Joe Lewis (martial arts)
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For the English soccer player, see Joe Lewis
Joe Lewis is an American kickboxer and point Karate fighter whose success in the ring in the 1960s and 1970s is still legendary. He is considered to be one of the greatest American kick boxers. He studied Shorin-ryu Karate with Eizo Shimabuku, Kinjo Chinsaku and Seiyu Oyata in Okinawa while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, earning his black belt in a mere seven months. He later studied under the influential martial artist and Jeet Kune Do founder Bruce Lee.
His impressive career has led him to be called "The Greatest Karate Fighter of All Time", while his boyish good looks have earned him the nickname "The All-American Boy."
Joe Lewis is a veteran of the Vietnam War. He has acted in films and on TV, and was briefly married to actress Barbara Leigh. Today he continues to give seminars and work in the entertainment industry.
Hong Kong cinema historian Bey Logan says Lewis was the original pick of Bruce Lee for the villain Colt in Way of the Dragon, but that Lee and Lewis had a falling out before the film and thus Chuck Norris was tabbed instead.
