How I Met Joe Lewis - ....but none of that would've happened if it weren't for the legendary Joe Lewis. I’ve had two relationships with Joe Lewis. First as a snotty nosed kid who saw Mr. Lewis come into the karate school my brothers, John and Mark (champions in their own right), and I belonged to in the mid to late 70’s and beat the hell out of anyone dumb enough to spar with him. Secondly, as a friend and mentor who took me to new heights in my martial arts training and made me into a champion.

Work Out with a Living Legend, Joe Lewis - I have met, and personally know, many great martial artists in my life but there’s only one Joe Lewis. He is the smartest and most inspiring person I have ever met. Joe Lewis taught me how to look outside the box by looking and seeing what is possible not just what is. I can honestly say...

Please Help Joe Lewis - I recently found a videotape of when I worked out with Joe Lewis in North Carolina (I will be posting highlights of the video soon). He invited me up to prepare for my world title fight. It is the most amazing video...

A Career in Covers "The Great Joe Lewis" - Get ready for the 12th Annual Joe Lewis Research Conference in Tampa, FL this Oct. 6-9th. It has the highest quality of instruction of any event I’ve been to. We’d like to get a group..

Mixing with Martial Arts Celebs - Recently I was honored to participate in Master Alan Goldberg's "Action Martial Arts Hall of Honors" at the Tropicana in Atlantic City. Check out this short video clip of the event featuring some of the true stars in martial arts, including the Great Joe Lewis.

Rating Your Exertion Level in a UBC Kickboxing Class - Rating your exertion level in a kickboxing class is a tricky thing. Realize, an exertion level of 6's and 7's on the days you did NOT want to work out but you did anyway...

Injury Prevention "Proper Punching" - From my many years of teaching fitness kickboxing classes, I noticed there are two common complaints...

Jacqui's 10 Week UBC Journey "Training with Jim Graden" - Jacqui took on the Ultimate Body 10 week Challenge to lose the ‘baby’ weight she gained three years ago. Follow her through the ups and downs of 10 weeks...

Single Ingredient Foods - When Dr. Kroll, Harvard trained weight loss and nutrition specialist, led a seminar at my school a few years ago, he stressed the importance of eating ‘real food’. What did he mean by this?...

Using Your Student Manual Why is it important to keep a journal of your workouts and nutrition during your Ultimate Body Challenge? Your UBC student manual explains the four elements of fitness...

MMA & Martial Arts Fitness Part II - I believe the only way to capitalize on the MMA is through your martial arts fitness program. If you watch the MMA TV shows, like the one on Spike TV, you’ll see more...

Injury Prevention for Fitness Kickboxing on the Heavy Bag - I’ve been working in martial arts fitness now for close to 20 years and there are a lot of common injuries. One injury is happening more than it used to because of the onslaught of mixed martial arts. Most people used to see boxers or kickboxers utilizing boxing gloves...

Tampa Bay Ray's Mascot Spars My Son - You can always count on Tampa Bay Ray’s mascot, Raymond, to bring a good time wherever he goes. Who knew he had martial arts skills....

Tampa Bay Ray's Mascot Joins Our Demo Team - The City of Seminole of Florida hosts a giant party for kids which celebrates the end of school for Seminole-area elementary school students. This year marks the 32nd edition of the popular event, and I’m proud to say I’ve been a part of this special day for over 15 years...

UBC Participation Builds Confidence - In life and in sport, performance accomplishments are important sources of self-confidence. Participation in the UBC can help confidence in many ways. Great article from a UBC student, Don Lykins, who is also a clinical psychologist....

10 Years of Amazing Results - I’m proud to say that for 10 years UBC has been helping people look and feel their best. Take a look at these amazing before & after pictures of UBC contestants. The Ultimate Body Challenge combines kickboxing, resistance training, nutrition and flexibility to get people RESULTS in just 10 short weeks....

The History of the UBC - part 3 - Since the creation of the UBC in 2000, we have added additional programming like UBC for Kids. UBC for Kids is a six week course that has children setting goals based on the same physical fitness test they do at school. The course includes eighteen martial arts fitness classes for children and a work book so it’s fun for the kids....

The History of the UBC - part 2 - In 1996, along with NAPMA (National Association of Professional Martial Artist), I developed Cardio Karate . Cardio Karate was my first attempt at integrating martial arts and fitness. Within a five year period I personally certified over 6,000 instructors to teach Cardio Karate....

The History of the UBC - part 1 - I’ve had many people ask me how I came up with the idea for the Ultimate Body Challenge (UBC), so here it is! The UBC was created from my 25 plus years of experience in fitness and martial arts....

M.A. Fitness Celebration - Check out this video the new Martial Arts Fitness “Kick Box” Demonstration Team...

Martial Arts Fitness - The Future is Here! - The Integration of Fitness and Martial Arts is Here. For many years I’ve said that martial arts and fitness would become one. That’s becoming more evident these days because people are starting to realiz....

What I've Learned Over the Past 15 Years - We are about to celebrate the Ultimate Body Challenge’s (UBC) 10^th anniversary. Believe it or not, I consider Thanksgiving Day as the anniversary of the UBC. Why you might ask?...

Learn From the Past Before You Repeat It - I have been asked recently what I thought of MMA Fitness workouts. First I am thrilled to see martial art fitness getting a needed shot in the arm and I will always support any martial arts fitness program that is a well structured, quality program. But...

Martial Arts Improves Grades - Parents will put their children into a martial arts program for many different reasons. They may think the child needs to learn how to defend themselves or that they need to have more focus and discipline. All of these are good reasons to enroll your child into the martial arts but....