Interesting Interview with Joe Lewis Check the Link Brillant

[LatinoHeat]

http://www.mikemiles.com/lewis.html

[Garland]

I'm in absolute awe. For somebody that big to talk that much shit is astounding. Bashing Bruce Lee, saying he taught him everything he knew other than wing chun, bashing JKD, bashing muay thai, bashing Guro Inosanto...bashing the Gracies, and bashing the UFC all in one interview. Wow..."**** the world", huh?

Seriously, it's like that scene in half baked, "**** you, **** you, **** you, you're cool, fuckyou, I'm out."

[Garland]

I thought most of the big names were respectful and cool...this guy, no matter what he USED to be, sounds like nothing but a braggart now, pretty sad. "I taught Bruce Lee"....

[Tee Sok]

I read other shit thrown at Bruce Lee by Joe Lewis, pretty similar to the one in the interview. But the facts remain: people who trained both with Lee and Norris said that after the training sessions, Norris usually left red-faced from the all the hits he received from Lee. And Norris beat Lewis in 2-3 occasions.
Moreover, Norris always respected and still respects Lee as a friend and teacher, in the spirit of MA. While Lewis is so far from that, acts just like a little kid.

[LatinoHeat]

Bruce Lee was not a Fighter

I agree with Joe Lewis.
Bruce Lee was not a Tournament Fighter.
He never entered the ring.
Norris Lewis Urquidez & Most World Full Contact Fighters would have beaten the shit out of Bruce Lee.
However Bruce Lee sure was an excellent instructor & had some interesting Martial Arts Methods.
People seem to forget that Chuck Norris Joe Lewis Dan Inosanto Gene Lebell and many other top ranked Martial Artists & World Martial Arts Champions shared thier knowledge with Bruce Lee so Lee also learnt a lot from these Martial Artists. If Bruce Lee was so tough why did he not enter the ring & fight like all these fighters. One thing fighting street punks another thing fighting People like Joe Lewis Bill Wallace Chuck Norris Master Sken Master Chai Rob Kaman Chuck Lidell Gene Lebell & a host of other fighters in the ring.
Bruce was an Excellent Martial Artist Movie Star & He did one Martial Arts Demonstration at long beach California. But he never entered the ring.
And lets not forget that Mixed Martial Arts was not invented by Bruce Lee they had Mixed Martial Arts long before Bruce Lee was around Styles like Shorinji Kempo, Hwarang Do, & Jukado among others trained in weapons Grappling & Striking Arts.
For years everybody in the Martial Arts World showed Bruce Lee a lot of respect but if the truth came out he would have been severely beaten for he did not train to take impact he did not spar for hours or fight full contact.
I think even a decent Muay Thai Kickboxer would have destroyed Bruce Lee.
This is sadly the truth.
As for Joe Lewis versus Royce Gracie in Joes Prime I think he would have beaten Gracie Lewis was well versed in Wrestling & Japanese Jiu Jitsu as well as various Karate Styles. He was also Full Contact Heavyweight Karate Champion & when he Kicked or Punch you he could easily knock you out. Unlike Bruce he proved his fighting in the ring.

[twtguy]

to me it didnt really seem like he was bashing bruce but, it looks like hes trying to take all the credit for him. it was clear he was bashing royce gracie and everyone that had anything to do with the UFC. for that, i wish royce would kick his ass.

he also said bruce was moving towards kickboxing making jkd less like jkd. isnt jkd what you make it? make it your own right?

[Garland]

...
saying bruce lee didn't have any fights was proposterous. saying he did not teach his students to be avid and savvy fighters is just downright bs. sure, jun fan gung fu may not be the most fight oriented art, but jkd is a system of concepts and ideas for artists to alter their own art to better suit them. there are MANY great jkd fighters...but many of them don't fight under the title of a "jkd fighter". People out of the Inosanto line compete in MMA, muay thai, full contact karate, kickboxing, grappling competitions, stickfighting (including dog brothers type events)....and are pretty proficient at them. Look at the Inosanto Academy curriculum, look at the arts the encorporate. They don't limit themselves to Sigung Lee's original curriculum, because his art was HIS art (which he modified and updated every day of his life...today he'd probably be training a great deal of grappling and everything else to maintain the cutting edge) , but his concepts apply to every fighter, and to everyone, many of his maxims and precepts can be applied to the way in which one lives their life.
to try and take the credit from this philosopher, pioneer...and fighter, is proposterous.
Sure, he may have picked up a technique from Mr. Lewis, but, according to his peers, he picked up what he could from everyone he trained with, and personalized it, something that Joe Lewis should have done.

