Training with Bill Wallace at the Martial Arts Supershow 2010

bill wallace general martial arts training Jul 07, 2020

It's funny how your life crosses path with some people in a way you couldn't have predicted.

In 1976, I was 23 years old and watching a live karate kickboxing match on TV. Bill "Superfoot" Wallace knocked out a big bald fighter with a hook kick to the head. I was so excited, I started working a lot harder at the hook kick, and it has won me many tournament matches over the years.

I first met Bill Wallace in 1982. I was a producer at WCPO-TV in Cincinnati and he came to town for an exhibition match and martial arts convention. He stopped by the station and I interviewed him.

Flash forward almost 20 years to 2001. My friend John Morrow sponsors Bill Wallace to come to do a workshop at his school here in the Quad Cities. I go to John's house and meet them and we all go out to the ice cream store. It's a summer evening and we're hanging outside an ice cream store with this martial arts superstar. I couldn't believe it. I attended the workshop and he kept using me as his dummy, showing kicks and demonstrating techniques. He had super control over his foot and could kick me in the head before I could block it -- EVERY time. Photo above is from 2001.

He came back for another workshop a few years later.

Bill Wallace is a funny guy. He uses humor throughout his workshops.

Yesterday morning, he held a one-hour stretching workshop here at the Martial Arts Supershow in Las Vegas. I was familiar with his stretching exercises, but hadn't done a lot of them since being so sick last year. It felt good to go through them. Then, we practiced different punch and kick combinations with our partners.

Wallace has a great technique for closing distance with your opponent. As you're moving and dancing, you suddenly bring your feet together. That closes the distance for a kick.

After the workshop (and the room was packed) I shook his hand and reminded him of the interview we did almost 30 years ago. The photo here was taken as we were talking, then he slapped me on the arm and said, "Well, at least YOU still have hair."

He's going to be coming to the Quad Cities in August for a workshop at John Morrow's school. I'm going to encourage all of my students to attend, and see if we can't spread the word. There are guys out there right now who are MMA superstars because they're big and bad. I don't know how many of them uphold some of the important principles of traditional martial arts -- skill combined with respect, humility, and a sense of humor. Bill Wallace does, and it's amazing and gratifying to see that even at age 65, he's still teaching.

--by Ken Gullette

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Training with Bill Wallace at the Martial Arts Supershow 2010

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