Joe Lewis (martial artist)
Joe Lewis ( born March 7, 1944 in Raleigh, North Carolina; † 31 August 2012) was an American martial artist and actor.
Life
Joe Lewis learned Shorin- Ryu Karate in 1964 in Okinawa during his time in the Marine Corps. Lewis is said to have got the 1st Dan awarded after only seven months, which is an extremely short time. In 1968, Lewis to train with Bruce Lee.
Joe Lewis was in the 1960s and 1970s, one of the best and most dominant kickboxer in the world. He fought in the PCA. In addition to Mike Stone, Bill Wallace and Chuck Norris, Joe Lewis is one of the four largest kickboxing champion of all time. All four were friends and students of Bruce Lee.
1966 celebrated Lewis - 22 months after he had started with karate - at the U.S. National Championships his first tournament victory. The next twelve bouts decided by KO Lewis all for themselves. In total he won in his active competition time 30 major titles. Legendary are now his four fights against Chuck Norris (Tournament of Champions ) 1968-1970 and his two fights ( 1970 and 1972) against Bill Wallace, but Lewis lost.
Joe Lewis was the first World Heavyweight Kickboxing Champion. Later, Lewis was also World Heavyweight Karate Champion. This is Lewis one of only two fighters who ever occupied world titles in two different martial arts. The other is Vitali Klitschko, the world title in kickboxing and boxing won.
Lewis' impressive career earned him the title of The Greatest Karate Fighter of All Time. This title was awarded twice by Lewis Voters in the United States and Europe.
The American Black Belt Magazine elected him twice in the Hall of Fame: 1975 as the best athlete of the year and 1986 as an assistant coach of the year. Joe Lewis was also the only martial arts world champion who had the 10th Dan.
Lewis made several films, including the 1979 film Jaguar Lives! and 1981 Force Five ( The Power of Five ).
Joe Lewis initiated a chain of martial arts schools and taught around the world in various seminars. Furthermore, he sold DVDs and books with exercise instructions.