Also...bashing the Gracies is very un-cool. Sure they aren't the undefeatabe say all and end all that some people believed during the first UFC's....but they brought a new art to the world and popularised it along with the arts...as Bruce Lee did...a whole lot more than Joe Lewis could have.

[Garland]

I agree with Joe Lewis.
Bruce Lee was not a Tournament Fighter.
He never entered the ring.
Norris Lewis Urquidez & Most World Full Contact Fighters would have beaten the shit out of Bruce Lee.
And lets not forget that Mixed Martial Arts was not invented by Bruce Lee they had Mixed Martial Arts long before Bruce Lee was around Styles like Shorinji Kempo, Hwarang Do, & Jukado among others trained in weapons Grappling & Striking Arts.
For years everybody in the Martial Arts World showed Bruce Lee a lot of respect but if the truth came out he would have been severely beaten for he did not train to take impact he did not spar for hours or fight full contact.
I think even a decent Muay Thai Kickboxer would have destroyed Bruce Lee.
This is sadly the truth.

NOBODY claimed Bruce Lee invented MMA, he simply created a great philosophy toward cross-training and personalizing the arts to yourself. Shorinji Kempo and Hwarang Do are not mixed martial arts in the sense of the word, sure they include a variety of ranges of combat, but they don't draw from a variety of sources.

From what I've read and seen from little clips, Bruce trained like a fanatical madman. Lewis, Benny (and the Jets...da da duh da)...etc, were some of the first "American style" stand up artists...and although they could do better in the circuits here....most never fought decent Muay Thai fighters nor hard-core kyokushin guys...both of which would have easily beaten the shit out of them.
As for muay thai....what do you think Bruce Lee started doing towards the end of his life, training muay thai, training FMA, training hwarang do, and training grappling...why? because he wanted to be a better fighter, and a better artist.

[LatinoHeat]

Regarding Benny Urquidez

Correction Benny Urquidez has trained Muay Thai & fought & beat two Thai Fighters although in Thailand they claim he lost he was way ahead on points & given the titles by the WKA both fights were declared No Contest.
The rest of the American Fighters back in the 70s were not used to Thai Boxing but they could easily of beaten Bruce Lee dont forget most of them were also well grounded in Jiu Jitsu Judo Wrestling & trained with People like Ed Parker, Dillman, & Gene Labell, So they were mixing there striking & grappling arts long before Bruce came along.
I think Bill Wallace, Chuck Norris & Joe Lewis could have beaten Royce Gracie.
I also know Chuck Norris has a 10th Degree Blackbelt in Tang Soo Doo & Tae Kwon Do as well as having studied Judo were he has a 1st Degree Blackbelt & a Purple Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Unlike the poor quality of Opponents Gracie fought Norris would have been a hell of a fight.
You understimate the 70s fighters due to the fact that they did not have the exposure in the Movies at the time of the Bruce Lee era.
I would have truly loved to have seen Bruce Lee fight in the full contact ring against Bill wallace, Benny The Jet Urquidez, Chuck Norris, or Joe Lewis,
These were fighters that knew how to take pain.
And the most dangerous of them was Benny Urquidez je beat up all The Japanese Kickboxers in Japan in the 70s & early 80s.
Benny also had Blackbelts in several styles of Karate, Tae Kwon Do Kung Fu Judo Jiu Jitsu & Aikido and also trains with Gokor.
Benny could easily of beaten both Royce Gracie & Bruce Lee.
In fact I think Benny Urquidez Methods in training are far superior than Bruce Lees Methods buy Benny Urquidez Books & Training Videos you might learn something. Buy Benny The Jet Urquidez Fighting Tapes you will see that Urquidez was much more aggressive & fast than Bruce Lee watch Benny destroy the Japanese Kickboxers for real while Bruce Lee was doing his Hollywood Movies. If Bruce was so tough why did he not fight Benny Urquidez? The answer he was not good enough.
Bruce was a great Martial Artist as well as a good instructor & yes Jeet Kune Do is interesting & Enter the Dragon is a Good Movie. But Bruce Lee was an icon like Rocky. For the simple reason he did not enter the ring.

[Garland]

Correction Benny Urquidez has trained Muay Thai
The rest of the American Fighters back in the 70s were not used to Thai Boxing but they could easily of beaten Bruce Lee

So they were mixing there striking & grappling arts long before Bruce came along.
I think Bill Wallace, Chuck Norris & Joe Lewis could have beaten Royce Gracie.
I also know Chuck Norris has a 10th Degree Blackbelt in Tang Soo Doo & Tae Kwon Do as well as having studied Judo were he has a 1st Degree Blackbelt & a Purple Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Unlike the poor quality of Opponents Gracie fought Norris would have been a hell of a fight.

