tournament karate and that there was no verifiable evidence Van Damme had ever competed as a professional kickboxer.^[14] The term "professional" fighter is open to debate, because many WAKO fighters in Europe were paid money to train.^[35]

Kadyrov event[link]

In October 2011, Van Damme, along with other celebrities including Hilary Swank, Vanessa-Mae and Seal attracted criticism from human rights groups for attending an event in Russian federal subject Chechnya's capital Grozny on the 35th birthday of Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov on October 5.^[36] Human rights groups, who had urged the celebrities to cancel their appearances because of abuses carried out under Kadyrov, criticised the celebrities for attending the event.^[37] Human Rights Watch released a statement which said, "Ramzan Kadyrov is linked to a litany of horrific human rights abuses. It's inappropriate for stars to get paid to party with him. It bolsters his image and legitimizes a brutal leader and his regime. And getting paid to be part of such a lavish show in Chechnya trivializes the suffering of countless victims of human rights abuses there."^[38][39][40]

Personal life[link]

At the age of 16 he took up ballet, which he studied for five years. According to Van Damme, ballet "is an art, but it's also one of the most difficult sports. If you can survive a ballet workout, you can survive a workout in any other sport."^[41] In the French-speaking world, Van Damme is well known for the picturesque aphorisms that he delivers on a wide range of topics (personal well-being, the environment, etc.) in a sort of Zen franglais.^[42]

Health and addiction[link]

Van Damme used to have a substance abuse issues that started during 1995.^[43] He entered a month-long rehabilitation program in 1996 but left it after only one week.^[43][44] In 1996, he spent up to $10,000 a week on cocaine.^[45] He is also reported to have experienced bipolar disorder. After the filming of the 1998 film Knock Off, Van Damme was diagnosed with rapid cycling bipolar disorder after becoming suicidal and started treatment on the mood stabilizer, sodium valproate. A turning point toward improvement of his health came from late 1997 onwards, after having finished divorce procedures.^[43]

Mortal Kombat[link]

The original video game Mortal Kombat was conceived as a fighting game based on the actor and martial artist Jean-Claude Van Damme.^[46] Creators Ed Boon and John Tobias originally had desired to author the game starring Van Damme himself. That fell through as Van Damme had a prior deal for another game under the auspices of the Sega Genesis platform. Ed Boon and John Tobias eventually decided to create Mortal Kombat featuring a character named Johnny Cage, who is modeled after Jean-Claude Van Damme, primarily from Van Damme's appearance and outfit in the martial arts film Bloodsport.^[47][48]

Filmography[link]

Semi-contact/light-contact record[link]

