Dan Inosanto
American martial arts teacher (born 1936), a student of Bruce Lee, a promoter of Jeet Kune Do and the Filipino martial arts, and head of the Inosanto Academy.
Quick Facts
United StatesBiography
Dan Inosanto is an American martial arts teacher of Filipino descent, a student and collaborator of Bruce Lee, a teacher of Jeet Kune Do and the Filipino martial arts, and head of the Inosanto Academy of Martial Arts in Marina del Rey, California. He was born in Stockton, California, according to Wikipedia on 24 July 1936.
As a boy he was taught so-called Combat Judo by his uncle after the war. From 1959 to 1961 he served as a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell. He then studied martial arts under Ed Parker in American kenpo, and the official Inosanto website lists him as a student of the escrima master Leo Giron. He began practising Brazilian jiu-jitsu at 59.
According to Wikipedia, Bruce Lee appointed him as one of three people to teach at the Jun Fan Gung Fu institute, and according to Black Belt magazine Inosanto introduced Lee to the Filipino martial arts and nunchaku. From 1964 to 1975 he taught physical education at a school in Palos Verdes Estates, and in 1977 the Dallas Cowboys team commissioned him to incorporate martial arts into its training. He wrote books on the Filipino martial arts and on Jeet Kune Do.
In 1973 he carried the coffin of Bruce Lee, and after the death of Lee he became the main spokesman and historian of Jeet Kune Do. Black Belt magazine inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 1977, 1983, 1988 and 1996, when it named him Man of the Year.
Early life
Dan Inosanto was born in Stockton, California. The official Inosanto website also confirms the birthplace, and Wikipedia gives the date as 24 July 1936. According to a 2021 interview with Aikido Journal, his father was a respected figure in the Filipino American community of Stockton, which opened the way for Inosanto to several masters whom his father knew.
He came to know the Japanese martial arts as a boy through his uncle, who taught him so-called Combat Judo after the Second World War. Wikipedia states that he began Okinawan karate with his uncle at the age of eleven.
Training and teachers
From 1959 to 1961 he served in the US Army as a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, where according to the US Department of Veterans Affairs he trained under Sergeant Major Henry Slomanski. He began American kenpo with Ed Parker and according to Wikipedia received a 1st dan from him. The official Inosanto website lists him as a student of the escrima master Leo Giron.
He bought books on aikido by Kenji Tomiki and Koichi Tohei around 1963 and 1964, and he began practising aikido himself in the late nineteen-seventies with Haruo Matsuoka, mainly for the sake of the falls. He began Brazilian jiu-jitsu at 59 and according to Wikipedia Jean Jacques Machado awarded him a 5th degree.
Contribution and innovations
According to Wikipedia, Bruce Lee appointed him, together with Taky Kimura and James Yimm Lee, to teach at the Jun Fan Gung Fu institute. According to Black Belt magazine, he introduced Lee to the Filipino martial arts and nunchaku. In 1975 he produced with Richard Bustillo and Jerry Poteet an overview of Jeet Kune Do techniques and made a film about attacks, trapping and the short stick.
From 1964 to 1975 he taught physical education, according to Wikipedia, at the Malaga Cove school in Palos Verdes Estates. In 1977 the American football team Dallas Cowboys commissioned him to incorporate martial arts into its training. He wrote The Filipino Martial Arts (1980), A Guide to Martial Arts Training With Equipment (1980) and Absorb What Is Useful (1982), with the years given by the library catalogue.
Philosophy and principles
In an interview with Aikido Journal on 21 April 2021 he said that martial arts are for him mainly about bringing people together, and he advised being kind, polite and respectful and avoiding negative people. He holds the view that all the arts should be studied, because each specialises in something different.
Legends and documented facts
Wikipedia states that his uncle taught him Okinawan karate at the age of eleven, while Inosanto himself in a 2021 interview speaks of Combat Judo, which his uncle taught him after the war. Only club websites name him as the author of the Maphilindo Silat system, and we have not found this in a better source.
His book Jeet Kune Do: The Art and Philosophy of Bruce Lee appears in the library catalogue with an edition from 1994, and we have not verified the year of the first edition. The magazine gives the year in which Black Belt named him Man of the Year as 1996, while some club websites give 1988, when he was in fact named Weapons Instructor of the Year.
Legacy
In 1973 he carried the coffin of Bruce Lee together with Robert Lee, James Coburn and Steve McQueen, and after the death of Lee he became, according to Wikipedia, the main spokesman and historian of Jeet Kune Do. Black Belt magazine inducted him into its Hall of Fame four times: in 1977 for special achievement, in 1983 as Instructor of the Year, in 1988 as Weapons Instructor of the Year and in 1996 as Man of the Year. He appeared on the cover of the magazine eight times.
The Inosanto Academy of Martial Arts in Marina del Rey teaches Jeet Kune Do, the Filipino martial arts, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay thai and silat. On 27 October 2010 he appeared at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington. According to Wikipedia his students included Brandon Lee, Erik Paulson, Jeff Imada and his daughter Diana Lee Inosanto.
Teachers, students and family
Associated Martial Arts
A designation used by schools around Dan Inosanto for their selection of silat. We have not found a separate traditional style.
Jeet Kune DoMaster→A system that Bruce Lee named in 1967. It grew out of Wing Chun, added fencing and boxing, and rejected prearranged forms. Today it is taught by the Original JKD and JKD Concepts lineages.
Weapons
Organisations
- Inosanto Academy of Martial ArtsChief instructor
Ranks and titles
- 1st danKenpo Karate
Achievements and honours
- Black Belt Magazine – Man of the YearHall of Fame · 1996
Quotes
For me, martial arts is really about bringing people together.
I think all the arts should be studied.
Filmography
A screen role does not mean the person actually practises the art — that is listed above.