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What’s with this guy Joe Lewis, man? I mean every time he talks about another martial artist, it’s always a put down, especially Bruce Lee. Joe Lewis has his head so far up his ass, he can’t even tell when he’s contradicting himself. Here are just a few statements he has made, along with my commentary.
Joe Lewis: “I learn fast. I made black belt in one year in Okinawa in three different styles. I am a fast learning. I can get all your stuff in a matter of weeks, and I mean anybody who can fight. I worked with Bruce less than two years before we grew apart. We used to work together for 6 to 8 hours at a time. I would be at his house at one in the afternoon, and not leave until maybe ten that night. Is that one lesson? Bruce was not a fighter. He was an actor and a teacher. He was a great teacher.”
Great Sage: Bruce Lee is not a fighter? Is that why Joe Lewis wrote “How to Master Bruce Lee’s Fighting Method” — a book about Lee’s principles. If Bruce is not a fighter, why write about his fighting techniques?
Joe Lewis: “Little guys [Bruce Lee], in my opinion, have always been the best trainers. This is because tactically very early in their careers they figure out how to conquer larger opponents. Mike Stone, who I respect, convinced me to study with Bruce. Martial arts does not have a long history as does boxing.”
Great Sage: Joe needs a history lesson... Martial arts have been here long before boxing.
Joe Lewis: “Bruce Lee was an abstract thinker. That's why I liked him, not because of his techniques.”
Great Sage: Really? Is that why your entire fighting curriculum is so similar to JKD?
Joe Lewis: “Some day a good writer would do my life story. Presently, we have a screen play ready entitled, "The One To Beat." I did commentary on the IFC events. They cancel out so much that it's difficult working it into my schedule. I do not like tournaments; they are boring and it's fake fighting. In the 20s, 30s, and 40s, baseball and boxing were America's two major sports. It will take years for the mixed martial arts to ever catch up.”
Great Sage: That’s why Joe Lewis has been in tournaments his whole life.
Joe Lewis: “As a fighter today, at age 58, I could beat the Joe Lewis of 30 years ago. When you become a teacher, you grow and learn much faster than you ever did as a fighter. Peter Aerts has won the K1 three different times. That only makes him a great fighter. He could perhaps become a future icon. Of course, he, as well as the rest of us, have weaknesses. He fights on television. Few of my fights were ever televised, so when people faced me, they could only imagine what they're up against. With Peter, you can prepare in advance to learn how to take away his strong points and easily capitalize on his weaknesses. I was faster and stronger than Peter. He is taller and has faced tougher competition than I.”
Joe Lewis: “I don't like hoodlums, members of gangs, people with tattoos, and excessive body piercings, people with police records, people who respect violence, or any of that other nonsense. I only give out rank for black belts, nothing below that.”
Great Sage: What a stereotypist.
Joe Lewis: “I'm not in a position to make concessions. You either come to me or forget it. Eventually, I hope to make appearances in the Middle East. Ten years ago, I was going to do some teaching in Kuwait, and then that ridiculous war broke out and everything got canceled. I would love to open the door to go to anyone's country. I used to do body guard work years ago for some of the Iranians who are from oil families.”
Great Sage: Joe, you wear that USA gi like a flag, where’s the patriotism?
Joe Lewis: “Bruce Lee told me that he wanted to prove to the world that the Chinese martial artists were superior to all the other races, the Koreans, the Japanese, and in particular, the Caucasians. At that time, no one knew that "Enter the Dragon" was going to become a major $300,000,000 mega film. My advisors told me not to do martial arts films period. Bruce Lee was a five-foot, seven inch, 138 pound, non-combat type martial artist. I was strictly into combat and competition. I was almost six feet tall, 200 pounds. I didn't understand the point of why he wanted to ask me to allow him to beat me up in the film to prove this personal point of his. Of course, I wanted to do movies, but at that time and based on what my advisors told me, it just didn't seem like a good idea to fulfill someone else's ego trip.”
Great Sage: Bruce Lee didn’t believe in Chinese way of fighting, or Japanese, etc... He was beyond styles. It seems Joe’s ego was his biggest set-back. It was a freakin’ movie, Joe, not a real fight.
