One of the greats - saw him square off with Chuck Norris years ago in Madison Square Garden; that was an unforgettable match.
R.I.P.
My cousin and I remodeled/upgraded “Sherman Oaks Karate” back in the early 70’s. This is right after Chuck Norris became a partner. We were trading (partial) our labor for lessons from Norris & Bob Wall.
One night (after way too many beers) Joe Lewis, Bob Wall and the both of us finished up the early morning hours at our house in No. Hollywood. We were living in a house that my cousin had purchased for resale after remodeling. We had converted one of the 2-car garages into a makeshift Dojo. Our ‘heavy-bag’ was suspended by a 1” nylon tow-rope tied off to double Douglas Fir 2x8 ceiling joists.
Lewis squared off to the bag and delivered one of his famous and deadly spinning back kicks shattering the joists with one lightning speed blow. Absolutely incredible.
Rest in Peace, Joe. You left me with a memory that I will never forget.