Joe Lewis and his American Karate Systems: Second Edition ©

Contains excerpts from the book, “The Greatest Karate Fighter of All Time: Joe Lewis and his American Karate Systems,” Paladin Press 1998. (By Permission of the Copyrights owner) All Rights Reserved. This book is provided as a dedication and may not be reproduced in any manner. 

Introduction

By Dr. Jerry Beasley, 8th Dan JLAKS

In July 2011, Joe Lewis was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Most who were close to him remember he had complained of severe headaches and mood swings as early as 2008. In a 2007 photo the dark lines under his eyes clearly betrayed a sense that something was wrong.  During his illness he attracted thousands of prayers and well-wishers. This book recalls the best of Joe Lewis of the 80’s and 90’s when he was at the top of his game. He was a mentor, teacher, and friend. He was loved.

Joe Lewis had his ups and downs; that is for sure. He often referred to himself as the most successful guy ever to not make money. He had a pretty noticeable temper. He liked to sleep late and when asked he could find something critical to say about anyone. But he had an incredible charisma, a sense of humor that attracted many, many close friends. And most importantly he was a martial arts genius on the same level of his mentor, Bruce Lee. Joe Lewis was truly the “Greatest Karate Fighter of All Time.”

Joe was born in Raleigh, NC in 1944. His brothers got in to so much trouble there that the dad, a college professor moved the family to nearby Knightdale, NC where the boys worked on a farm and mostly stayed out of trouble. Joe’s mom resented the move from city life and from then on, as Joe recalled, there was constant family disputes. Joe felt smothered by his family situation. As soon as he turned 18 he left the Lewis farm and the subsequent family turmoil and joined the US Marines. It turned out to be a good move.

Stationed in Okinawa, Joe learned karate and earned his black belt. In the 1960s, Lewis became the most feared karate fighter on the planet. His techniques were simple. Joe made believers of everyone who fought him. He was perhaps the strongest, best conditioned athlete that ever stepped on the tournament floor.  Joe’s strategy was simple back then. Once he got his hand on the opponent’s gi it was over. Joe, with the strength of a lion and tenacity of the tiger, would literally rip the opponent’s gi and reverse punch the opponent until the referee made him quit. Often times he would make his opponent submit by delivering a side kick that was so powerful that a fighter struck by Lewis would be numb with pain. Many opponents simply ran out of the ring to avoid contact with the young fighter who possessed Herculean-like strength.

His alethic prowess did not go unnoticed. In 1967, the great Bruce Lee sought him out to train under his tutelage. For almost two years, Lewis learned the most advanced martial arts theory of the day directly from the innovative mind of Bruce Lee. When you combine Joe’s natural athleticism with Bruce Lee’s advanced martial theory you create a fighter the likes of which had never been seen.

In tournament competition Lewis became simply unstoppable. He won the top karate titles of his day, not once but two and three times. In 1970, Lewis entered the first “kickboxing” match ever presented as a grand finale to a national karate tournament. According to a 1970 article in Sports Illustrated magazine, Lewis was initially opposed to the term “kickboxing.” He had intended that the new sport be called “Joe Lewis-Style Self-Defense.” The term kickboxing caught on, and Lewis became the first fighter to earn the title of “United States Heavyweight Kickboxing Champion.”

Lewis defended his title ten times. Each fight ended in a knockout. As the undefeated, undisputed heavyweight champion Joe Lewis earned the title as the father of American kickboxing. In 1974, Lewis won the first Professional Karate Association World Heavyweight Full-Contact Karate Championship. In 1975, Lewis was inducted into the ultra-prestigious Black Belt magazine Hall of Fame as the Full-Contact Fighter of the Year. His teacher, Bruce Lee, had been inducted in 1972.

In the late 1970s, Lewis’s good looks and acting skills landed him roles in Hollywood movies. His 1977 breakout role as the lead in The Jaguar Lives was screened without the promised marketing budget; thus, the film earned less than expected box office receipts. Still, Lewis was larger than life on screen. A second leading role quickly followed, but again the all-important marketing budget was insufficient to earn the box office income that investors expected. The broken promises and cut-throat lifestyle endured by the Hollywood actor eventually led Lewis back to his childhood home in Knightdale, N.C. It was in the spring of 1982 that Joe returned to his roots.

When Joe Lewis and I wrote this book Joe was in his early 50s. I am pleased to offer without cost the first book ever penned regarding the Joe Lewis American Karate Systems (JLAKS). Before going on I must confess that with Joe, I never actually practiced what is called “karate.” Karate was the generic term used in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s to identify fighting methods that used both punching and kicking. The “Full-contact” karate of the early 70’s more closely resembled an early form of kickboxing. Joe practiced fighting with kickboxing gear but never did we engage in something traditional-like that could be called “karate.” At times we would suit-up in a karate gi for photos but when we trained we never considered wearing a gi nor did we ever practice something that resembled traditional “karate-like” movements, except of course for the traditional bow. During physical training, sparring is all we ever did. JLAKS was never intended to be karate-like. It was all contact sparring andsometimes for photos Joe would wear a karate gi.