Joe Lewis: “Bruce had 2 motives-1-to get in movies. He worked with big name directors,producers,writers and actors2-to build his stature as a kung fu instructor by working with world champs like myself,Mike Stone and Chuck Norris.That was a smart move cuz it paid off.This all paid off. He became the most iconic Asian actor of all time.”
Great Sage: Bruce Lee had ONE motive — to become the best martial artist he could possibly be.
Joe Lewis: “* On K1- The JKD guys would get SLAUGHTERED if they competed even on a lower K1 level,such as the elimination K1 fights.What the K1 fighters do,especially their 'cut kicking' skills,what you may call inside/outside leg kicks would totally dominate what is done in 'classical JKD'.”
Great Sage: Since when did JKD become “classical?”
Joe Lewis: “His [Bruce Lee’s] liabilities-He had a long skinny neck, which is an indication a person can't take a punch,or a choke hold.His rib cage was very flat,which means a good liver shot on the right side of the body,or a good heart shot on the left side wouldn't be alot of padding to guard against a contussion or damage to one of these arteries.If you look at his back between his shoulder blades,there's not alot of thickness in the lower part of the trapezious muscles.This is an indication that he possibly couldn't hit as hard as people elude to.His bones were very thin.Typically people with small bones don't hit hard-a Sugar Ray Leonard physical type.These people tend to knock people out with a 2-3 punch combination,as opposed to a single strike knock out,which perhaps a Rocky Marciano or a Jack Dempsey would posses. BL had real small ankles as well as small joints in the knees.I would imagine him to have some joint problems later in his life,especially if he did alot of kicking on the heavy bag,or the round kicks against the banana bag to develop his shin bones.”
Joe Lewis: “I watch fighters over the world like Alex Gong. He's a friend of mine, he's smart, he trains hard, and he's got good technique. He lacks that willingness to consistently engage, toughness, and what I call inner meanness. He lacks that intimidating presence. He lacks defense. He lacks good inside hand skills, ability to exercise angles, and inside turning skills. His response time when he counters is slow. He has few set-up skills. With any fighter on the planet, I could go on and on as I am now.”
Great Sage: With a friend like Joe Lewis, who needs enemies?...
Joe Lewis: “I learn fast. I made black belt in one year in Okinawa in three different styles. I am a fast learning. I can get all your stuff in a matter of weeks, and I mean anybody who can fight. I worked with Bruce less than two years before we grew apart. We used to work together for 6 to 8 hours at a time. I would be at his house at one in the afternoon, and not leave until maybe ten that night. Is that one lesson? Bruce was not a fighter. He was an actor and a teacher. He was a great teacher.”
Great Sage: Bruce Lee is not a fighter? Is that why Joe Lewis wrote “How to Master Bruce Lee’s Fighting Method” — a book about Lee’s principles. If Bruce is not a fighter, why write about his fighting techniques?
Joe Lewis: “Little guys [Bruce Lee], in my opinion, have always been the best trainers. This is because tactically very early in their careers they figure out how to conquer larger opponents. Mike Stone, who I respect, convinced me to study with Bruce. Martial arts does not have a long history as does boxing.”
Great Sage: Joe needs a history lesson... Martial arts have been here long before boxing.
Joe Lewis: “Bruce Lee was an abstract thinker. That's why I liked him, not because of his techniques.”
Great Sage: Really? Is that why your entire fighting curriculum is so similar to JKD?
Joe Lewis: “Some day a good writer would do my life story. Presently, we have a screen play ready entitled, "The One To Beat." I did commentary on the IFC events. They cancel out so much that it's difficult working it into my schedule. I do not like tournaments; they are boring and it's fake fighting. In the 20s, 30s, and 40s, baseball and boxing were America's two major sports. It will take years for the mixed martial arts to ever catch up.”
Great Sage: That’s why Joe Lewis has been in tournaments his whole life.