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Date	Round	Time	Event	Location	Notes
Win	44-4-0	Jonny Wellum	Decision	7 May 1980	3		W.A.K.O.	Brussels, Belgium	Light-Contact(Van Damme avenges early career defeat)
Win	43-4-0	Jordy Claes	Decision	1980	3		Gala InternationalW.A.K.O.	Brussels, Belgium	Light-Contact
Win	42-4-0	Patrick Teugels[14]	l'abandon (TKO)	8 March 1980	1		Forest Nationals	Brussels, Belgium	Light-Contact:Teugels suffers a broken nose and is unable to continue.)
Win	41-4-0	Andres Kovac	Decision	1980	3		W.A.K.O.	Brussels, Belgium	Semi-Contact
Win	40-4-0	Bekim-Moussa Muhammad	Decision	1980	3		W.A.K.O.	Brussels, Belgium	Semi-Contact
Win	39-4-0	Mustapha-Ahmad Benamou	Decision	1980	3		WAKO	Brussels, Belgium	Semi-Contact
Win	38-4-0	Reinhard Krass	Disq.	26 December 1979	2		Karate Tournament: Belgium Team vs. German Team	Woluwe, Brussels, Belgium	Light-Contact[14]
Win	37-4-0	Gilberto Dias	l'abandon	November 1979	1		World-All Styles Karate Organization	Brussels, Belgium	Light-Contact (Dias suffers ankle injury and is unable to continue.)
Win	36-4-0	Hans Kohler	Decision	1979	3		World-All Styles Karate Organization	Ingelmunster, Belgium	Semi-Contact
Loss	35-4-0	Patrick Teugels	Decision	1979	3		Cup of AntwerpWorld-All Styles Karate Organization	Antwerp, Belgium	Light-Contact(Both men fight in karate gi uniforms, no pads or gloves)
Win	35-3-0	Matthias Evrard	Decision	1979	3		Cup of AntwerpWorld-All Styles Karate Organization	Antwerp, Belgium	Semi-Contact
Win	34-3-0	Paul Sperati	Decision	1979	3		World-All Styles Karate Organization	Opprebais, Belgium	Semi-Contact
Win	33-3-0	Lucus Reinfeld	Decision	1979	3		World-All Styles Karate Organization, Europe Interland Cup	Mulhouse, Belgium	Semi-Contact
Win	32-3-0	Robbe Bogaerts	Decision	1978	3		Hope CupWorld-All Styles Karate Organization	Brussels, Belgium	Semi-Contact[51]
Win	31-3-0	Leonard Baptiste	Decision	1978	3		World-All Styles Karate Organization	Izegem, Belgium	Semi-Contact
Win	30-3-0	Fernando Cabanela	Decision	1978	3		World-All Styles Karate Organization	Izegem, Belgium	Semi-Contact
Loss	29-3-0	Angelo Spataro[14]	Decision	1978	3		Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials)	Antwerp, Belgium	Light-Contact
Win	29-2-0	Gabriel Van Der Driessche	Decision	1978	3		Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials)	Antwerp, Belgium	Light-Contact
Win	28-2-0	Farid Muhammad Mousseau	Decision	1978	3		Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials)	Antwerp, Belgium	Light-Contact
Win	27-2-0	Jacques van Laere	Decision	1978	3		Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials)	Antwerp, Belgium	Light-Contact
Win	26-2-0	Christian Hedin	Decsion	1978	3		Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials)	Antwerp, Belgium	Light-Contact
Win	25-2-0	Gerard Charon	Decision	1978	3		Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials)	Antwerp, Belgium	Light-Contact
Win	24-2-0	David Arranz	Decsion	1978	3		Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials)	Antwerp, Belgium	Light-Contact
Win	23-2-0	Bernard Redden	Decision	1978	3		Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials)	Antwerp, Belgium	Light-Contact
Win	22-2-0	Antoine Redi	Decision	1978	3		Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials)	Antwerp, Belgium	Light-Contact
Win	21-2-0	Ben Salah Ellah	Decision	1978	3		Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials)	Antwerp, Belgium	Light-Contact
Win	20-2-0	Gaston Airey	Foul	1978	1		Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials)	Antwerp, Belgium	Light-Contact
Win	19-2-0	Abdembi Hassan Ali	Decision	1978	3		Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials)	Antwerp, Belgium	Light-Contact
Win	18-2-0	Jonas "Marcel" Cohen	Decision	1978	3		Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials)	Antwerp, Belgium	Light-Contact
Win	17-2-0	Christian Van Tieghem	Decision	1978	3		Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials)	Antwerp, Belgium	Light-Contact
Win	16-2-0	Max Roelandt	Decision	1978	3		Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials)	Antwerp, Belgium	Light-Contact
Win	15-2-0	Andre Verbon	Decision	1978	3		Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials)	Antwerp, Belgium	Light-Contact
Win	14-2-0	Michel Juvillier	Decision	1978	3		Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials)	Antwerp, Belgium	Light-Contact
Win	13-2-0	Joel Maoreau	Decision	1978	3		Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials)	Antwerp, Belgium	Light-Contact
Win	12-2-0	Ronald Duivenbode	Decision	1978	3		Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials)	Antwerp, Belgium	Semi-Contact
Loss	11-2-0	Patrick Teugels	Decision	1978	3		Belgium Lightweight Championship	Antwerp, Belgium	Light-Contact
Win	11-1-0	Gris Lubbers	Decision	1976	3		European Karate Union	Ingelmunster, Belgium	Semi-Contact
Win	10-1-0	Andre Lemaire	Decision	1977	3		World Association of Kickboxing Organizations Open International	Izegem, Belgium	Semi-Contact
Win	9-1-0	Patrick Teugels	Decision	1977	3		Antwerp Open International Competition W.A.K.O.	Antwerp, Belgium	Light-Contact(source:YouTube Video)
Win	8-1-0	Maurice Devos	Decision	1977	3		World Allstyles Kickboxing Organization	Antwerp, Belgium	Semi-Contact
Win	7-1-0	Jacques Berri	Decision	1976	3		Antwerp Open WAKO	Antwerp, Belgium	Semi-Contact
Win	6-1-0	Johannes Binding	Decision	1976	3		Antwerp Open WAKO	Antwerp, Belgium	Semi-Contact
Win	5-1-0	Jean-Morin Devigne	Decision	1976	3		Antwerp Open WAKO	Antwerp, Belgium	Semi-Contact
Win	4-1-0	Roland Vedani	Decision	1976	3		European Karate Union	Ingelmunster, Belgium	Semi-Contact
Win	3-1-0	Jean-Paul Gaston	Decision	1976	3		European Karate Union	Brussels, Belgium	Semi-Contact
Loss	2-1-0	Jonny Wellum	Decision	22 January 1976	3		La Federation Europeene de Karate (European Karate Federation)	Brussels, Belgium	Semi-Contact(J.Vandenberg credit with Defaite (loss)
Win	2-0-0	Bernard Briers	Decision	22 January 1976	3		La Federation Europeene de Karate(European Karate Federation)	Brussels, Belgium	Semi-Contact(J.Vandenberg credit with victoire (win)
Win	1-0-0	Robin Lomard	Decision	22 January 1976	3		La Federation Europeene de Karate (European Karate Federation)	Brussels, Belgium	Semi-Contact(J.Vandenberg credit with victoire (win))-Magazine "boxe francise" (Karate)

