20 Questions with Bill ‘Superfoot’ Wallace

All Photography: Nasser Butt, Copyright © NasserButt 2021, unless stated otherwise.

Photography: Christine Batcheler It’s not often you get to meet one of the true legends of the martial arts and get to spend some time with them as well as ask them a few questions — but where do you begin? Well, let’s start with a brief background history1 …

William Louis Wallace — aka Bill “Superfoot” Wallace — was born in Portland, Indiana, USA, on December 1, 1945.

He began his training in high school as a wrestler before moving onto Judo in 1963 whilst serving in the US military. It was during this period when he picked up a serious injury to his right knee which caused him to discontinue his Judo training and take up Shorin-ryu Karate under the tutelage of Michael Gneck.

Bill began his successful fighting career on the point fighting circuit before switching to full-contact competition.

Due to his knee injury, Bill used his right leg as his base and focused on kicking with his left leg, earning him the moniker of “Superfoot” [more about this later] — his left leg kicks were clocked at speeds in excess of 60mph!

A pioneer of the nascent kickboxing scene, alongside his friend Joe Lewis and others, Bill, under the coaching guidance of veteran fighter Jim ‘Ronin’ Harrison won 23 consecutive professional bouts between 1974-1980, including 13 knockouts during which he became the Professional Karate Association [PKA] middleweight World Full-Contact Karate Champion and the Middleweight Kickboxing Champion for six years, before retiring with a perfect 23-0-0 record.

Bill was both a friend and personal trainer of ‘The King’ — Elvis Presley, as well as the legendary John Belushi. Sadly, it was he who discovered the body of his dead friend Belushi from a drug overdose at the Chateau Marmont, on Sunset Boulevard, in Hollywood, California.

Bill holds a bachelor's degree in physical education and a master’s degree in kinesiology. He has appeared in several movies including those with his friends Chuck Norris and Jackie Chan. A Blackbelt Magazine Hall of Fame recipient, he holds the rank of 10th dan black belt Soke and manages an organisation of Karate schools under his “Superfoot” System. At the age of 75, Bill is still actively teaching seminars around the world and has authored several books.

I first had the honour of meeting Bill Wallace briefly during The Martial Arts Show Live held at the NEC in Birmingham, UK in 2012. Unfortunately, we both happened to be teaching on the mats at the same time so I was unable to watch him, although we did manage a quick chat.

So, when my dear friend Neil Kirkland told me that Bill Wallace was returning to the UK to give a seminar in Cambridge as a patron of Adaptive Martial Arts UK & Ireland in October 2021, I jumped at the chance of accepting my invitation and finally getting to see the man at work!

I will not say much about the seminar itself as there is a report on the event in this issue of Lift Hands by Neil Kirkland. I will, however, say that it was a master class and a privilege to not only have witnessed it but to have had the opportunity to capture many photographic moments, as well as getting to interview the great man for our 20 Questions slot.

Almost a decade since I last saw him, he didn’t look any different physically. He still moved powerfully and fluidly, defying the years, and he still had that infectious grin and a schoolboy glint in his eyes. When he taught, he taught with no airs and graces. He was simply “Bill” to every one from the young to the old. He taught with humour and passion, and forthrightness from his reservoir of experience and skill accumulated over the decades. His humility and humbleness are a lesson to the ‘peacocks’ of modern martial arts. When Bill Wallace speaks, listen — you won’t get to hear or see a better teacher.

LH: 20 Questions with the “Superfoot” himself! Welcome to Lift Hands Bill Wallace. We have 20 fun questions for you, different from the usual stuff — Let’s see how quick you are!

Photography: Christine Batcheler

BSW: Ok…

LH: If you could have personally witnessed anything, what would you want to have seen?

BSW: The crucifixion of Jesus Christ! I would have stopped it!

LH: Interesting! What would you do if you were invisible for a day?

BSW: Have a blast! I’d have such a good time [he says with a big grin and mischief in his eyes]!

LH: As a child, what did you wish to become when you grew up?

BSW: A grown up! Just like every child — I want to be like you dad!

LH: What is your greatest strength or weakness?

BSW: Strength… Psychologically, I don’t think that there is anybody who can beat me! Weakness is… I don’t think that anybody can beat me! So, if I don’t think that they can beat me — maybe they can, I just don’t think they can!

LH: Excellent! What is your favorite memory of any one of your grandparents?

BSW: Eating Limburger cheese! Do you know what Limburger cheese is?

LH: No!

BSW: Limburger cheese smells like you haven’t washed your feet in 3 months! That’s exactly what it smells like and my grandfather would sit in the living room with a big hunk of it and cut of a piece, put salt on it and… chomp, chomp, chomp! We had to leave the room!

LH: [Laughing] Wow, that’s different! How do you want to be remembered?

BSW: That I’m a good guy!

LH: What have you always wanted and did you ever get it?

BSW: I wanted to be happy and I’m happy!

LH: Do you know your heritage?

