Inosanto is credited for training martial arts to a number of Hollywood actors including Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris and others. He has had minor roles in a number of films, including Lee's uncompleted last film Game of Death (1972), and Steven Seagal's Out for Justice (1991).
Early life and education
Dan Inosanto began training in martial arts at the age of 11 receiving instruction from his uncle who first taught him traditional Okinawan Karate and later also Judo and Jujutsu. He was a student of Ed Parker, from whom he received a shodan rank in American Kenpo.[1] Dan served as a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division from 1959 to 1961. He was also a member of the Strategic Army Corps. At Fort Campbell he refined his skills in various martial arts, training under Henry Slomanski.[2]
Inosanto is one of three people who have been appointed to teach at one of the three Jun Fan Gung Fu Institutes under Bruce Lee; Taky Kimura and James Yimm Lee are the other two people. Inosanto studied with different martial arts masters elsewhere in the United States, Southeast Asia, and Europe, including Johnny Lacoste and Chai Sirisute.[3] After Bruce Lee's death, Inosanto became the principal spokesperson and historian for Jeet Kune Do.[4] He has had minor roles in a number of films, including Bruce Lee's uncompleted last film Game of Death (1972). During this time period (1964–75), he also taught physical education at Malaga Cove Intermediate School in Palos Verdes Estates, California. Dan was commissioned in 1977 by the Dallas Cowboys to incorporate martial arts into the team’s training.
The film I Am Bruce Lee provided Inosanto an opportunity to reveal a little-known fact about the friendship the two men shared. Inosanto was teacher to Bruce Lee, introducing him to nunchaku. Inosanto explained that he introduced the weapon to Lee, taught him the basics and some exercises to get him started on his weapons training. The Game of Death movie, one of the most recognizable of the Bruce Lee films, showcases the use of the nunchaku by Lee and Inosanto. He is featured as the Black Belt magazine's 1996 "Man of the Year".
Inosanto holds Instructor or black belt level ranks in several martial arts.[5] He is known for promoting the Filipino Martial Arts. He is responsible for bringing several obscure forms of the South East Asia Martial Arts into the public eye such as Silat, a hybrid combative form existing in such countries as Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.[citation needed] He has also been promoted to fifth degree black belt in the Machado family style of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.[6] He trained Shoot wrestling under Yorinaga Nakamura. Currently he is the vice-president of Lameco International, carrying on the Eskrima of the late Filipino martial artist Edgar Sulite. Inosanto has appeared on YouTube videos talking about training in Systema and appreciation for his teacher, Martin Wheeler.[7]
^Uyehara, M. Bruce Lee: The Incomparable Fighter. Black Belt Communications. p. 55. It was Inosanto who taught Bruce the use of the nunchaku and the staff in his movies.
