Joseph F. Davis is a lifelong Kajukenbo and martial arts practitioner who holds the rank of 9th Degree Red/Silver Belt in the art of Kajukenbo with the title of KSDI Great Grandmaster.
Great Grandmaster Davis started training in Kajukenbo on June 20, 1962, under the late Great Grandmaster Aleju Reyes at the Suisun Self-Defense Institute, located on Main Street in Suisun, California.
On December 5, 1964, Great Grandmaster Davis added to his martial arts training when he became a student of Bruce Lee, training at the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute in Oakland, California.
In 1966, Great Grandmaster Davis was promoted to the rank of black belt by Great Grandmaster Reyes, making Great Grandmaster Davis just the third adult student under Great Grandmaster Reyes to receive a black belt, behind the late Sr. Grandmaster Don Nahoolewa, and the late Sr. Grandmaster Richard Peralta.
In 1967, Great Grandmaster Davis became a charter member of the Kajukenbo Association of America, the first Kajukenbo association founded on the mainland.
In 1991, Great Grandmaster Davis assisted Sijo Adriano Emperado, the founder of the Kajukenbo Style of Self-Defense, and Great Grandmaster Gary Forbach, also a black belt student under Great Grandmaster Reyes, in the production of the World Kajukenbo Organization video series on the Emperado Method of Kajukenbo.
In 2003, Sijo Emperado promoted Great Grandmaster Davis to the rank of 9thDegree Red/Silver Belt and awarded him the title of Grandmaster.
In 2005, Great Grandmaster Davis served as the technical advisor for Grandmaster Mitch Powell, Sr. Professor Dennis Peterson, and Professor Al Saddler, in the creation of the Emperado Method Alphabet Techniques video series. In that same year, Great Grandmaster Davis was inducted into the Kajukenbo Hall of Fame.
In 2006, Great Grandmaster Davis was inducted into the World Martial Arts Hall of Fame.
In 2007, Great Grandmaster Davis served as the technical advisor for Grandmaster Powell, Sr. Professor Peterson, and Professor Saddler in the creation of the Emperado Method Knife and Club Counters video series.
In 2017, Great Grandmaster Davis became the Senior Advisor for the United Kajukenbo Federation (UKF), an organization created by Grandmaster Powell, Sr. Professor Peterson, Professor Saddler, Professor Walt Schuld, and Professor Sam Carter to preserve and promote the Emperado Method of Kajukenbo as taught to them by Great Grandmaster Davis.
In 2020, the Kajukenbo Self-Defense Institute, the original Kajukenbo organization created by Sijo Emperado, awarded Great Grandmaster Davis the title of KSDI Sr. Grandmaster.
In 2021, Great Grandmaster Davis (then Sr. Grandmaster) served as the technical advisor for the UKF to create a video series for the Emperado Method Palama Sets, Grab Counters, Punch Counters, Two-Man Counters, and Three-Man Counters to combine with the previously filmed Alphabet Techniques, and Knife and Club Counters, documenting the complete Emperado Method of Kajukenbo as taught to Great Grandmaster Davis by Great Grandmaster Reyes.
In 2024 Great Grandmaster Joe Davis (then Sr. Grandmaster) was elevated to the title of Great Grand Master by the Kajukenbo Self Defense Institute (KSDI) at the Annual Kajukenbo Gathering in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In addition to training under Great Grandmaster Aleju Reyes and Bruce Lee, Great Grandmaster Davis also trained privately with Sr. Grandmaster Al Dacascos, as well as trained in judo under Sensei Jimmy Tanaka, Danzan Ryu Jujitsu under Sensei Robert Fisher, and Tai Chi under Sifu William Yeung.