I met a legend the other day…
One of the four horsemen who towered head and shoulders above all others in the golden age of Sport Karate. Their names were Wallace, Norris, Stone and of course Lewis. There were other names that deserved accolades during the early years of martial arts in America, but these four men stood out as the best of the best in the sport. And among them there was no one more feared and respected than the legendary Joe Lewis. I was teaching at Walt Lysak Jr.’s 19th annual Reality Martial Arts Weekend in Ludlow, Massachusetts (see more below) when I had the pleasure to meet and spend time with Sensei Lewis who insisted on being called just “Joe.”
Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect when I met the man because his reputation precedes him. Words I’ve heard to describe him include arrogant, tough and cocky. But mostly I have heard that he has a no-nonsense attitude and always says it like it is. It seems that just as many people dislike Joe and like him. I suspect that is because I hear he has a habit of saying exactly what he believes and doesn’t sugarcoat his opinions like most people do. Reminds me of another great fighter of his era named Mohammad. Personally, I respect men who speak their minds regardless of the consequences. In a world filled with duplicity and deceit you always know where this kind of man stands because it’s right there in your face with it.
My first impression of him was that of his stature. I am bigger than he is but it didn’t seem that way standing next to him. Now you have to remember that he is sixty years old now. But for lifelong athletes like Joe, that is only a number. He is rock solid and fit with a body of a man twenty years his junior. But the most remarkable thing about Joe is his hands. They are huge for his size. My Grandfather had huge hands and hit like a mule too and mine are not small by any means, but Joe’s are like sledgehammers with knuckles that look like he had large marbles implanted under the skin where the knuckles should be. No wonder people always said Joe Lewis hit like a Mack Truck. Hand size, coupled speed and proper technique are a recipe for powerful punching. That is one of the reasons why heavyweights jabs feel like a lightweights knockout punches.
Walt and I picked Joe up at his hotel and took him over to Walt’s brother Charlie’s place for the evening. The four of us were just going to hang out and watch the UFC. Now I have to tell you that spending an evening with Joe Lewis was not what I expected. Within minutes of meeting Joe he had me laughing, hard. Beneath his gruff exterior lies a really keen sense of humor. I can’t remember when I laughed so much. He has a razor-sharp wit as fast as his sidekick. Joe didn’t care who I was. He didn’t care that he had just met me. Joe treated me like anyone else and was busting my stones within minutes of meeting me.
But I can see where people who don’t “get” Joe can be put off. Joe is not only funny but he is smart funny. He is always kidding but even if it doesn’t seem like it. Always trying to zing you with something. But the great thing about Joe is he loves it when you zing him back. He laughs even harder when you bust his stones.
Now I grew up with a friend of mine from New York and he was exactly the same way. He was smart and had a dry wit with an edge to it. We would constantly exchange insults with one another, but they were never meant to be malicious, it was all in good fun. Joe was the same way. He would say something that most people might take as an insult, or tell you a story that was just a little hard to believe. But if you looked close enough you could see Joe smile, just a little. If you weren’t paying attention though you would miss it and might actually think Joe was serious.
In talking about Joe, one of Walt’s Instructors Walt Chrzanowski (nicknamed Top Dog) said it best when he observed that that Joe “just loves to spar”. That’s true. To all those who have met Joe Lewis and didn’t’ “get him” understand this; Joe a fighter, born and bred and Joe loves to fight. Whether with words of fists he loves to spar. Get that fact and you “get” Joe.
A seminar with a legend
The following day Joe went to work. He put on a seminar that I have to say was one of the best martial arts seminars I have ever witnessed. For three hours Joe shared secrets and insights into the art of kickboxing that only someone who had been there and done that could share. Joe is a scientist and the greatest thing about his teaching is his ability to easily explain the science of fighting in a way that both the novice and the seasoned veteran can benefit. I’ve always said that the art of fighting is in the details and Joe proved it over and over again that morning.
