The transcript below is from the video “He taught Bruce Lee how to use a nunchaku in battle (Dan Inosanto)” by OLD COMBAT CINEMA.
OLD COMBAT CINEMA:
Hi friends. Dan Inosanto was born on July 24, 1936 in the California town of Stockton. The biography of an American with Filipino roots is distinguished by many interesting moments, most of which are associated with martial arts. As a child, Dan was seriously fond of football. In his youth, he was the captain of the football team. Short-distance running was also easy for the guy. While studying in Washington, he won prizes more than once. After graduating from college, Dan teaches physical education at a regular school.
OLD COMBAT CINEMA:
It was from this time that his passion for oriental martial arts began. It all started with judo. Dan successfully trained with Duke Yoshimura for 2 years. Then the young man decided to join the army and ended up in the air division, where he became a parachutist. In the army, Dan practiced various styles of karate, the most favorite of which was kempo. He retired from the military in 1961 and came to Los Angeles in search of a karate instructor. The guy was lucky, he met the legend of American karate Ed Parker. Under his leadership, Dan received a black belt a few years later.
OLD COMBAT CINEMA:
It was Parker who introduced Inosanto to Filipino military techniques, in particular to stick fighting. In 1964, Parker organized an international karate championship. Dan was assigned to accompany an important guest, Bruce Lee. So their acquaintance took place, which later grew into a strong friendship. Inosanto witnessed how Bruce tried to introduce a system of integrated training into combat exercises. In the 60s, it seemed strange and unnecessary to anyone. The development of Jeet Kune Do as an individual combat system became possible in many respects thanks to like-minded people, among whom Den Inosanto is one of the first.
OLD COMBAT CINEMA:
He helped Bruce with organizational issues and training processes. Thanks to his knowledge of many martial arts, Dan was able to introduce many individual elements into the Jeet Kune Do system. Inosanto was the only student of Bruce who was allowed to study up to the third level. Dan owns his own martial arts academy. It is located in California. The Master shares his knowledge of the philosophy of combat training with his students. The institution provides training in Jeet Kune-do, Filipino martial arts and other types of martial arts.
OLD COMBAT CINEMA:
Inosanto is convinced that in order to defend a fighter must be multidisciplinary, that is, he must be able to fight on the ground, repel blows and wield a weapon. In addition to being an instructor, Dan managed to star in several films. Some of these films are Game of Death, Big Trouble in Little China, In the Name of Justice and The Red Belt. Master Dan bases his own fighting philosophy on principles founded by Bruce.
OLD COMBAT CINEMA:
The main concept encourages people to think and make decisions for themselves, while taking sufficient time to unleash their true potential. Dan Inosanto’s vast experience in martial arts has allowed him to be considered the greatest master in this field. Bruce could be proud of such a student and like-minded person. We like and subscribe to the channel so as not to miss the next video.
Dan Inosanto:
“Bruce told me that you want to research, you want to experiment, then you want to develop something for you, and finally you have to develop something that will work for the majority of your students, because what works for one individual may not work for another individual.”
Dan Inosanto:
“At the time, he thought [it] was a worthless piece of junk, in three months, he was swinging it like he’d been doing it for a lifetime.”
Dan Inosanto:
“I trained further with the Wing Chun people because I really wanted to see how Wing Chun was taught. So I trained. I have nine Wing Chun teachers, James Lee makes eight and Bruce Lee makes nine. He was young, talented, wise for his age. The Bruce Lee at that time period, he might be a little bit on the cocky side at that time period but he was definitely well-schooled and knowledge beyond his years.”
Dan Inosanto:
“He had a high respect for Yip Man but I was told because he wasn’t pure Chinese, that sometimes he didn’t want to teach Bruce Lee in front of students. So he assigned William Cheung and Wong Shun Leung to teach him. Then as time went on, when he came to the United States, he started to evolve on his own but he had a high respect for Yip Man. There was, definitely could see a love there.”
Dan Inosanto:
“He developed a system what he calls “Chi Sao without touching.” He started to put what worked for him and that became the structure of his personal Jeet Kune Do but Wing Chun is still the core. You still start with it and I think it’s knowing when that material is applicable and when it’s not but definitely, it should be taught. That should be part of the education. The sensitivity you see from Chi Sao, the trapping I think is very good, and the short-range punching definitely should be taught.”
