WAKO PRO was officially established in 1991 during a WAKO Board meeting held in Spain. All happened during WAKO European Championships, with the precise purpose of putting an end to the loss of their best fighters.
After a brilliant career as amateur fighters in the organization, they were finding it possible to continue as professional fighters in other, so called “international kickboxing bodies”, which started using them against WAKO like “a gift from heaven”.
For years Ennio Falsoni (WAKO-PRO President and Founder) had tried his best to convince Mr. Georg Bruckner, founder of WAKO, to open a “pro” section in their organization to avoid such unnecessary “generosity”.
It takes a minimum of 5 years to shape a good fighter and 6 or 7 to have a star. They are the best representatives of any organization. By promoting galas featuring them, WAKO could approach the media in general to attract their interest in the new sport. But it was all in vain.
In 1988, together with some friends, Falsoni had created IKL (International Kickboxing League) as a separate body linked to WAKO. But immediately after Georg Bruckner passed away Ennio Falsoni thought it was time to go back to the original idea – the creation of WAKO PRO within WAKO itself, where we could place their best fighters so as to generate more activity, more exposure, more credibility. But before doing that, he had gone through a couple of vital experiences.
Actually, in the early ‘80s, before creating IKL, Falsoni had tried to reach an agreement with Mr. Joe Corley who at that time was the chairman of PKA (Professional Karate Association) in the USA.
To make a long story short, Ennio Falsoni simply wanted to sign an official agreement so that PKA could be the professional body of WAKO. The two organizations had to be linked on an exclusive basis and control the development of our sport worldwide.
In the second part of this article you will find all WAKO PRO champions, and more interesting information about the organisation.
To be continued.