BSW: Yes! Freedom!

LH: Freedom?

BSW: Yep! I was up in Scotland in 2006 for the 700 anniversary of William Wallace’s death and I talked to the clan leader. I talked to him about my grandparents and my great grandparents, he said that there was a very good possibility that I am related to William Wallace! My middle name is Louis, just like his was!

Photography: Christine Batcheler

LH: Wow! That’s some serious heritage! Are you still learning who you are?

BSW: Yes, always! It’s a never-ending battle! Today is different then yesterday! After lunch is different to right now!

LH: What, if anything, are you afraid of and why?

BSW: Suffocation! I’ll take a shower and water will be flowing over my head and I’ll be going — breathes as if hyperventilating — rather than just relax! Punch me, kick me, shoot me, whatever you want but don’t [places hand over mouth] suffocate me!

LH: What is the most memorable class you have ever taken?

BSW: At a class in college and I remember this… for teaching a class! Teach your students something that they know, then teach them something that they don’t know! If you teach them two things which they know, they’ll get bored. If you teach them two things that they don’t know — they’re lost. This way they’ll want to come back tomorrow to learn what they don’t know!

LH: That’s some philosophy! Amazing! What book has influenced you the most?

BSW: I would imagine the Bible!

LH: What ridiculous thing has someone tricked you into doing or believing?

BSW: Wow, that’s hard! I’m basically a non-believer in everything, you’ve got to prove it to me! I would imagine, erm… like your Covid thing — I’m a Republican and an American, and I believe that there is Covid, but the funny thing is that nobody has died of flu over there! In the last two years nobody has died from the flu, everything is Covid! Up until the last two years, we had 100,000 people die of flu every year, now nobody!

LH: Funnily enough, the same has happened here! Who or what has been the greatest influence in your life?

BSW: My parents! My dad and my mother were behind me all the way. My dad was an athlete, he’d say, “C’mon, I’ll take you!” My parents never said, “No!”

LH: They backed you all the way?

BSW: All the way, yep! Except when I started winning more trophies, then my mum says, “Don’t bring anymore trophies home, I’ve got to dust them!” — [Bill smiles at the memory]

LH: What is the craziest thing one of your teachers has done or made you do?

BSW: [Thinks briefly]… Sit in the corner!

LH: Really?

BSW: Yeah! I was 18 when I started, I was a wrestler in high school and I remember wrestling — I was a good wrestler — and I was playing around and the coach said, “Stop!” And I wouldn’t stop, I didn’t hear him. He said, “What you doing?” I looked around, said sorry. He said, “Get over there in the corner!” [Pulls a face…] I got in the corner — thankfully no dunce hat! [Laughs and walks away to face the corner as he remembers doing]

LH: When did you screw everything up, but no one ever found out it was you?

BSW: Let me count the times! How long you got? [Laughs] A bunch of times! I didn’t blame anyone, just said it wasn’t me! How often can you say, it wasn’t me? I didn’t care. I didn’t do it! [Pulls a face with a big grin — see photo next page]

LH: If someone made a movie of your life would it be a drama, a comedy, a romantic-comedy, action film or science fiction?

Photography: Christine Batcheler

BSW: Toss up between a sci-fi and a comedy!

LH: If you could select one person from history and ask them one question — who would you select and what would the question be?

BSW: Jesus Christ — The question would be, is there a God? Because, I believe there is, you believe there is, whatever name we call God by… I’d just like to be sure! The funny thing is that there are a lot of people out there that aren’t atheists, but they don’t really believe… and my dad died of oesophageal cancer, he was going in for the operation and for the first time he says, “God, help me!” Only time I ever heard him say that in fifty something years! I’m like, oh shit! So, if I knew there was — I’d be saying I’m with you 100%!

LH: I’ve got to ask this one…. How did you get your “Superfoot” moniker?

BSW: That was PKA President, Don Quine, who came up with that name after watching me knock out an opponent in the late 70s. The kick was so fast that nobody knew what happened! Later, he was at a Laker’s game and there was a sign there, “Super foot long hotdogs” — and that’s where he got the idea from! I, personally, wanted to be called, “Superfoot Long!” [smiles mischievously].

LH: [Laughing hysterically at his previous reply] How would you describe your art in ten words or less?

BSW: Having fun and taking advantage of somebody’s mistakes!

LH: Brilliant! Thank you sir! It’s been a pleasure and an honour speaking with you and for the record… you were fast! It took you 6 minutes and 56 seconds to answer all the questions. I believe it’s been the quickest time!

Photography: Christine Batcheler

BSW: Thank you guys! It’s been my pleasure! — [Turns to camera] It’s all a lie… don’t believe a word of it! [Grins!]

1. Most of the historical background information taken from wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Bill_Wallace_(martial_artist)] and The Star System [http://www.starsystemkickboxing.net/Pages/

BillWallace.aspx]

My thanks to the beautiful Christine Batcheler for help recording the interview. All images copyrighted © Nasser Butt 2021.