Bill Wallace (martial artist)

Bill Wallace
Born	William Louis Wallace December 1, 1945 (1945-12-01) (age 65) Portland, Indiana, US
Other names	Superfoot
Nationality	American
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight	166 lb (75 kg; 11.9 st)
Style	Shorin-ryu Karate, Kickboxing, Boxing, Judo, Wrestling
Stance	Orthodox
Fighting out of	Daytona Beach, Florida
Teacher(s)	Michael Gneck
Trainer	Jim 'Ronin' Harrison
Rank	10th dan black belt Soke
Years active	1974–1980
Kickboxing record
Total	21
Wins	20
By knockout	14
Losses	0
By knockout	0
Draws	1
Website	http://superfoot.com

Bill "Superfoot" Wallace (born December 1, 1945) is an American martial artist who was a Professional Karate Association world full- contact karate champion. He was the Professional Karate Association (PKA) Middleweight Champion kickboxer for almost six years.

Background

Wallace was born in Portland, Indiana, and trained in wrestling during his high school years.^[1] He began his study of Judo in 1966 and was forced to discontinue his Judo related activities because of an injury he suffered to his right knee during practice.^[1] He then began to study Shorin-ryu Karate under Michael Gneck^[2] in February 1967 while serving in the U.S. Air Force. After entering the point fighting tournament scene and achieving success there, he switched to full-contact kickboxing.

With the coaching help of veteran fighter Jim 'Ronin' Harrison, Wallace won 23 consecutive professional fights between 1974 and 1980,^[3] becoming the Professional Karate Association middleweight world full-contact karate champion and retiring undefeated.^[2][4] He was known for his fast left leg kicks,^[5] especially his roundhouse kick and his hook kick, which was clocked at about 60 mph.^[4] He focused on his left leg because of the Judo-related injury to his right knee, using the right leg primarily as a base. He also suffered the loss of one testicle during a point fighting tournament, when his protective cup was struck at an unfortunate angle. He saved the testicle and showed it to football running back legend, Jim Brown at the first Ultimate Fighting Championship (which also featured commentating from Wallace).^[6]

A year later, Wallace turned professional and captured the PKA middleweight karate championship with a second-round knockout. He relinquished the crown in 1980, undefeated. The PKA promoted the sport of full-contact karate. Full-contact karate differed from kickboxing in that leg kicks were allowed in kickboxing and forbidden in full-contact karate.

Education

Wallace studied at Ball State University, earning a bachelor's degree in 1971 in physical education.^[5] In 1976, he earned a master's degree in Kinesiology from Memphis State University.^[5]

Accomplishments

Wallace has taught karate, judo, wrestling and weight lifting at Memphis State University. The author of a college textbook about karate and kinesiology, he continues to teach seminars across the United States and abroad.^[5] He has acted, most notably in A Force of One starring Chuck Norris.^[7] Wallace was the play-by-play commentator for the inaugural Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view event in 1993 alongside fellow kickboxer Kathy Long and NFL Hall of famer Jim Brown.^[3] Wallace administers an organization of karate schools under his "Superfoot" system. He was elected to Black Belt Magazine's Hall of Fame in 1973 as "Tournament Karate Fighter of the Year" and again in 1978 as "Man of the Year."^[8] His film credits include A Force of One with Chuck Norris; Kill Point, with Cameron Mitchell; Continental Divide and Neighbors, with John Belushi; The Protector, with Jackie Chan; Los Bravos with Hector Echavarria; A Prayer for the Dying, with Mickey Rourke; Ninja Turf; and Sword of Heaven.^[9] Wallace was a trainer and close friend of Elvis Presley and John Belushi and was the personal trainer who found Belushi dead of a drug overdose at the Chateau Marmont on March 5, 1982.^[10]

Wallace has written and co-written a number of books, including:

• The Best of Bill Wallace^[11]
• Competitive Karate: Featuring the Superfoot System^[12]
• The Ultimate Kick ^[13]
• Dynamic Kicking & Stretching ^[14]
• Karate: Basic Concepts & Skills ^[15]

DVD format:

• BOOST Karate for Children^[16]
• Karate: Basic Concepts & Skills ^[17]