Joe Lewis: “As a fighter today, at age 58, I could beat the Joe Lewis of 30 years ago. When you become a teacher, you grow and learn much faster than you ever did as a fighter. Peter Aerts has won the K1 three different times. That only makes him a great fighter. He could perhaps become a future icon. Of course, he, as well as the rest of us, have weaknesses. He fights on television. Few of my fights were ever televised, so when people faced me, they could only imagine what they're up against. With Peter, you can prepare in advance to learn how to take away his strong points and easily capitalize on his weaknesses. I was faster and stronger than Peter. He is taller and has faced tougher competition than I.”
Joe Lewis: “I don't like hoodlums, members of gangs, people with tattoos, and excessive body piercings, people with police records, people who respect violence, or any of that other nonsense. I only give out rank for black belts, nothing below that.”
Great Sage: What a stereotypist.
Joe Lewis: “I'm not in a position to make concessions. You either come to me or forget it. Eventually, I hope to make appearances in the Middle East. Ten years ago, I was going to do some teaching in Kuwait, and then that ridiculous war broke out and everything got canceled. I would love to open the door to go to anyone's country. I used to do body guard work years ago for some of the Iranians who are from oil families.”
Great Sage: Joe, you wear that USA gi like a flag, where’s the patriotism?
Joe Lewis: “Bruce Lee told me that he wanted to prove to the world that the Chinese martial artists were superior to all the other races, the Koreans, the Japanese, and in particular, the Caucasians. At that time, no one knew that "Enter the Dragon" was going to become a major $300,000,000 mega film. My advisors told me not to do martial arts films period. Bruce Lee was a five-foot, seven inch, 138 pound, non-combat type martial artist. I was strictly into combat and competition. I was almost six feet tall, 200 pounds. I didn't understand the point of why he wanted to ask me to allow him to beat me up in the film to prove this personal point of his. Of course, I wanted to do movies, but at that time and based on what my advisors told me, it just didn't seem like a good idea to fulfill someone else's ego trip.”
Great Sage: Bruce Lee didn’t believe in Chinese way of fighting, or Japanese, etc... He was beyond styles. It seems Joe’s ego was his biggest set-back. It was a freakin’ movie, Joe, not a real fight.
Joe Lewis: “Bruce had 2 motives-1-to get in movies. He worked with big name directors,producers,writers and actors2-to build his stature as a kung fu instructor by working with world champs like myself,Mike Stone and Chuck Norris.That was a smart move cuz it paid off.This all paid off. He became the most iconic Asian actor of all time.”
Great Sage: Bruce Lee had ONE motive — to become the best martial artist he could possibly be.
Joe Lewis: “* On K1- The JKD guys would get SLAUGHTERED if they competed even on a lower K1 level,such as the elimination K1 fights.What the K1 fighters do,especially their 'cut kicking' skills,what you may call inside/outside leg kicks would totally dominate what is done in 'classical JKD'.”
Great Sage: Since when did JKD become “classical?”
Joe Lewis: “His [Bruce Lee’s] liabilities-He had a long skinny neck, which is an indication a person can't take a punch,or a choke hold.His rib cage was very flat,which means a good liver shot on the right side of the body,or a good heart shot on the left side wouldn't be alot of padding to guard against a contussion or damage to one of these arteries.If you look at his back between his shoulder blades,there's not alot of thickness in the lower part of the trapezious muscles.This is an indication that he possibly couldn't hit as hard as people elude to.His bones were very thin.Typically people with small bones don't hit hard-a Sugar Ray Leonard physical type.These people tend to knock people out with a 2-3 punch combination,as opposed to a single strike knock out,which perhaps a Rocky Marciano or a Jack Dempsey would posses. BL had real small ankles as well as small joints in the knees.I would imagine him to have some joint problems later in his life,especially if he did alot of kicking on the heavy bag,or the round kicks against the banana bag to develop his shin bones.”
Joe Lewis: “I watch fighters over the world like Alex Gong. He's a friend of mine, he's smart, he trains hard, and he's got good technique. He lacks that willingness to consistently engage, toughness, and what I call inner meanness. He lacks that intimidating presence. He lacks defense. He lacks good inside hand skills, ability to exercise angles, and inside turning skills. His response time when he counters is slow. He has few set-up skills. With any fighter on the planet, I could go on and on as I am now.”
Great Sage: With a friend like Joe Lewis, who needs enemies?...
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