Moreover, the man is still incredibly fast and powerful. He moves with cat-like precision and a kind of natural explosive power that many younger and stronger fighters can only dream of. I can only imagine what facing him must have been like when he was in his prime. If this is what Joe can do at sixty, at twenty-five he must have been frightening.
After seeing his seminar in person, reading his book and watching his videos I highly recommend that any serious martial artist buy all of Joe Lewis’s Books and DVD’s. They are packed full of insights and information that you cannot get anywhere else and that is saying something in an era where the martial arts are saturated with so many sources of information. If you ever have the chance to attend a Joe Lewis seminar in person – do it! I have been in the arts for 35 years and I thought I had seen and heard everything but even I picked up some stuff in his seminar. Joe is the real deal.
For more information on Joe Lewis and his systems go to:
www.JoeLewisFightingSystems.com
The Joe Lewis Interview
After the seminar and all the pictures Joe graciously posed for I sat down with Joe and conducting an interview for Real Combat Online. I had taken an hour earlier in the day to write down a series of questions so I would be prepared. Not! Forget the notes because when you get Joe talking seriously about martial arts you might as well just step back and hang on for the ride.
Once I got him in a one-on-one situation a different Joe Lewis immerged. A quieter and more reflective side of him came out as he revealed a level of insight and intellect that most people do not realize he possesses.
We talked about his childhood and I learned a few things about him that were fascinating including the fact that his parents did not believe there was any practical value in sports or athletics. As a boy, Joe had to figure out ways to workout without his parent’s approval. He would rig up various makeshift barbells for lifting weights and sneak out of the house to ride his bike at night for conditioning. Later, when he began to seriously weight train, he was surreptitiously introduced to the martial arts when a Karate class was being conducted outside the weight room he frequented. When asked what his initial impression of Karate was he responded with the fact that he didn’t like it and thought it was ridiculous. That’s right, one of the greatest Karate fighters of all time; a true legend in the sport thought martial arts was silly and useless when we first saw it!
This is just one of the many interesting insights and contradictions about Joe that I learned of in my hour-long interview. Look for it to be available to RCO readers in the near future. It is well worth the read.
In retrospect, I have to say that meeting Joe, watching him teach and spending some time verbally sparring with him was the highlight of my trip. If you ever have the good fortune to meet Joe Lewis just remember, keep your guard up because Joe never blinks.
Lysak’s 19th Annual Reality Martial Arts Weekend
Walt and Charlie Lysak have held a martial arts camp every summer for the past nineteen years in Ludlow, Massachusetts. They are the sons’ of martial arts legend Walter Lysak Senior one of the worlds most respected pioneers of hardcore martial arts in America. Walt and his brother Charlie are the founders of SENTO (Scientific Encounter Neutralization and Tactical Options) one of the worlds very best reality-based martial arts systems. Their camp one of the longest running and most respected martial arts camps around. This year the camp curriculum featured the legendary Joe Lewis as the main event along with great seminars from the Lysak’s, and SENTO Trainers Mark Bushey, Walt Chrzanowski and Dave Sinopoli. Also featured were programs by Mike Cutone an Army Special Forces Green Beret and Simunitions™ based firearms training by John Carney as well as a Dynamic Combat™ seminar by yours truly.
The camp was quite exceptional with a curriculum that covered SENTO 7 M.A.T.™, reality street wrestling and submissions, counter grappling and instruction in escaping submission holds and takedowns, close quarter combat, edged weapons defense skills, modern Ninjutsu / Warrior Skills and outdoor survival training. The camp also featured Primal Strength Training with Charlie Lysak who is pound for pound one of the functionally strongest guys I know and a real innovator in the training and conditioning side of the arts.