Benny could easily of beaten both Royce Gracie & Bruce Lee.
In fact I think Benny Urquidez Methods in training are far superior than Bruce Lees Methods buy Benny Urquidez Books & Training Videos you might learn something.
If Bruce was so tough why did he not fight Benny Urquidez? The answer he was not good enough.

Bruce Lee didn't fight these guys because he was preoccupied with a great movie career, which helped break the ice and cut down the stereotypes that were holding back many Asian actors. He isn't just a martial arts superstar, he was a civil rights hero. (also, making a lot more money...even today's kickboxing greats make less money than any pro boxer...and usually have other jobs. (don't believe me, check out Mr. Duane Ludwig's page, I believe he stated in there that he works as an electrician...imagine that, ding dong, hello, I'm here to fix your lights...now tip well or I'LL PUT OUT YOUR LIGHTS, snap)
Gracie fought poor or low grade opponents? Where do you get this shit???
I've seen the Benny fights, I've skimmed through his book....and...it's not as impressive as what you tote it out to be.
Chuck Norris is a BJJ purple belt...which means he trains with the Gracies NOW! Not in the early seventies.
Same with Ba ba ba Benny n' da jets....training with Gokor.

Remember, Bruce wasn't the first to mix grappling and striking arts, he, I said it once, created a great system for personalizing styles for the individual.

and for god's sake, face it...american kickboxing cannot compete with thai boxing unless it's under rules that restrict the thai boxer from using any of his tools. (i.e. no low kicks, no knees, no elbows, no clinche work...)

I bet you think Benny could beat Dekkers or Ole Laursen, huh?
It would be fun to see him do it. Hey, george foreman is coming out of retirement...Ron Van Clief fought in a UFC when he was way past 50....let's see Benny fight some of these young knock-out artists....I would love to see it.

[BoarSpear]

I think Bill Wallace, Chuck Norris & Joe Lewis could have beaten Royce Gracie.

WTF??? what planet are you from? I am by NO means a fan of BJJ or the Gracie Family but get real. I guess Superfoot was gonna kick Royce in the head and chucks gonna spinning back fist him? Fighters of today are much better trained and informed that any of the greats of the 70s. information is much more available today than 30 years ago.

[LatinoHeat]

The fighters of the 70s have also evolved

This is precisely what I mean.
You are the one who underestimates fighters of the 70s.
Bill Wallace Chuck Norris Joe Lewis & Benny Urquidez also have grappling skills.
Benny has blackbelts in Jiu Jitsu Judo & Aikido & has even trained with Gene Lebell. And currently trains under Gokor He is well versed invarious Karate styles & holds several Blackbelts as well as having been the best Kickboxer in the world & beaten Japanese Kickboxers at thier own game. He even defeated two Muay Thai Kickboxers & Has even trained Rob Kaman & Peter Smit in Muay Thai Kickboxing & Japanese kickboxing skills .
Chuck Norris is also training under Carlos Machado & was offered a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu which he declined & is currently a Purple Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu However Chuck also has Black belt in Judo & Jiu Jitsu.
Bill Wallace both Wrestled & Holds Black Belts in both Karate & Judo as well as having trained in western boxing.
Joe Lewis has Blackbelts in Karate, Judo, Jiu Jitsu & has trained in wrestling.
So the fighters of the 70s are far more evolved than you give them credit.
And as for Gracie trying to block a Chuck Norris Spin Kick that I would love to see considering Chucks Spin Kick is easiest the quickest spin kick in the World.

[eXcessiveForce]

I would doubt chucks incredible speed on his kicks. He is formidable but there are much better kickers out there.

[BoarSpear]

.
And as for Gracie trying to block a Chuck Norris Spin Kick that I would love to see considering Chucks Spin Kick is easiest the quickest spin kick in the World.

Uh................. i said spining BACKFIST not spin kick... but if you think chucks the fastest spin kicker in the world or that Royce is gonna BLOCK a spin kick then it explains most of your post.............

[LatinoHeat]

LOL Now thats funny

Grow Up .
Chuck Norris had the Fastest Spin Kick in his era. & I am sure he still is fairly Quick. I have had Friends attend Chuck Norris Seminars & it seems that the young Black Belts cannot keep up with him. Not bad for an old Guy.