I was there that night. It was a very exciting event. I met Bill Wallace that afternoon when he was testing the platform. The Battle of Atlanta that preceded the fight was the best tournament I have ever attended. Every famous martial artist I had ever read about and followed in the magazines was there to see performing up close. I have met Joe Corley at events a couple of times over the years and have told him that each time. As far as some negative comments here about the quality of the fighting....it evolved so much since then. The fighters got so much better. Just look at some of Wallace's later defenses. There are plenty of other examples. This event was just the beginning of what PKA ultimately became. I watched it every week on ESPN. These are the guys that inspired me in the early years of my training.
I had a similar experience. I had to bug my neighbors to get to watch my weekly PKA fix because we didn't have cable. I went on to fight out of a gym with multiple world title holders for PKA, WKA, KICK, and WKBA
Thank you for putting this up! How good was Mr Wallace's left leg? Good enough to get away with horrible hand positions when throwing it. Some of the comments already up,,, well... My "favorite"? "...the no contact point Karate at the time." I don't know where you were at but,,, my first tournament was 1981. Full contact to the body above the belt, but groin and sweeps below mid calf also allowed. No face/head contact in white belt division. Above white belt light light face/head contact allowed. The definition of "light" changed as you went up through the ranks. Oh, got a couple ribs cracked? Don't want to continue? So sorry. You forfeit.
I read virtually every account of this match in the martial arts magazines 43 years ago. Each made it seem as though the bout was much more interesting than it was, now that the evidence is before us.
Thanks for your insights. The great news for professional MartialArts is that our fighters got really good with their kicks and their punches, and the greatest fighters’ bouts from three decades ago still stand as a testament to those great skills. The other good news is that we had tremendous ratings successes in 1000 hours of broadcasting on ESPN, NBC, CBS, ABC, and Showtime. We look forward to returning to the air before the “fat lady sings“. We still prefer not kicking in the legs, inasmuch as we feel that the athleticism of the fighters is much better displayed. Nevertheless, we tip our hats to the toughness of those guys who do like to kick each other in the legs :-) Again, thanks for your insights, and it is my sincere hope that the 12,000 people who were in the Omni that night still have as good a feeling about the event - - The very first PKA title defense - -as our real warriors that were there at Ringside did on that particular evening.
Bad ,horrible officiating and rule enforcement Sloppy,,,but early kickboxers I cannot help but wonder at all this... Wallace really going hay maker sev times with the left.... Any way,thanks for the video.looked like Corley gave up on the kicks.....
First title defense--no ropes. We stayed inside the bounds nevertheless. FIrst 9 round fight--all prior had been 3 rounds. The referee was Dr. Maung Gyi. Like early professional boxing rules, the PKA rules that day dictated a round would be stopped if there was a knockdown. Under those circumstnaces he stopped 2 rounds in which he thought there were knockdowns.
Bottom line, PKA "full-contact karate" generally amounted to mediocre kickboxing, in which neither the boxing nor the kicking were particularly good. Muay Thai is much more impressive and exciting to watch, as is Olympic-style TKD.
@Steve VanDien, Full Contact Karate was meant to be a Sport and not meant to permanently injure the Athletes. It was an upgrade from no contact point Karate at the time. Below the waist kicks to Hip, Knee, and Ankle joints take their toll over the years. BTW, while I was in the Marine Corps back in the 1980's I was in Pattaya Beach Thailand and fought more than a few Muay Thai matches in the Rings at the Bars along the Strip there. :~) It felt more like Street Fighting/Self Defense than a Sport.
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I was there that night. It was a very exciting event. I met Bill Wallace that afternoon when he was testing the platform. The Battle of Atlanta that preceded the fight was the best tournament I have ever attended. Every famous martial artist I had ever read about and followed in the magazines was there to see performing up close. I have met Joe Corley at events a couple of times over the years and have told him that each time. As far as some negative comments here about the quality of the fighting....it evolved so much since then. The fighters got so much better. Just look at some of Wallace's later defenses. There are plenty of other examples. This event was just the beginning of what PKA ultimately became. I watched it every week on ESPN. These are the guys that inspired me in the early years of my training.
I had a similar experience. I had to bug my neighbors to get to watch my weekly PKA fix because we didn't have cable. I went on to fight out of a gym with multiple world title holders for PKA, WKA, KICK, and WKBA
Many thanks for this. Wanted to see this for decades now!
No televised tape version?...Thanks again for this piece of history.
Thank you for putting this up!
How good was Mr Wallace's left leg? Good enough to get away with horrible hand positions when throwing it.
Some of the comments already up,,, well...
My "favorite"?
"...the no contact point Karate at the time."
I don't know where you were at but,,, my first tournament was 1981. Full contact to the body above the belt, but groin and sweeps below mid calf also allowed.
No face/head contact in white belt division.
Above white belt light light face/head contact allowed. The definition of "light" changed as you went up through the ranks.
Oh, got a couple ribs cracked? Don't want to continue? So sorry. You forfeit.
Great fight with two legends!
John Ormsby told me he has a video of this fight. I didnt see it so i dont know if the quality is better than this.
I read virtually every account of this match in the martial arts magazines 43 years ago. Each made it seem as though the bout was much more interesting than it was, now that the evidence is before us.
Thanks for your insights. The great news for professional MartialArts is that our fighters got really good with their kicks and their punches, and the greatest fighters’ bouts from three decades ago still stand as a testament to those great skills. The other good news is that we had tremendous ratings successes in 1000 hours of broadcasting on ESPN, NBC, CBS, ABC, and Showtime. We look forward to returning to the air before the “fat lady sings“. We still prefer not kicking in the legs, inasmuch as we feel that the athleticism of the fighters is much better displayed. Nevertheless, we tip our hats to the toughness of those guys who do like to kick each other in the legs :-)
Again, thanks for your insights, and it is my sincere hope that the 12,000 people who were in the Omni that night still have as good a feeling about the event - - The very first PKA title defense - -as our real warriors that were there at Ringside did on that particular evening.
Bad ,horrible officiating and rule enforcement
Sloppy,,,but early kickboxers
I cannot help but wonder at all this...
Wallace really going hay maker sev times with the left....
Any way,thanks for the video.looked like Corley gave up on the kicks.....
First title defense--no ropes. We stayed inside the bounds nevertheless. FIrst 9 round fight--all prior had been 3 rounds. The referee was Dr. Maung Gyi. Like early professional boxing rules, the PKA rules that day dictated a round would be stopped if there was a knockdown. Under those circumstnaces he stopped 2 rounds in which he thought there were knockdowns.
Bottom line, PKA "full-contact karate" generally amounted to mediocre kickboxing, in which neither the boxing nor the kicking were particularly good.
Muay Thai is much more impressive and exciting to watch, as is Olympic-style TKD.
@Steve VanDien, Full Contact Karate was meant to be a Sport and not meant to permanently injure the Athletes. It was an upgrade from no contact point Karate at the time.
Below the waist kicks to Hip, Knee, and Ankle joints take their toll over the years.
BTW, while I was in the Marine Corps back in the 1980's I was in Pattaya Beach Thailand and fought more than a few Muay Thai matches in the Rings at the Bars along the Strip there. :~) It felt more like Street Fighting/Self Defense than a Sport.