Best All Time Karate Athlete

When you hear "Joe Lewis" you probably think about the great boxer. But, there's another Joe Lewis you should know about. That's the Joe Lewis who is the best all time karate athlete.


That's right, not Bruce Lee or Chuck Norris. Joe Lewis is the top karate athlete ever. As a heavyweight world champion fighter in martial arts Joe Lewis has done it all, he's done it first and he's done it best. Out of all the people who have competed and participated in martial arts since their introduction to the United States in 1948, the retired world heavyweight karate champion Joe Lewis is the best.


Being nicknamed the “Muhammad Ali” of his sport, Lewis is a name that is synonymous with karate as much as Arnold Schwarzenegger is synonymous with bodybuilding. With 17 years under his belt he has won more titles, set more records and instituted more innovations than anyone else in the history of karate.


Joe Lewis trained in Okinawa, Japan with three instructors and also studied with the great Bruce Lee. Lewis received his black belt and studied several different styles of martial arts. In his opinion, they were not styles they were all the same “punching and kicking”.


Joe Lewis was one of the first Americans to teach hand-to-hand combat in Vietnam, while working with division recon as a member of the first combat unit there, the 8th Marine Brigade. Joe Louis is a member of various halls of fame, including the Black Belt Hall of Fame as fighter of the year, and instructor of the year. His greatest accolade came in 1983 when a survey of America's top fighters was posted in Karate Illustrated. At that time, Lewis was chosen by his peers as the greatest karate fighter of all time. He is known best for being the World Champion in two separate sports karate and kickboxing as well as introducing kickboxing to the Western Hemisphere.


Lewis has starred in four action adventure films, which include acting as well as martial arts. He has also appeared as a guest on several TV series and on numerous talk shows including chatting with Johnny Carson and Merv Griffin.


Since 1984 Joe Lewis has been conducting seminars and classes in more places around the world than anyone else in the karate business. Lewis also produces instructional videotapes and writes for several martial arts publications around the world. While he is now retired from competition, Lewis is the first legitimate world champion to be awarded the 10th degree black belt; essentially a PhD in martial arts. He is also the only fighter who has one for US national championships, three international championships and is one of only two men who has won all three of these championships.


There should be no question in your mind at this point that Joe Lewis is not only a living legend, but also without a doubt the most respected name in American martial arts and karate. And, certainly the top karate athlete in the history of the sport of karate.





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