Paul Vunak says he can't touch Dan Inosanto

**tubemode12** · Posted On: 10/29/2008 9:59pm

The guy was born and raised in California.

Srsly??? O___o

Still, he's bringing the art of his country to a foreign land, it would have been better if he returned to the Philippines.

I mean, for ****'s sake, TKD is more popular here than Eskrima or Kali, WTH does that say.

**DdlR** · Posted On: 10/29/2008 10:16pm

Better funding.

**Meex** · Posted On: 10/29/2008 11:27pm

Originally Posted by tubemode12

Srsly??? O___o

Still, he's bringing the art of his country to a foreign land, it would have been better if he returned to the Philippines.

I mean, for ****'s sake, TKD is more popular here than Eskrima or Kali, WTH does that say.

Didn't most of the top level PI instructors move to Cali in the 60s?

**Permalost** · Posted On: 10/29/2008 11:42pm

There's a great DVD by the Dog Brothers called Grandfathers Speak that talks about how the Filipino arts came from the Phillipines to the US. Good interviews with guys like Leo Giron.

By the way, not everyone likes Dan Inosanto. The Dog Brothers Kali Tudo DVDs were made because there were questions of why you don't see kali in the cage, but in an interview Marc Denny admits that part of it was addressing criticism of Dan Inosanto by a former student who thinks the FMA he teaches is a bunch of unworkable dead patterns (sounds kinda like Matt Thornton), and Marc wanted to show a different perspective (Marc Denny is also a student of Dan Inosanto).

Originally Posted by Meex

Didn't most of the top level PI instructors move to Cali in the 60s?

Kalifornia love.

**feedback** · Posted On: 10/29/2008 11:44pm

Sorry, your country doesn't "own" any martial art just like no country "owns" it's language.

**Lampa** · Posted On: 10/29/2008 11:50pm

There are a lot of reasons why no one ever beats their teacher. Even if you get the physical ability and get passed the psychological barrier of him consistently proving he's more capable than you in the beginning, he still knows your entire game inside and out. It's like fighting your big brother.

**Permalost** · Posted On: 10/29/2008 11:53pm

Originally Posted by tubemode12

Srsly??? O___o

Still, he's bringing the art of his country to a foreign land, it would have been better if he returned to the Philippines.

I mean, for ****'s sake, TKD is more popular here than Eskrima or Kali, WTH does that say.

Like all cultural phenomena, its more complex than that. Do you think the PI would change just because a guy in his 70s started teaching there? Probably not. Interesting thing about the TKD thing- sikaran looks a lot like TKD.

**akuma25** · Posted On: 10/30/2008 12:03am

Originally Posted by han090

there's other elements at play here too. Lots of people have trouble beating them teachers.

Plus, even if the teacher and the student have the exact same level of knowledge, the teacher will always have more experience, because they started sooner.

the second most satisfying thing in my life was being able to throw my greco roman wrestling instructor and beating him in a match. he taught me what i think was everything he knew and with constant training and puking i was able to beat him in the several matches that i was able to wrestle with him in practice. my problem always was think did this guy really teach me everything or was he just showing me that with practice i could beat anyone or did he take it easy on me and not show me everything he knew? damn those teachers!!!

btw, my first most satisfying thing was getting laid....at the age of 13....to a hooker....yeah..

**jkdbuck76** · Posted On: 10/30/2008 5:02am

Paul highly regards Dan. My instructor is a Vunak Full Instructor. Paul said something like "you represent Bruce Lee and Dan Inosanto so train hard and represent well."

I've never been to a Dan seminar, so I can't tell you what it is like. I can admire a guy who late in life can train hard and get a black belt in BJJ. If anything, that should encourage us to eat right, train hard and keep learning even when we get old.

As for kali.... I don't understand the need to teach all kinds of patterns and flow drills and whatnot. I mean, I saw some Dog Brothers stick sparring and it looks pretty much like the sparring we did in Jkd with the exception of the level of protective equipment.

Akuma, you dunked the noodle at 13? Wow! I'm impressed!

**Kambei Shimada** · Posted On: 10/30/2008 5:20am

I went to an Insanto Seminar at the Bob Breen Academy in London about 2 years ago.

I was pretty impressed at the time, he seemed like a nice guy also.

(my only problem with those JKD instructors now is the're still maintaining the whole 'our art is more 'Deadly' than any 'sport fighting' attitude. Also all the Insanto affiliated schools seem to be VERY expensive)