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Bill "Superfoot" Wallace was one of
the true pioneers of Full Contact Karate (Kickboxing).
Today Bill
lives in Boynton Beach, Florida but he was born in Portland, Indiana, and
trained in wrestling during his high school years. He began his study of Judo in
1963 and was forced to discontinue his Judo related activities due to an injury
he suffered during practice in 1966. He completely ripped the ligaments in his
right knee. While his knee was healing, He made a decision to learn karate. He
began to study Shorin-ryu Karate under Micky Geneck and trained
with him from 1966 to 1967.
After advancing rather quickly in his martial arts he entered
the point fighting tournament scene and achieved great success. He captured
virtually every major event including the U.S. Championships (3 times),
the USKA Grand Nationals (3 times), and the Top Ten Nationals (2
times).
Soon later he took up what was at the time, the fledging sport
of full contact karate. With the coaching help of veteran fighter Jim
'Ronin' Harrison, he was quickly known for his fast left leg kicks,
especially his roundhouse kick and his hook kick, which was clocked at about 60
mph. He focused on his left leg due the Judo-related injury to his right knee,
using the right leg primarily as a base.
Wallace's first (And Second) Full Contact
Kickboxing bouts were at the Los Angeles Sports Arena on September 14th 1974. It
was billed as the first international championship of full-contact, organized by
the PKA (Professional Karate Association). Wallace had two
matches. In the semi-finals, he beat Daniel Richer (Canada) by TKO in
the 3rd round. In the final, he beat the Bernd Grothe (Germany) in 2
rounds and became the first PKA Middleweight (Some sources say this
was a Heavyweight Title) World Champion. On May 3rd, 1975, Wallace
became the first world champion to defend his title, beating Joe Corley
at the "Battle of Atlanta" by KO in the 9th round.
Wallace defended his title 11 times over the next 5
years. His final kickboxing bout was in in Anderson, Indiana, USA and was shown
live on TV on the CBS Sports Spectacular on June 8th, 1980. Wallace
faced off against challenger Robert Biggs of St. Louis, Missouri who
entered the bout with a 15-1 record. (Lead-up
to the fight on Youtube Click HERE - What will AMAZE EVERYONE HERE is the
size of the crowd at this event!) In the end Wallace
won the 12 round bout by decision. The win was Wallace's 23 consecutive
win of his 6 year kickboxing career which spanned from 1974 to 1980.
On October 3rd, 1981, Bill came out of retirement to
win a 3 round bout against John Shields at the Battle of Atlanta in
Atlanta, Georgia.
He also has a bachelor's degree in physical education and a
master's degree in kinesiology (the study of human movement) he earned
at Memphis State University in Tennessee, where he taught wrestling,
weightlifting, judo and karate. His insight on proper stretching techniques and
the use of body mechanics in the ring makes him one of the most sought after
seminar speakers and teachers in the nation.
Black Belt magazine named Bill to its Hall of
Fame three times in seven years, Twice as "Competitor of the Year"
and once as "Man of the Year."
ELVIS CONNECTION...
Wallace
met Elvis Presley in 1973 before he started doing Kickboxing while Bill
was doing graduate work at the University of Memphis (then called Memphis
State University) in Tennessee. One of the reasons he had gone to Tennessee
was to open a martial arts school for somebody else, but the school had closed.
So Bill went over to the school of Kang Rhee, who ran a large
school in Memphis, and introduced himself. Rhee recognized Bill
and offered him a teaching position. One evening when he was working out, in
walked Elvis and Priscilla Presley. Kang Rhee stopped
the class and asked everybody to sit down, then introduced Bill to Elvis
Presley. Elvis said he'd seen Bill win the U.S.
championships in Dallas over Skipper Mullins and complemented him on his
kicking. The two talked for about 10 minutes and not long after that first
meeting in May of 1974, Elvis asked Bill to come work for him as
a teacher and personal trainer which he did until
Elvis' death in 1977.
It was 1974 when Wallace became Elvis'
bodyguard and personal trainer. About two years later, Elvis said he
wanted to open a karate school in Memphis and asked Wallace to run it.
Elvis basically wanted his own place to train and he would stop in once
in a while and work out with Bill. Wallace ran the school until 1977
when Elvis died.
Bill was then hired to start a new program at the
University of Memphis where he taught karate, judo, wrestling and helped out
with boxing.
LIFE AFTER COMPETITION
Despite
his retirement, Wallace continues to be one of the martial arts most
popular figures. He's the author of three books:
- Karate: Basic Concepts & Skills
- Dynamic Kicking & Stretching
- The Ultimate Kick
In addition to his fame in the ring Bill is also a
former member of the
President's Council on Physical Fitness and has been active in the film
industry. His credits include:
- A Force Of One, with Chuck Norris
- Kill Point, with Cameron Mitchell
- Continental Divide, with John Belushi
- Neighbors, with John Belushi
- Protector with Jackie Chan
- A Prayer for the Dying", with Mickey Rourke
- Ninja Turf
- A Sword of Heaven
- MORE - CLICK HERE.
As a Martial Artist and a fighter Bill helped people
become aware of what ballet dancers and gymnasts have always known - that
flexibility is vital for developing good skills and for avoiding layoffs caused
by pulled muscles and other injuries. He invented new ways to stretch out
muscles such as the hamstrings, quadriceps and abductors, all of which are
involved in kicking.
He then developed ways to strengthen these muscle groups and
created endurance exercises for them. Wallace would freely share the
secrets of his success while still competing as a world class kickboxer. Even
teaching fighters who were potential contenders for his title. Today Bill
travels the globe teaching martial artists around the world how to not just be
better fighters and or martial artists, but better people.
Bill currently lives in Boynton Beach,
Florida with his wife and five dogs.
He remains active in public
appearances for conducting seminars around the world, and has schools in not
only the USA but around the world.
FOR
"SUPERFOOT" SCHOOLS
CLICK HERE!
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