Kickboxing record[link]

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Date	Round	Time	Event	Location	Notes
		Somluck Kamsing[52]		December 2012[21]				Las Vegas[21]	Kickboxing
Win	18-1-0	Nedjad Gharbi	KKO	1982	1			Brussels, Belgium	Kickboxing
Win	17-1-0	Daniel Le Jaouen	KKO	1982	1	1:05		Brussels, Belgium	Kickboxing
Win	16-1-0	Lenny Leikman[14]	KKO	1982	3		1st Journée Des Arts Martiaux	Brussels, Belgium	Kickboxing
Win	15-1-0	Ajom Mahmud Uddin	KO	1981	1	0:19		Brussels, Belgium	Kickboxing
Win	14-1-0	Mustapha-Ahmad Benamou	KKO	1981	1			Brussels, Belgium	Kickboxing
Win	13-1-0	Henk Besselman	KO	1981	1			Brussels, Belgium	Kickboxing
Win	12-1-0	Michael J. Heming	KKO	1980	1	0:46		Brussels, Belgium	Kickboxing[53]
Win	11-1-0	Georges Verlugels	KO	1980	2		P.K.A.	Brussels, Belgium	Kickboxing[19]
Win	10-1-0	Sherman Bergman[54]	KKO	1974 Nov 04	1	0:56		Tampa, Florida, USA	Full-Contact (Van Damme climbs off floor to win.)
Win	9-1-0	Rolf Risberg	KKO	1979	1			Ingelmunster, Belgium	Kickboxing[16]
Win	8-1-0	Emile Leibman	KKO	1979	1			Iseghem, Belgium	Kickboxing[16]
Win	7-1-0	Cyrille Nollet	KKO	1978	1			Iseghem, Belgium	Kickboxing
Win	6-1-0	Orlando Lang	KO	1978	1	0:26		Antwerp, Belgium	Kickboxing
Win	5-1-0	Jacques Piniarski	KKO	1978	1			Belgium	Kickboxing[16]
Win	4-1-0	Eric "Basel" Strauss	KKO	1978	1	0:18		Antwerp, Belgium	Kickboxing[16]
Win	3-1-0	Andre "Robar" Robaeys	KKO	1978	1			Mulhouse, Belgium	Kickboxing[16]
Win	2-1-0	Michel Juvillier	KO	1978	1	0:39		Antwerp, Belgium	Full-Contact[16]
Loss	1-1-0	Etienne "Tuf" Aubry	Disq	7 March 1977	1	1:02		Marseilles, France	Full-Contact(Magazine "boxe francise"(Karate))
Win	1-0-0	Toon Van Oostrum	KKO	1976	1	0:46		Brussels, Belgium	Full-Contact

Notes[link]