Next year being the 20th Annual training camp promises to be even better with a huge line-up of world-renowned martial artists. On the tentative roster include Joe Lewis, the Lysak brothers, Frank Shamrock (MMA Champion), Mark Schuey (Canemaster), Mike Lee Kanarek (Haganah), Dana Abbott (Goshindo), Kieth Hackney (MMA Champion) Professor Silverio Guerra (UMAHoF Founder), Adam Guerra (MMA Champion), Sgt. John Hutchison (Tactical Defense Training) and myself (Dynamic Combat). You don’t want to miss this one and for all you really serious students of reality martial arts you might want to sign up early with their early bird special and save a ton of money on registration. Reserve your space today for what promises to be one of the best camps of the year! For more information contact or to request training books and videos contact:
Lysak’s Self Defense Academy
44 Sewall Street – Suite #3
Ludlow, MA 01056
(413) 589-7869
www.realityconnection.com
Hardcore Jeet Kune Do DVD’s
Sifu Lamar Davis II announced that he is currently converting his collection of HJKD training videos to DVD! My friend Sifu Davis has some of the best JKD training tapes available anywhere with well over 25 videos under his belt! If you are looking for in-depth and practical martial arts training Sifu Davis is one of the best on the planet - bar none!
For those serious martial artists who want to add Hardcore Jeet Kune do to their repertoire and libraries he is even offering a one-time only special where you can get his entire collection for one low pre-publication price. The DVD‚s will be available to the general public about a month or so after the special starts and sold on his website and on the new RCO Store (see below). If you are interested getting any of his DVD’s or participating in the special offer you can email him at Sifu@HardcoreJKD.com for more information.
Worden interviewed in Black Belt Magazine
Congratulations to my great friend Datu Kelly Worden for a fantastic interview in Black Belt magazine! In the September 2004 issue the Datu discusses his lifelong pursuit of blending and integrating a multitude of martial arts concepts to form a system of cross training he calls Natural Spirit International. Of course this is not news to all of the readers of RCO magazine where Worden has been a featured columnist from the very first issue! I’d like to say you heard it here first but the truth is that anyone serious about reality-based martial arts has known of Kelly Worden and his great talent for decades! But we congratulate him anyway. Keep punchin’ Datu! For more information on Master Worden and his programs check out the pages of RCO and visit his website at:
www.KellyWorden.com
New Dynamic Combat DVD’s
We’ve just finished a new batch of Dynamic Combat DVD’s! They are going to be sold online on the RCO store (see below) and advertised in Black Belt magazine. The first available set includes a 4-DVD Vicious Street Grappling series, which will be followed in the next 30 days by Unarmed against the Blade – surviving an edged weapons attack and the long awaited Shield Defense System™ video! If you’ve just got to have them right now they are available at my website at: www.DynamicCombat.com. Check them out when you get a chance!
A Personal Thanks to Black Belt Magazine
This month I would like to thank Black Belt Magazine and their Executive Editor Robert Young in particular, for consistently featuring me as a columnist in their Full Contact column. It is an honor and a privilege to contribute to the magazine that started it all and has gone on to become the industry standard. Just wanted to say thanks!
RCO Update
RCO is ready to go again! We have been hard at work behind the scenes working the future of your favorite online reality-fighting magazine and the future looks bright! There are some new and exciting things getting ready to happen with RCO, foremost of which is the new RCO store. Dubbed Reality Gear, RCO magazine will begin so feature the best products available for reality-based martial arts training anywhere in the world. Our goal is to start slow and sift through all of our training and educational products and material allowing only the best and most realistic to be sold at Real Combat Online.
Look for the best books, videos and DVD’s as well as the highest quality training gear and equipment to be available soon through our online store. We want to become your most reliable source for all your reality combat needs.
More to come soon…
Keep punching,
About Richard Ryan:
Richard Ryan is the founder of the art of Dynamic Combat™ and the publisher of Real Combat Online Magazine. To contact him through the magazine see member services or he may be contacted directly at Ryan Defense Systems, Inc (602) 482-7252 or visit www.DynamicCombat.com.
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