As a continuation of one of the previous news, I bring to your attention a rare interview with Joe Lewis, dated 2009, in which he talks about Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, MMAand also mentions Tony Jaa and other famous personalities. I recommend reading it.
Mr. Lewis, you trained with Bruce Lee, who is still considered a legend in the world of martial arts. What do you think of his martial arts philosophy? How can his “style without style” be applied to you?
Joe Lewis: Martial arts philosophy must be applied in the event of combat, after all, “martial” does not mean “military”. I felt that Bruce's ideas and principles were more about life than about fighting. Be that as it may, in a serious fight, when survival is at stake, you won’t think much about ethics or morality.
He had no “style without style.” It was just talk, image PR. I was there next to him for many training sessions. The style that was always used was HIS style. He performed every, even small, movement with incredible precision, be it stance, strike, rhythm or timing - everything was and had to be precise. He was a perfectionist. Check out his fight scenes. He came up with many of them for years before filming began, and practiced each scene until he lost his pulse.
He was like Thai actor Tony Jaa, they both spent months practicing their fights to make sure they looked perfect on screen. To say that he did not use style, that is, is the same as saying that he was devoid of style, is a natural insult. Only a fool would claim that Bruce had no style. Ask Danny Inosanto, head instructor at the Los Angeles School of Jeet Kune Do, and he will tell you what I tell you.
What is more important in your opinion, to be a great fighter or to have the ability to teach those who are eager to learn?
Joe Lewis: It makes no sense to say that one thing is more important than the other - so what? Some write and some read. Some people like to talk and some people like to listen. Some fight and some teach. I know guys who teach others because they themselves were never able to achieve anything in the ring. I also know fighters who have achieved nothing as teachers. Find what you like and do it - if you like it, then why should anyone care how successful you are in your choice.
You have been called “the best karateka of all time.” Considering three defeats out of four in fights with Chuck Norris, do you consider yourself one?
Joe Lewis: In late 1966, before we had to fight each other, we were sparring partners. Norris started training four years before me, and it was very difficult for me to catch up and overtake him. He just trained very intensively - I know this because we trained together. In our first match, we were essentially a draw on points. The tournament was held in Korea (Chuck had a Korean style), and instead of giving us extra time, despite the equal number of points, the victory was awarded to him, adding points for “style”. Then I was out of luck. Of our subsequent fights with him, Chuck won two out of three. Out of respect, I don't talk publicly about beating Chuck Norris or anyone else; This has never happened before. He didn’t follow me into full contact sports.
Chuck lost three out of three fights to Tony Tulleners, however, Norris shared second place with Bill Wallace on the list of “greatest”. Tony's name was not included in the voting, which included 43 of the best fighters and promoters of the time. Remember, three fights won by themselves do not make a person a great fighter, they are simply regarded as three victories. When Michael Spinks, who I fought in England in Birmingham, beat Muhammad Ali, winning that title fight did not make Spinks a great fighter; it was simply counted as one victory.
I beat everyone, won every major tournament, set every record, raised a new bar for others, started a new sport - kickboxing, and became the first fighter to win the world championship in two sports at once. Perhaps some of the voters voted in my favor because I won three major tournaments that Chuck Norris failed to win (US National Championships [4 times], World Amateur Championships and US Karate Championships)? Of course, I was pleased that my colleagues recognized me as “the greatest.” If in my heart I had not agreed with their decision that I deserved this honorable award, including Mr. Norris, who often publicly expresses his opinion, then I would never have accepted it and would not have allowed it to be counted among my achievements.
Bruce Lee always told me: “Joe, if I told you that I was the best, you would think I was bragging. However, if I said that this is not so, you would understand that I am not telling the truth.”
In your previous interviews, you said that you didn’t stay in Hollywood because there you had to “dance to someone else’s tune,” and you didn’t want to lose to anyone on screen. However, you have acted in several films, and my question is: which one is your favorite?
Joe Lewis: The first statement is not true. I don't write my own interviews, and many writers seem to embellish what I say to promote their writing, or even change it to suit their personal needs. The Internet is littered with erroneous and untrue information regarding me. Even Wikipedia has inaccurate information about me. There are videos on YouTube claiming that I lost my championship title. Not true. I have never lost my full contact karate/kickboxing world titles to anyone.
This is an age-old dilemma and complete nonsense, I do not have time to correct all these erroneous facts scattered throughout the Internet by my detractors. I don't like being bossed around by scammers and liars, whether they're Hollywood producers or half-educated impostors with black belts. I grew up on a farm in the southern United States, where a man's character is built on his ability to keep his word. The outside world that opened up to me had completely different values; self-esteem was rare in them. I could no longer remain part of such an environment. This was partly the reason, but, on top of everything else, my mother was dying; my family asked me to leave Hollywood to be with her during her last days. I loved my mother more than Hollywood. Unfortunately, these facts from the life of Joe Lewis are not mentioned anywhere.
The phrase “they didn’t want to lose to anyone on screen” sounds like it was taken out of context. If a small Chinese actor, 1 m 70 cm tall and weighing 63 kg, is not a fighter (a person who has not had a single fight in the professional ring), tells me to my face that he is going to prove to the world the superiority of the Chinese in terms of martial arts and intends to demonstrate this on the screen, then let it prove it on someone else, and not on me. This has been said to my face more than once. Okay, so be it, it means “I didn’t want to lose to anyone on the screen.” Wait! It would be more correct to say that I didn’t want to lose to “a certain person.” I made a big mistake by turning down the offer to appear in this film, but I did not turn away from my own values, on the basis of which my personality was formed. I knew what the true reason for the refusal was.