Kickboxing record

Kickboxing record

20 wins (12 KOs), 0 losses, 1 draw[18] Result Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes Draw 20-0-1 Joe Lewis Majority draw 01990 1990 7 3:00 Stateline, Nevada, USA Openweight bout. Win 20-0 Robert Biggs Decision 01980-06-08 June 8, 1980 12 3:00 Anderson, Indiana, USA Defends PKA Middleweight World title. Win 19-0 Tom Georgiades KO 01980-05-24 May 24, 1980 2 Denver, Colorado, USA Win 18-0 Raymond McCallum Decision 01980-03-01 March 1, 1980 5 3:00 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA Win 17-0 Steve Mackey Decision 01980-02-02 February 2, 1980 5 3:00 West Palm Beach, Florida, USA Win 16-0 Daryl Tyler TKO 01978-07-18 July 18, 1978 6 Monte Carlo, Monaco Defends PKA Middleweight World title. Win 15-0 Ralph Hollett Decision 01978-06-05 June 5, 1978 7 3:00 Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada Win 14-0 Glen Mehlmen Decision 01978-04-08 April 8, 1978 7 3:00 Miami, Florida, USA Win 13-0 Emilio Narvaez Decision 01978-03-11 March 11, 1978 9 3:00 Providence, Rhode Island, USA Defends PKA Middleweight World title. Win 12-0 Burnis White Decision 01977-11-28 November 28, 1977 9 3:00 Honolulu, Hawaii, USA Defends PKA Middleweight World title. Win 11-0 Pat Worley KO 01977-10-08 October 8, 1977 2 Indianapolis, Indiana, USA Defends PKA Middleweight World title. Win 10-0 Herbie Thompson TKO 01977-09-10 September 10, 1977 2 Miami, Florida, USA Win 9-0 Ron Thiveridge TKO 01977-05-21 May 21, 1977 6 Providence, Rhode Island, USA Defends PKA Middleweight World title. Win 8-0 Blinky Rodriguez Decision 01977-04-23 April 23, 1977 9 3:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Defends PKA Middleweight World title. Win 7-0 Gary Edens Decision 01976-10-01 October 1, 1976 9 3:00 Los Angeles, California, USA Defends PKA Middleweight World title. Win 6-0 Daniel Richer TKO 01976-05-29 May 29, 1976 3 Toronto, Ontario, Canada Defends PKA Middleweight World title. Win 5-0 Dieter Herdel KO (hook kick) 01976-04-26 April 26, 1976 1 0:44 Paris, France Win 4-0 Jem Echollas KO 01976-03-13 March 13, 1976 2 Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Defends PKA Middleweight World title. Win 3-0 Joe Corley TKO 01975-05-03 May 3, 1975 9 1:31 Atlanta, Georgia, USA Defends PKA Middleweight World title. Win 2-0 Daniel Richer Decision 01974-09-14 September 14, 1974 3 3:00 Los Angeles, California, USA Wins PKA Heavyweight World title. Win 1-0 Bernd Grothe TKO 01974-09-14 September 14, 1974 3 Los Angeles, California, USA Legend:       Win       Loss       Draw/No contest

References

1. ^ ^{a b} http://kiyojuteryu.org:8084/soke/articles/wallace.shtml
2. ^ ^{a b} Corcoran, John and Farkas, Emil (1983). Martial Arts: Traditions, History, People. Gallery Books. p. 392. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Biography for Bill Wallace (martial artist) at the Internet Movie Database
4. ^ ^{a b} "Bill "Superfoot" Wallace". Fightingmaster.com. http://www.fightingmaster.com/legends/wallace/index.htm. Retrieved 2011-10-15. 
5. ^ ^{a b c d} [1]^{[dead link]}
6. ^ "Bill Wallace IMDB Biography". http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0908539/bio. Retrieved 28 July 2010. 
7. ^ A Force of One (1979)
8. ^ Black Belt Hall of Fame Awards^{[dead link]}
9. ^ "Bill Wallace IMDB Listing". http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0908539/. 
10. ^ "John Belushi". Citizendium. http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/John_Belushi. Retrieved 28 July 2010. 
11. ^ Wallace, Bill. The Best of Bill Wallace. Black Belt Communications (April 2005) ISBN 0897501462
12. ^ Gibson, Adam, and Wallace, Bill. Competitive Karate: Featuring the Superfoot System Human Kinetics; 1 edition (January 27, 2004) ISBN 0736044922
13. ^ Wallace, Bill. The Ultimate Kick. Unique Publications (January 1987) ISBN 0865680884
14. ^ Wallace, Bill. Dynamic Kicking & Stretching. Unique Publications (November 1981) ISBN 0865680183
15. ^ Schroeder, Charles Roy and Wallace, Bill. Karate: Basic Concepts and Skills. Addison Wesley Publishing Company (July 1976) ISBN 0201068370
16. ^ Ferguson, Robert and Wallace, Bill. BOOST Karate for Children Black Belt Communications (May 1, 2005) ASIN: B0009T2JN8
17. ^ ASIN B000LBZLTI
18. ^ "Benny Urquidez's record at STAR". Starsystemkickboxing.net. http://starsystemkickboxing.net/BennyUrquidez.aspx. Retrieved 2011-10-15. 

External links

• Bill Wallace's web site
• IMDb bio

Persondata
Name	Wallace, Bill
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1945-12-01
Place of birth	Portland, IN, US
Date of death
Place of death