Mr. Joe Walker is a multiple-time world champion martial artist with more than 54 years of experience.
In this podcast, we talk about his start in judo, why judo teachers had more students than karate teachers in the early 1960s and how karate took over, his experience training with Grandmaster Robert Trias, how he learned the Israeli fighting art of haganah, and so much more.
I’m really happy with this episode because we both love talking martial arts. Following the recording of this episode, Mr. Walker showed me his dojo, including his wall of black belts and pictures from around Okinawa and other Asian countries. We’re both excited about bringing you another podcast episode in the future. Rest assured with more than 50 years in the martial arts, we won’t have any issues finding things to talk about.
Mr. Walker asked to preview this episode before he went out. He lamented referring to gis as dojos – he later corrected himself – and for forgetting the name of Seisho Tanahara, so he asked me if we wanted to re-record that segment. I told him I liked the raw feel of it, that I think this podcast works because it is more of a conversation and less of a formal, rigid Q&A. The essence of his response was that he was okay with it, saying that nobody’s ever perfect the first time they do something, and that we have to keep working to get better. I thought that was a great way to look at it.
Upcoming plugs and where I’ll be include…
- Aug. 2 – Martial Arts for St. Jude
- Aug. 15-17 – Share The Martial Arts
