Training with Dan Inosanto

PFS Probe, Summer 1994, Vol. 1, No. 8, p. 24, by Makoto Kabayama

I first met Guro Dan Inosanto in 1984 at the CMMA Summer Camp in St. Louis, Missouri. It has been ten years since that first encounter and this man still continues to impress and amaze me.

I could talk about his extraordinary physical ability - the way he moves, effortlessly, with such grace and flow. I could describe his encyclopedia knowledge of martial arts. My seminar certificates read like a what's what of martial arts: Kali, Escrima, Penjak Silat, Kuntaw, Muay Thai, Shooto, of course Jeet Kune Do Concepts/Jun Fan martial Arts, and most recently Maphilindo Silat. Then there is his willingness to spread all the wonderful gifts of wisdom he has learned from such legendary instructors as the late Bruce Lee, or the late John LaCoste, and others. But it is as a unique personality that Guro Dan really shines through. He is the quintessential martial artist. The way he relates to people, strangers and friends with such patience, humility, and honesty. His perseverance and determination to carry on, always growing, learning, and evolving; and of course his generosity, giving so much to so many.

What's my most memorable moment? Well, there was the time I knocked out my brother with an elbow to the ulna nerve at one of his seminars in Lansing, Michigan. It could be the first time Guro Dan referred to me by name (he noticed me)! But I think the single most important occasion was a brief conversation he had during a question and answer session at the end of a seminar. A participant asked Guro Dan, "How do you feel about people attending your seminars, stealing your material and teaching it themselves?"

"We have a different name for that", replied Guro Dan, "We call it 'sharing'".




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