I've never made a film that I liked. I didn't want to show martial arts on screen - the people who taught me acting told me that my talent was beyond that genre. I'm still alive and still ready to act in films. I like this job.
Mr. Lewis, what do you think about modern UFC/MMA fighters? It is considered a sport, but for some it is just brutal fights without rules. How do you rate this sport in general?
Joe Lewis: MMA is a fast-growing serious sport, but it still has a long way to go. For the most part, I like him because he finally has a place that real men like me can call “home” without all the crybabies from other disciplines always complaining that someone like me is too much hit them or was too rough. The sport is still new, and there may still be some things to work on - for example, what happens if, out of the blue, a fight ends in death?
The sport is still in transition, and champions don't hold a title for more than a year or two. A star of this magnitude (Mohammed Ali, Joe Namath, Babe Ruth, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods) has not yet appeared. People are going crazy wondering who's who in this new sport. Once you start rooting for your favorite champion, he loses the next title defense fight. Too fast... but give this new sport time, it deserves it.
What do you think of the “reactive” Benny Urquidez, who is considered one of the best fighters to ever step into the ring?
Joe Lewis: I like Benny, but I think that of the older fighters, the one who made the biggest mark on the world of kickboxing is Don Wilson. Almost at the same level achieved by Ramon Dekkers, the only non-Thai fighter to be named “Best Thai Boxer of the Year”. There were many foreign champions, but only he was awarded this honor.
Would you agree to work as a director of fight scenes in films if such offers were received?
Joe Lewis: I've been to Thailand twice in the last six months helping stunt teams prepare for several martial arts films. Now that the genre has almost died out in China, Thailand has become the world capital for such films.
Do you know anything about Azerbaijan? Maybe someday you will come to us?
Joe Lewis: I have a friend from Russia. If I ever have the opportunity to visit your part of the world again, I would be happy to pay you a visit. As far as I understand, most people in your country speak Russian, so I will take her with me as a personal translator. In the past, warriors from your region of Asia were some of the most ferocious fighters in the world. I will be happy to take a look at your country with its rich history. Let's not forget, my country, the USA, is only 200 years old.
Author: T. Teymur
Source: today.az
Translation: EvilDollaR
Home » The Interview »
Tags: Benny Urkides, Bruce Lee, Joe Lewis, Don Wilson, karate, Ramon Dekkers, Tony JAA, Chuck Norris
Tags: Benny Urkides, Bruce Lee, Joe Lewis, Don Wilson, karate, Ramon Dekkers, Tony JAA, Chuck Norris
This is not nonsense, but the truth. Gracie is cool because he started this mess, but his brainchild quickly surpassed its creator and after 3-4 years of MMA existence, Royce was no longer competitive, especially in the heavyweight division
Do not say stupid things. Gracie is a great fighter. I've said everything. End of discussion.
Gracie left the UFC on time, otherwise he would have been torn apart there, especially the heavyweights... who already had a decent technical base by the 6-7th tournament + he tried to come back... and returned not to the heavyweights, but to the middleweight (if not lower ) and it was dealt with in one round.
Roy is a genius and was technically superior to everyone by just a few heads (+ I’m not talking about speed, BUT his punch was not weak either... if Roy wanted to win by knockout, he won with it) regardless of the category. As for the weight, yes, he weighed less, BUT he still gained decent muscle mass to at least somehow withstand the blows of heavyweights (he gained at least 10 kg)
I agree with this. But there are rare exceptions. Take Roy Jones Jr. (in his prime). True, if there had been another technical heavyweight then, he would have lost, definitely.
Well, it depends on who is defending himself and on the scenario.
the fact is that he defeated everyone. And if they had nothing but size, then there wouldn’t be any problems.
Just in those years, in the UFC, besides Gracie, there were only a few good fighters, so he fought everyone... and as soon as the jocks appeared who knew something, Gracie immediately began to experience serious problems.
If weight didn't mean anything in sports, then weight categories wouldn't be invented.
“And in life, if a person is REALLY involved in martial arts, then on the street the size of a mediocre opponent will not bother him.”
Ha-ha...you should also tell me that the number of these mediocrities and what they have in their hands shouldn’t matter either =D
This basically can only happen in the ring where all the fighters are. But even there size does not play a decisive role. Remember the first UFC championships, where Hoyce Gracie, who weighed the least, became a three-time champion. His opponents there didn’t weigh much, and they were also really tough fighters.
And in life, if a person is REALLY involved in martial arts, then on the street the size of a mediocre opponent will not worry
Ha...that's the funny thing, that IF the levels are different. What if they are the same? Well, bring it.
no they don't play. It makes absolutely no difference if the level of the fighters is different. I can give a bunch of examples.
"Size doesn't matter in battle."
They play, and they play seriously. And in the ring/in the cage, they generally play a huge role.
I agree with Lewis about “style without style” - a beautiful word and nothing more, every fighter, even if he mixes different styles... still has his own style and there is no escape from it.
And what does small and big have to do with it? Size does not play any role in battle.
I liked his opinion about the little Chinese proving their superiority over American boxers, karatekas and wrestlers. Incredibly funny and ridiculous, with all due respect to Ving Zhao, Jet Li and Donnie Yen.