Photo By Sgt. Robert McIntosh | Former U.S. Army paratrooper and martial arts grandmaster Dan Inosanto gives a lecture...... read more read more
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Marina Del Rey, CA -- Dan Inosanto, a former U.S. Army Paratrooper and martial arts grandmaster, has trained service members for many years across all branches from his school in Marina Del Rey, California.
The Inosanto Academy of Martial Arts has taught veterans who have served in the most elite groups in the United States military.
“My students are all over and they’ve probably taken the art way beyond I’ve taken it,” Inosanto said. “They’ve been in Seals, they’ve been in Delta team, they’ve been in the Special Forces.”
Retired service members, United States Air Force Senior Master Sergeant Norris Domangue and First Sergeant Juan Perez, began learning under “Guro” Inosanto while they were still serving in the military.
“The highly efficient and practical skill sets in Filipino and Indonesian martial arts that he and his wife Paula would teach at instructor’s camps and seminars allowed me to teach multiple times at the John F Kennedy Special Warfare Center Ft. Bragg as well as other units,” Domangue said. This, written up in my performance reports, actually helped me get promoted.”
“How to apply it in a more functional sense compared to what we were doing at that time training under Guro Dan Inosanto help me research an experiment with what would be more functional in the military,” Perez said. “I was the NCOIC of combatives at C Co. 4TH Ranger Training Battalion.”
Dan Inosanto was a student, teacher and best friend of the late Bruce Lee. Senior Master Sgt. Domangue and 1st Sgt. Perez remember the lessons Inosanto passed on to them from Lee.
“To keep it simple, always trying to improve yourself,” Perez said. “Always looking at everything with an open mind and adapt. He never pushed us to teach the way he teaches,
everyone's gonna favor what works best for them, and as an instructor you should always encourage your students to research their own experiences and do what works best for them.”
“As you know, nobody was closer to or trained more with Bruce Lee than Dan Inosanto,” Domangue said. “For me, the over-arching one is to use and absorb anything useful and not worry too much about style or labels. For example, you might flow without thinking from hubud (Filipino close quarter hand techniques) to a boxing uppercut and as the opponent is stumbling backwards a high Tae Kwon Do round house kick to the head might flash out.”
Due to his experiences as a Paratrooper, Inosanto’s students see his teachings as a great benefit to all branches of the military.
“He doesn't just look at it as a martial artist, but as a veteran paratrooper,” Perez said. “He understands the difference between, Sport and real-world situation.”
“His teachings have been improving military combat skills through his students for decades,” Domangue said. “Some details would probably fall under classified information but some of his top instructors are SEAL Team 6 members, US Marshalls (John Hackman) etc. and they are not idle.”
Senior Master Sgt. Domangue and 1st Sgt. Perez recognize Guro Inosanto’s impact not only on their lives, but that of all his students both in and out of the military.
“The greatest martial arts honor I have had and one of my greatest in life was to be accepted as a student and Instructor by the Inosantos,” Domangue said. “A lot of people are unaware that you have to be recommended by a direct Instructor and then observed before possible acceptance. I also want to stress that the International Inosanto Instructor’s Assoc. is about giving and sharing other than postage/admin there is NO money or fees involved, none.”
“Guru Dan is one of the most humble people I've ever met, the knowledge that he has, and how much he loves to share his knowledge it's something that cannot be described,” Perez said. “He is a man that has changed martial arts in Hollywood, law enforcement and the military. He's my mentor and my instructor and I will do my best to share the knowledge he has given me.”
| Date Taken: | 05.21.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 05.30.2023 23:59 |
| Story ID: | 445821 |
| Location: | MARINA DEL REY, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 863 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Former 101st Airborne Division Paratrooper Dan Inosanto, by SGT Robert McIntosh, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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