# Anything on Jay T Will Please



## celtic_crippler (Sep 24, 2009)

If anyone has any information on the late Jay T Will and is willing to share I'd appreciate it. 

Pictures, stories, articles, clips...anything and everything would be welcome and greatly appreciated. 

I know of this site: http://lancasterkenpo.tripod.com/jaytwillmemorialsite/index.html

But if anyone has any links to sites with more data on Mr. Will I would appreciate that info as well. 

Thank you! :asian:


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## Milt G. (Sep 29, 2009)

celtic_crippler said:


> If anyone has any information on the late Jay T Will and is willing to share I'd appreciate it.
> 
> Pictures, stories, articles, clips...anything and everything would be welcome and greatly appreciated.
> 
> ...


 
Hello,

I have the original newspaper clipping (The Columbian, Vancouver, WA) that came out when he had his "problem" with the law.  That was in 1986, I believe?

I would be happy to share any parts of that you are interested in hearing about.  Sadly it presents him in a mostly negative light as most news tends to do.  Human interest does not "sell" as much as scandal and innuendo.  Is be a shame, and why I see little of regular TV "news" these days.  The article only concerns the incident it reports, and not the person as a whole.

J.T. Will was a good martial artist, innovator and role model for most of his life.  He helped "professional" martial arts carve a place in the mainstream.  I guess that sometimes one can be "overtaken" by events and circumstances which can derail a good and positive thing.  I try to remember him for the positives rather then the negatives.

In my book he was a good Kenpoist who shared and inspired many.  perhaps just not all in the way we would have expected.  

Thanks,
Milt G.


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## tai scorpio (Sep 30, 2009)

hi to all,   this is sifu scorpio from birmingham,alabama and what i remember is that took place in the mid-seventhy when master j.t.will was arrested on weapon,s and drugs charges.  because he had those in his studio when they raided his studio, me and one of my best friend and my first black belt( wesley friedson) use to go to ohio state univ. for the weekend,so he could visit his girlfriend on campest,while i would go workout at his studio somtime.  because it was on the local new about his arrest, and i never did hear anything ele,s about his case after that.   this is what i remember about master j.t.will.   i hope this help.  sincerely  sifu tai scorpio


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## DocLogic77 (Oct 31, 2010)

I began my studies at JT Will's in Columbus.  I had a picture of him handing me my orange belt back in 1978.  I believe it was burned up in a fire but I can check with my parents.  Dave Sites was my actual instructor who worked in his studio.  I had minimal interaction with the guy but know he was very well respected.

My only signficant interaction with him involved some sort of midnight karate movie show he hosted.  He invited me on the show to do a kata.


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## David43515 (Oct 31, 2010)

My sister attended Capital Univesity in Columbus when I was a kid. I remember one christmas she gave me a book on Kenpo by J.T. Will. He`d been nice enough to autograph it for her, and she stuck in a local news story about him catching a purse-snatcher or shakedown artist in the lobby of some place he was teaching at the time.


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## David43515 (Oct 31, 2010)

I believe he also did some stunt work on the original Battle Star Galactica.


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## Randy Strausbaugh (Nov 5, 2010)

I studied with Jay. I was looking for an art which emphasized self defense rather than sport, and Kenpo filled the bill. What always impressed me about Jay was his speed. I always knew that a big guy could be strong, but Jay was both strong and quick. I was one of many who wound up on the end of his side kick. Despite the fact that he was at one time best known for his tournament participation, Jay always made sure that all of his students were well-grounded in self defense. He was always extremely patient (with me as a student, he had to be).

His film work included parts in a couple of Joe Lewis films, "Force Five" and "Jaguar Lives". He also had a small part in a movie called "Meteor". TV credits include "Knight Rider", "Riptide", "Battlestar Galactica", and "Galactica 1980". He also hosted "Black Belt Theater", a local late-night Kung Fu film series. Years before, he hosted "Karate For Self Defense" on WOSU, the local PBS station. Twelve episodes of that were later sold on video as "Black Belt Karate". Jay authored two books, "Kenpo Karate for Self Defense" through Ohara Publications (now Black Belt Books) and "Advanced Kenpo" through Unique Publications. He was inducted into the Black Belt Hall of Fame as Karate Instructor of the Year in 1976 and into the Inside Kung Fu magazine Hall of Fame as Kenpo Instructor of the Year in the early 1980's. Jay was also well known as a Full Contact Karate referee for the PKA. 

Hope this helps,


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## jfarnsworth (Nov 7, 2010)

Interesting topic that was brought back up. Dave Site's is still around but not actively teaching. He came to my facility in April of this year. I truly did not know he was still in the ohio area. it was the first time I had met Mr. Sites. Heard plenty of good things but never had the chance to meet him until this year.
There are still some students of his around today, actively pursueing their kenpo career's. Obscurely but they are still out there. I teach out of a gymnastics facility in Lexington. If anyone were interested in finding some of the guy's that trained there I know how to get in contact with several of them.


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## Nikai (Nov 8, 2021)

Back in the early 90’s, my brother and I were competing in NASKA at the Bluegrass Nationals in KY.  We were fortunate enough to be seated at the same table with JT Will…who was not only an incredible person, but he told a great story.  He was invited to Graceland to train Elvis.  15 minutes into the training session, someone walks down the stairs carrying a silver platter with an array of prescription pills for Elvis.  Within the hour, Elvis was passed out on the floor.  And JT Will is telling us that he’s just standing next to him while he’s sound asleep.  I think he ended up pressing the call button so someone came into the room, but apparently this was normal behavior for Elvis so nobody was concerned.  Mr. Will left Graceland with thanks and a pretty good story!


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