10th Joe Lewis Conference…A Knockout!

I first met the legendary Joe Lewis back in 1985 and I’ve been connected to him in various ways ever since. He’s had a great influence on my career as a martial artist…and he’s been a very good friend to me.

In fact, if you go to my photo gallery on this site you can see Joe issuing me a lighthearted beating at a seminar at John Graden’s USA Karate school back when I was just a teenager.

Ahh, yes, I could write a book about all of the fun times (goofing off again to the left), unique experiences and things I’ve learned from Joe Lewis throughout the years.

This past Saturday night I had the honor and privilege of attending the banquet at his 10^th Annual Joe Lewis Research Conference in Tampa, Florida. (I would have trained at the conference again this year, but my arthritic hips have really slowed me down as of late.)

To put it mildly, Joe Lewis looked great. At age 65 he just seems to get stronger and more energetic over time. Plus, he continues to innovate and evolve his already masterful teachings and fight strategies. He never stops growing as a martial artist. Nobody does it like Joe.

And the place was packed. They had a solid turnout…despite these difficult recessionary times we’re all experiencing.

But that’s no surprise. Joe’s people are dedicated and loyal!

It’s a family…

Mike Lee Kanarek, Steve Smith, Danny Dring, Dr. Maung Gyi, Walt Lysak, Dennis Nackord, Jeff Troshane, Dr. Roger Greene, Mike Allen, Phil Maldonado, Russell Wright, Mark and Jim Graden, Steve Snyder, Kim Cox, Richard Ryan, Phil Beatty, Craig Smith, Nelson Lebron, Kevin Walker and many, many other serious, hardcore martial artists train under Joe. (I trained under Joe for approximately 15 years prior to transitioning from the school/fighter level to the industry level.)

Let me also add that pretty much everyone I know in Joe Lewis’ organization does martial arts for the art and not for the money. These guys and gals are ultra-serious about being top quality fighters and well…martial artists, first. The money comes second. These folks are for real! And that’s just the way I like it.

Now back to the banquet. This was a special part of the event for many reasons. But one highlight that I’d like to mention here is that Joe gave his prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award to his longtime friend, the one-and-only Bill “Superfoot” Wallace. The crowd immediately responded with a heartfelt standing ovation. That was a tremendous moment that I won’t soon forget.

(Incidentally, I conducted an absolutely fantastic audio interview during 2008 with Bill “Superfoot” Wallace called Legendary Perspectives, Super-Duper Advice, Hamburgers and Tales of Elvis. One of my favorite interviews of my career. Loaded with great advice and lots of laughs, I hope you heard this interview somewhere along the way.)

Anyhow, I want to publicly congratulate everyone in Joe’s organization for throwing another excellent Research Conference, but especially Mike Allen and his family who worked so hard as usual to pull off another first class event.

Also allow me to thank everyone in Joe Lewis Fighting Systems from the association’s Senior Mentor Dr. Maung Gyi on down for being so gracious to me as always. You’ve made it clear…we are family!

And for those of you who have not been to Joe’s conference yet, you’re really missing out on an outstanding sweat pouring, knowledge-loaded, no-nonsense training camp that will definitely take your skills to the next level.

Make plans to attend his event next year by keeping your eye on joelewisfightingsystmes.com. You’ll be glad you did!

3 Responses to “10th Joe Lewis Conference…A Knockout!”

1. Don Warrener says:

   October 5, 2009 at 2:44 pm

   Putting it quite simple there is Joe Lewis and Bill Wallace all the rest are just names in our karate history here in the USA.

   When it comes to true legends these guys are the real deal.

   DW
2. Chris Pollman says:

   January 11, 2010 at 3:11 pm

   Hey Rob nice post. Keep em up. I still stay in touch with Joe by email. I am proud to call him friend. Saw Bill at the SuperShow last year in Vegas. Call me if you get to Oklahoma. – Chris
3. Bruce says:

   May 19, 2010 at 8:41 am

   Hey Rob nice post. Keep em up. I still stay in touch with Joe by email. I am proud to call him friend. Saw Bill at the SuperShow last year in Vegas. Call me if you get to Oklahoma. – Chris