I have been a student, sparring partner and business cohort of Joe Lewis since 1982, when I met him for a sparring match at the YMCA in downtown Raleigh, NC. For close to thirty years (mostly during the ’80s and ’90s) served as the principal public relations writer for the Joe Lewis brand. By the time I met Joe his competition days were all but past. Still, his plan was to re-enter the PKA competitions and hopefully regain his former title. Living at the “Y” would allow him full-time access to the weight room and boxing gyms. Although my initial plan was simply to meet and to spar the legendary world karate champion, I was taken by both his charisma and vast knowledge of martial arts. In his room Joe and I organized a plan to get him maximum media coverage as he worked to win back his title.

I was indeed honored to earn Joe’s trust. I spent a lot of time in Raleigh sparring with Joe at the YMCA. Also, I met up with him on the road at seminars in North Carolina, Virginia, New York, Georgia, Florida, New Jersey, California, Oklahoma, Texas and all parts in between. On many occasions, I was able to organize a series of seminars near my home. This would allow Joe to live at my apartment for a week at a time.  We sparred, planned our publicity campaigns and the articles we would submit for publication, and exchanged ideas about training and martial arts.

In 1983, Joe partnered with me to advance the American Independent Karate/Kickboxing Instructors Association (AIKIA) to a national audience. During his 20 years as the active AIKIA National Director for Training and Instruction, Joe became ultra-successful as the nation’s leading karate seminar performer. During the years that followed I was fortunate to publish more than 80 articles and seven books promoting Joe Lewis as the leading authority in martial arts instruction.

Also in 1983 Joe met and courted the beautiful Kim Lewis, a former model and Miss Raleigh beauty pageant winner. They were married in 1985. Joe and Kim made the perfect team for seminar tours. Although divorced in 2005, they share two exceptional kids, their son Cameron and daughter Kristina. While Joe may have earned his reputation as a fighter, his passion in life became that of a teacher. Lewis excelled as a seminar performer.

With AIKIA, Joe and I had become a successful team. In 1988, we recruited Bill Wallace and Jeff Smith (Lewis, Wallace, and Smith were the most celebrated karate fighters of the day.) to form the “Karate College.” Karate College became the nation’s top multi-cultural mixed martial arts summer camp. At Joe’s request, both Wallace and Smith joined AIKIA as national directors. In the 1980s and 1990s, AIKIA was arguably the top martial arts organization in the country and Karate College was the number one training camp. AIKIA was the first organization dedicated to promoting the Joe Lewis American Karate Systems.

As a business partner, I had sought to expand the Lewis brand to identify the fact that Joe Lewis was the only world champion fighter, and only competitor to ever be coached directly by Bruce Lee. After studying the process leading to the success of the “New Coke versus Coke Classic” brand marketing campaign of the mid-’80s I coined the term “Original Jeet Kune Do.” I felt it was important to get Joe the attention he deserved as an original Bruce Lee student. In 1993, Joe and I partnered with Ted Wong to offer the first ever “Original Jeet Kune Do” summer camp. Joe had worked with Ted as a training partner at Bruce Lee’s house in the late ’60s. In the summer of 1995, Joe, Ted, and I agreed to form the Original Jeet Kune Do Council.

Together, Ted, Joe and I organized, reviewed and wrote down the specific training methods and theories that Bruce Lee had taught Joe and that Joe had tested in competition.  Joe told me if possible he would prefer not to use the name jeet kune do and asked me to come up with a name that would work. I decided on the name “Non-Classical Combative Methodologies” to best identify the exact JKD principles, methods, skills and drills taught to Joe Lewis by Bruce Lee. Joe liked the name because it was non-classical yet methodically combative, and, there was no reference to the typical Asian terminology.  NCCM is not at all a style. NCCM is the science of the offensive approach methodology. NCCM is what makes JLAKS work. I’ll explain more about the NCCM concept in Chapter 5.

We published the book you are about to read with Paladin Press in 1998. I wrote the book after meticulously transposing a series of interviews given specifically for the proposed book. After I finished a chapter I would mail it to Joe for comments. In a few months we had a finished manuscript. He was proud to be a book author and quickly sent copies to his best friends including, Chuck Norris and Walter Anderson (Parade magazine publisher).

JLAKS represents the essence of Joe Lewis of the ’80s and ’90s. Joe had made his early reputation as the world champion full-contact karate fighter and undisputed U.S. heavyweight kickboxing champion. In 1983, he was officially voted by a panel of former champions as “The Greatest Karate Fighter of All Time.” Our intent was to chronicle Joe’s rise to the top of the martial arts field. As I was writing the pages representing countless hours of research and training in the JLAKS, I could recall Joe talking about his dreams as a kid, the importance of earning his first black belt, his first tournament win, and his amazing revelations on fighting and karate.

Joe Lewis has done so much for my personal success that I am pleased to present his story to his countless fans worldwide. It was a privilege to work for and with him. It was an honor to call him my friend. As the sole surviving author I could have published this book and sought to make a profit. Instead I am offering this book free to all readers in hopes that you might help Joe’s kids.

Joe knew the value of education and provided as much as he could for his son and daughter before his death. However a college education costs a lot more than was left. On behalf of my friend and mentor Joe Lewis, I ask that you please consider donating any amount, $5, $10, $20, $100 or more to the Joe Lewis College Fund: 3316 Bucks Run Trail, Wake Forrest, NC 27587. One hundred percent of your donation goes straight to his kids. I hope every Joe Lewis Black Belt will consider presenting a seminar, camp or tournament and donate the proceeds to the Joe Lewis College Fund. I can think of no better way to remember Joe than to remember his kids. Thank you. Jerry Beasley, 2012