Dan Inosanto

Dan Inosanto (born July 24, 1936) is an American martial arts instructor. Inosanto is an authority on Jeet Kune Do, Filipino Martial Arts, and Pencak Silat. Inosanto is credited for training martial arts to a number of Hollywood actors including Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris and others. 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. 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. 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. After Bruce Lee's death, Inosanto became the principal spokesperson and historian for Jeet Kune Do. 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.