Archive for September, 2012

When I was a kid – I remember “accidentally” kicking a cousin in the nuts as we were fighting. Sure I did it on purpose but it was only a tap. My poor cousin was rolling around on the ground and several generations of males at the family gathering were frowning at me. My dad took me aside and told me (this was a different time), “John – only girls kick.”

Well now in the post-boxing era – kicking is a generally accepted form of fighting. There are many fighting methods and no real acceptance of “the right way to fight.” One guy might favor boxing, another karate, and yet another jiu-jitsu. Each martial artist thinks they have an edge over the other.

The question in this post based on the popularity of sport fighting (boxing, mma, judo, wrestling…) – would you use a groin kick in a fight – or do you even know how?

Full Story »

I received a call from Dave Hays (8th Dan – AKKA) that Joe Lewis died on Friday, August 31, 2012. He was battling brain cancer I believe. This has been the year for passings as his friend Richard “Dick” Willett passed in May. Dick was my instructor and always had the highest praise for Joe’s fighting ability. First I’ll put some links about Joe’s history and then share some personal experiences.

• Joe Lewis Wikipedia
• Joe Lewis IKF Kickboxing
• Joe Lewis Fighting Master

The last time I saw Joe was at Dick Willett’s 40 anniversary event. I asked Joe about his movies and he mentioned that James Coburn helped him get work as I recall. One great thing about taking karate from Tracy’s or AKKA was that Joe used to have seminars to teach us how to use his angular attacks and initial movement. Those techniques are what helped Tracys/AKKA produce some of the great fighters.

We will all miss Joe Lewis as a fighter, friend and one of the martial arts greats! As Joe lived his life and would say Semer Fi.