History
Dominique Valera
Everybody is convinced that Dominique Valera was responsible for bringing full contact to Europe after he abandoned traditional karate and was disqualified for life from WUKO (it was later withdrawn) for hitting a referee at the 1975 Long Beach world championships. His claim in his book that he was among the founders of WAKO couldn't be more confusing, because he never belonged to WAKO in those years. He will, but later on.
As previously declared and proven here, it was Georg Bruckner, the Berliner, who actually introduced full contact in Europe. Valera, along with Wallace and Lewis, were prominent fighters who were very much talked about and made full contact visible, but Georg Bruckner was always at the forefront with his vast knowledge of the American karate world and his close friendship with Mike Anderson. He finally became the liaison between the American full contact scene and Valera himself. Simply skimming through Valera's book, one will notice that almost all pro matches were refereed by Bruckner who, since 1973, had been bringing all major American full contact stars to Europe. Not for nothing, Berlin's gigantic Deutschlandhalle was able to host crowds of 10,000, attracted by none other than the famous “yankee” stars. Bruckner's gym, in Hohenzollerndamm, saw the very first meeting between Wallace and Valera, who later went to stay with “Superfoot” for a month to study and prepare himself according to Wallace's methods. That's how Valera, when he returned home, could tour Europe and be so well paid for his training stages. However, Valera wasn't very friendly with Wallace at first. Bruckner, had called Anderson and Wallace to a meeting to set up the strategies and the technical directives for European full contact. Valera, the king of traditional karate, showed up with a long, dark face and with the intention of challenging and bringing down Bill, the phenomenon. He was used to challenging those who dared to obscure his “fame”, like the Goju Ryu karateka he had sent to the hospital while he was coaching the Spanish team. After ten minutes, Valera finally acknowledged the American's superiority. The tension dropped and finally the two became friends. Valera went to the meeting and eventually participated in the planning of WAKO, but later he decided to end his cooperation with them for various reasons, which I think I understand.
Firstly, his way of interpreting and spreading full contact was basically different from WAKO's. He was coming from traditional karate where he was already an acclaimed professional before moving to full contact. He used his success as a publicity vehicle for his clubs spread throughout Spain and France.
Secondly, he had a lot going for him: he was strongly supported by a full contact magazine, he had Sedirep as a publisher and sponsor, his friendship with Johnny Halliday, the famous French singer, allowed him to bring world champions to the Palais du Sport in Paris. He was a very well paid celebrity who received full coverage by the mass media.
Therefore, we have to give him credit, he wanted his worth in money and couldn't return to fighting for just a trophy or a medal. But the real problem was, who could fight at his level in Europe? What sponsor would risk his money to have him in the ring just once? What credibility could a title match have with him fighting against a perfect unknown, with no preliminary eliminations? As Bruckner put it, contact karate in Europe could only display a great Valera and no one else at the time, therefore they needed to nurture a grassroots movement of amateurs who would later develop into pros.
Thus, Bruckner couldn't and wouldn't accept Valera's viewpoint because it only benefited Valera himself. Bruckner's WAKO, truly his own creation thanks to his facilities and financing, could only accept amateurism in the beginning. Consequently, for two years, France, which undoubtedly had some good contact fighters, didn't participate in WAKO international events. However it has been present since the 1978 world championships and Valera's right-hand man in those days , Jacky Gerbet, was then the president of the French Full Contact Federation after a period of difficulty, including a time when full contact events were forbidden in France.
Now the foundations are being laid and one day WAKO will hopefully launch many pros into the world of spectacle sports. WAKO is very young, but it has proven its efficiency. I think we are on the right track. Milan, 1981.