|
Zoran -> Dan Inosanto Bio by Zoran/Kenponet (Mar. 12th, 2007, 4:12:33 AM)
|
[image]http://kenpothoughts.com/images/Inosanto/dan_inosanto.jpg[/image] Mr. Dan Inosanto may not be best known for his martial arts work in Kenpo, but it was there that he met some of the biggest influences in his life, people like Mr. Ed Parker and Bruce Lee.
Mr. Inosanto has over 30 years of experience in the martial arts and is a respected authority in Jun Fan Gung Fu/Jeet Kune Do Concepts of Bruce Lee and the Filipino martial arts as well.
He was originally introduced into the martial arts at the age of ten. During that summer he was taught Okinawa Te and Jiu-Jitsu by a local from his home in Stockton, CA. That experience left a favorable impression on him, but he pursued interests in football and track for the next decade. At Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington he won a track conference with 9.5 seconds in the 100 yard dash. During his senior year, he was the leading ground gainer for the football team. Later his primary career would be as a Jr. High School Physical Education teacher.
After college, in 1957, Mr. Inosanto took up Judo from a man named Duke Yoshimura. He trained in Judo until 1959 when he entered the service to become a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division. During his tour of duty he was stationed in Fort Campbell, Kentucky where he was exposed to a variety of styles of Karate as well as others. It was at this time that Mr. Inosanto got his first look at Kenpo Karate.
In 1961, Mr. Inosanto was discharged from the military service and moved to Los Angeles, California. He looked for an instructor in the art of Kenpo here, a search which would lead him to a path that would change his life. He found the Kenpo Instructor, Mr. Ed Parker. For the next several years, Mr. Inosanto trained with Ed Parker and attained a black belt in the Kenpo system. He also taught for Mr. Parker and had many notable current seniors go through his classes.
It was Mr. Parker that first inspired Mr. Inosanto to study the Filipino arts. Mr. Inosanto thought the Filipinos had some stickfighting called Eskrima. But Mr. Parker informed him that there was a lot more than just stick work to the Filipino martial arts. Mr. Inosanto later went to his father, who introduced him to many Escrimadors in the local Filipino community. The three of the most prominent where Max Sarmiento, Angel Cabales, and Johnny Lacoste.
In 1964, Mr. Parker was organizing his International Karate Championship and needed someone to escort one of his out-of-town guests around town. So Mr. Inosanto was assigned the task to take care of Bruce Lee for the weekend. From this meeting, the two started a life long friendship.
In addition to having studied over 20 methods/styles of Filipino martial arts (being an instructor in several), he is an instructor in Muay Thai under Master Chai Sirisute, an instructor in Pentjak Silat under Pendekar Paul De Thouars and Pendekar Herman Suwanda, an instructor in Shoot Wrestling (Shooto) under Yori Nakamura. In keeping with the spirit of always being a student, Mr. Inosanto is currently studying Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under the Machado Brothers.
He has worked both in the television and movie industry as an actor, a stunt man, fight choreographer, and trainer on numerous projects. In addition to this Mr. Inosanto has several instructional videos and has authored several books: "A Guide to Martial Arts Training", "The Filipino Martial Arts", "Jeet Kune Do", and “Absorb What Is Useful".
Editor’s Notes:
The bio has been adapted from the Kenponet.
|
|
|
|