I was browsing the 'net looking up FMA stuff (Been thinking of trying this to compliment my Wing Chun) and I found out that a Full Instructor under Guro Inosanto lives and teaches about 2 miles from me. I kinda want to try it out, my questions to those of you who know more than me are? 1) Do you know of the guro (is that the right term) in question Terry Barnett? 2) Would it be something worth me pursuing now (Been doing WC for a short period - 2 months), or should I wait till I'm much more comfortable with ma in general (Basically will doing both now screw me up)? 3) In your opinion do these arts compliment each other well? Thanks for your time, and answers in advance.
I think Bruce Lee learned WC from someone else, not Dan Inosanto. There are a lot of FMA styles and asking about one specific teacher of a particular style can be a problem coz of the various organizations and affiliations. One good place to start is the FMA Database It's a great resource but may not be complete. See if someone here knows anything or try google. I don't know much about WC so I can't say if it will be compatible with FMA. Studying FMA does not require a prerequisite style or skill. In fact, it may even be an advantage to not know any previous style since this means you will have less of a problem trying to learn new movements and skills to ad to previously ingrained responses. Starting out in FMA was a newbie MA student would therefore be ideal.
Bruce Lee's Trainer is dead, that's all I know. And when bruce looks 20, his master looks about 800, so he has to be dead by now.
not when he was training wing chun, in america he met dan inosanto who practices eskrima, he trained with bruce lee in the jeet kune do stages
Ok, 1. Bruce trained in Wing Chun under Sifu Yip Mann in Hong Kong. 2. From his own personal account, Dan Inasanto was a Kenpo man (or was it Kempo... I forget)when he met and began to train with Bruce. Bruce in turn encouraged him to get to know more about the Filipino Martial Arts (Dan's of Filipino descent). Up until that time Dan had not been interested in them as everyone was doing Karate (plus his real interests were baseball and football). It was after this that Dan became heavily immersed in the Filipino arts. He also became the defacto head of the JKD Concepts "family" after Bruce's death. 3. Any current Wing Chun in the JKD Concepts/Inasanto Academy family comes from Sifu Francis Fong (whose lineage is currently escaping me). Ok... not that we've got that taken care of... The Kali you'd be learning in called Inasanto blend. It's based off of the Lacoste system, but has other aspects built into it. The plus side of it is that it's geared to be taught in a complimentary fashion to Jun Fan Kung Fu (Bruce's System, sometimes referred to as Jeet Kun Do but there is a subtle difference between the two). Jun Fan in turn draws heavily on Wing Chun. So you'll be learning a Kali system that is complimentary to Wing Chun. Which is good for you. The downside (if you are a Kali purist) is that Inasanto blend instructors sometimes deemphasize bladed combat skills and mindset. I've taken Inasanto blend and have personally encountered that. Personally, my recommendation is to go for it, provided that you have the time to dedicate to learning two arts. If you're only going to be able to practice Kali for an hour or two a week, you might be better served to concetrate on Wing Chun for the next year and then branch out. Remember, right now your learning the ABC's of the martial arts. Don't rush. Learn the basic alphabet and how to "form words", once you have that down training in a second art should come much easier. If you can dedicate the time, then you should go out a try a class to see if you like it. Hope this helps, - Matt
Thanks Mr. Bernius and others, I do have a lot of free time on my hands right now and would like to try something like Kali eventually, it was just finding someone who seems to have very good credentials living right on my doorstep. Just to clear things up I'm not looking to learn WC from this teacher, I'm thinking of learning the Fillipino arts, thats why this post is here. I'm also glad to hear that the Kali will be complimentary to Wing Chun. A look on Mr. Barnetts site (www.integratedarts.co.uk) gives a good listing of the different arts he teaches. I'm mostly interested in the FMA section, but also the CSW would be of interest to learn later. But I am concerned about rushing myself and going too fast.
Noob, Please call me Matt. I definitely think that the Kali you learn at Mr. Barnett's school would be complimentary to your Wing Chun (though beware there are always points where the philosophies & techniques of even the closest arts diverge). Mr Barnett is definitely a product of the Inasanto System and an excellent place for you to start. You will find that while he does not teach Wing Chun he will understand a lot about it (as mentioned before it's a root art of Jun Fan). Since you have the time to dedicate to it, I think it you should definitely go down and watch/take a class. Even if you decide that you need to concentrate a bit more on Wing Chun before you begin lessons you'll have a better understanding of Kali and whether or not its for you! - Matt
Thanks Matt, Like I said I am aware that there will be differences and I'm not looking to ignore Wing Chun (I love studying and enjoy myself) but would also like to branch out and study Kali and it's just having the guy so close. I'm going to send Mr. Barnett an email to see his thoughts on this and see what happens from there. Thanks again.
Hi Noob, Never trained with Terry, but all accounts say - train with the man - especially if he teaches only a couple of miles away. I believe he is one of the original group who started training in JKD and the FMA under Dan Inosanto in the mid-70's, so he knows his stuff. Bill
I've trained with Terry Barnett and I would again if given half a chance. EXCELLENT both as a martial artist and a teacher.
Yoda, thats more than a good enough reccomendation for me. I sent him an email asking basically the same questions (except for who are you) and hey he's living on my doorstep so why not take advantage of the situation. I am very eagerly awaiting his reply.
