Read Online Against All Odds: My Story by Chuck Norris, Abraham Norris, Ken Chuck, Chuck Ken; Norris Abraham, Ken Abraham - Free Book Online Page A
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so did I!
In 1965, I entered and won several tournaments, including the Winter Nationals in San Jose, California. I became a major championship competitor by again defeating Ron Marchini for the Grand Champion title. That win encouraged me to set my sights on the Internationals, the most prestigious of all the tournaments.
I won the middleweight division of the 1966 Internationals by defeating a fighter who had beaten me the year before. That win felt great. But the feeling didn't last long; my fight for the Grand Championship was with Allen Steen, a big fellow from Dallas, Texas, who had long legs with tremendous power and knew how to use his height to his advantage. He had just defeated Joe Lewis, one of the best of the new fighters, and I thought, Anyone who can beat Joe must be really good. I was right. I lost to Allen too. I decided to take some time off, to recoup, and to prepare for a heavy tournament schedule in 1967.
I realized that although I had gotten good results with the spinning back kick in my first few tournaments, my opponents were now anticipating it. To be able to compete effectively in future matches, I would have to increase my repertoire. At that time, most karate fighters were either good kickers or good with their hands, but few of them could blend kicks and punches together.
Many of my friends were top martial arts instructors. Normally it is difficult to go from one karate studio to another to train because each style is different, but several of my instructor friends allowed me to train with them.
Fumio Demura, the 1963 All-Japan Karate Champion and an expert in shito ryu , showed me how to blend moves, using my hands and feet together, to create a more varied arsenal of kicks and punches. I learned hand-and-foot combinations from Hidetaka Nishiyama, a master of shotokan karate.
Tutamu Ohshima, another shotokan master, encouraged me to go beyond my physical limitations. He pushed me to the point where I didn't think I could do any more, and then he encouraged me to go even further!
Jun Chung, a master of hapkido , a martial art that emphasizes kicks and throws, helped me perfect more Korean techniques. Jujitsu instructor Al Thomas worked with me on grappling techniques. Ed Parker, the father of American kenpo karate (a Chinese martial art) and promoter of the Internationals, spent hours in his studio teaching me his system. I also trained with Gene LeBell, an expert in wrestling, boxing, judo, and karate. Gene is one of the toughest men I know.
All of these men were generous with their time and talent. It says a great deal about the martial arts community that, although we were competitors from various styles and I'd possibly be an opponent to some of their students, we were all willing to share our knowledge.
I took something from each style and modified it for myself, incorporating the new skills into what I already knew. Soon I had such a variety of techniques, I was confident that an opponent would find it almost impossible to pinpoint a specific movement and zero in on it.
Joe Lewis, one of the up-and-coming fighters in the country, moved from North Carolina to Los Angeles. He called one day and asked if he could come to my school and spar with me. “Sure, Joe. Come on over,” I told him. “You're more than welcome at our place.” A natural athlete and a weight lifter, Joe had earned his black belt after only seven months of training during his stint with the Marine Corp in Okinawa. Joe entered his first tournament—the National Karate Championship—with less than two years of training under his belt, and he won it.
When Joe and I first began sparring together, I could score on him quite easily. But after a couple of months of sparring regularly, I found it extremely difficult to score a point on him. I quipped to my black belt students, “It may have been a mistake to spar with Joe so often because one day I am going to have to fight him in competition!”
My prediction soon
In 1965, I entered and won several tournaments, including the Winter Nationals in San Jose, California. I became a major championship competitor by again defeating Ron Marchini for the Grand Champion title. That win encouraged me to set my sights on the Internationals, the most prestigious of all the tournaments.
I won the middleweight division of the 1966 Internationals by defeating a fighter who had beaten me the year before. That win felt great. But the feeling didn't last long; my fight for the Grand Championship was with Allen Steen, a big fellow from Dallas, Texas, who had long legs with tremendous power and knew how to use his height to his advantage. He had just defeated Joe Lewis, one of the best of the new fighters, and I thought, Anyone who can beat Joe must be really good. I was right. I lost to Allen too. I decided to take some time off, to recoup, and to prepare for a heavy tournament schedule in 1967.
I realized that although I had gotten good results with the spinning back kick in my first few tournaments, my opponents were now anticipating it. To be able to compete effectively in future matches, I would have to increase my repertoire. At that time, most karate fighters were either good kickers or good with their hands, but few of them could blend kicks and punches together.
Many of my friends were top martial arts instructors. Normally it is difficult to go from one karate studio to another to train because each style is different, but several of my instructor friends allowed me to train with them.
Fumio Demura, the 1963 All-Japan Karate Champion and an expert in shito ryu , showed me how to blend moves, using my hands and feet together, to create a more varied arsenal of kicks and punches. I learned hand-and-foot combinations from Hidetaka Nishiyama, a master of shotokan karate.
Tutamu Ohshima, another shotokan master, encouraged me to go beyond my physical limitations. He pushed me to the point where I didn't think I could do any more, and then he encouraged me to go even further!
Jun Chung, a master of hapkido , a martial art that emphasizes kicks and throws, helped me perfect more Korean techniques. Jujitsu instructor Al Thomas worked with me on grappling techniques. Ed Parker, the father of American kenpo karate (a Chinese martial art) and promoter of the Internationals, spent hours in his studio teaching me his system. I also trained with Gene LeBell, an expert in wrestling, boxing, judo, and karate. Gene is one of the toughest men I know.
All of these men were generous with their time and talent. It says a great deal about the martial arts community that, although we were competitors from various styles and I'd possibly be an opponent to some of their students, we were all willing to share our knowledge.
I took something from each style and modified it for myself, incorporating the new skills into what I already knew. Soon I had such a variety of techniques, I was confident that an opponent would find it almost impossible to pinpoint a specific movement and zero in on it.
Joe Lewis, one of the up-and-coming fighters in the country, moved from North Carolina to Los Angeles. He called one day and asked if he could come to my school and spar with me. “Sure, Joe. Come on over,” I told him. “You're more than welcome at our place.” A natural athlete and a weight lifter, Joe had earned his black belt after only seven months of training during his stint with the Marine Corp in Okinawa. Joe entered his first tournament—the National Karate Championship—with less than two years of training under his belt, and he won it.
When Joe and I first began sparring together, I could score on him quite easily. But after a couple of months of sparring regularly, I found it extremely difficult to score a point on him. I quipped to my black belt students, “It may have been a mistake to spar with Joe so often because one day I am going to have to fight him in competition!”
My prediction soon
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