Guro Dan Inosanto - After Four Decades, Larry Hartsell’s Longevity Continues to Grow and be Enhanced with His Mentor and Instructor, Guro Dan Inosanto.Sifu Larry Hartsell/Senior Full Instructor – Lineage: Guro Dan Inosanto (1960 – Present) Learn to stop him before he stops you! A venture into Jeet Kune Do, grappling and open-mindedness – Jeet Kune Do through experimentation – The root of Jeet Kune Do lies in its emphasis on constant change- Sifu Larry Hartsell

Larry Hartsell is considered to be among the premier Jeet Kune Do fighters in the world. Larry began his martial arts training by studying Judo in North Carolina from 1957 – 1960. He then moved to California, and for the next four decades, studied exclusively with his mentor and personal friend, Guro Dan Inosanto.

During the 1960’s, Guro Dan Inosanto introduced Hartsell to the famed Edmond Parker, Sr., and began his studies in Kenpo Karate. Shortly after receiving his black belt in Kenpo, he went into the army and served in Vietnam from 1966 – 1967. After his discharge, Hartsell returned to California, at which time, Guro Dan Inosanto introduced him to Si Gung Bruce Lee.

Hartsell is an original student and member of the Los Angeles Chinatown Group founded by Si Gung Bruce Lee, for which Guro Dan Inosanto was the head instructor. Hartsell was also accepted as a private student of Bruce Lee’s, and trained privately at his home in Bel Air, California.Larry Hartsell’s background and knowledge is not merely speculative. Over the past 40 years, he served in the following capacities: as military policeman in the jungles of Vietnam; on glamorous movie sets as a bodyguard to celebrities and the august halls of justice.

Hartsell states, “The experiences I’ve had in dealing with resisting criminals, crazies or drunks have only reinforced in me a gratitude for my instructors, initially Bruce Lee and Dan Inosanto, who encouraged me to specialize in grappling techniques.”As a long time practitioner of the martial arts – most notably Jeet Kune Do – Hartsell was one of the first in the United States to embrace and train in Shoot Wrestling when it was introduced at the Inosanto Academy. Hartsell has always been open-minded and eager to learn.

Guro Dan states, “Larry has often joined me in training and researching systems, such as Indonesian Pencak Silat, Thai Boxing, and the Filipino Martial Arts. Over the years, Larry modified his fighting structure and geared his training more toward the arts of grappling and submission. Combining his knowledge in the arts of grappling and submission with his skill in the trapping and striking arts, Larry has taken his art to a new dimension. Guro Dan states, “Larry is one of the few martial artists who has always been open-minded and known the benefits of cross-training. Knowing the importance roll-conditioning and physical fitness play in the complex game of survival in the martial arts, Larry incorporates the proven methods of the past alongside the cutting edge techniques of the future.”Larry Hartsell is the Founder/Chief Instructor of the Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do Grappling Association (www.jkdassoc.com) and conducts seminars world wide. When not on the road travelling, he accepts a of private students, and is a Full Senior Instructor at the Inosanto Academy of Martial Arts.

 

 Reject what is useless

 

-  Research your own experience

-  Add what is specifically your own

--  "Bruce Lee"

                                                              

LARRY HARTSELL took these words to heart when he began training with Bruce Lee in 1967, and the grappling skills and techniques that are at the core of the Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do Grappling Association are the by-product of this philosophy. Hartsell came into Bruce Lee's school as a man with a black belt in Judo and over 10 years of experience in grappling as well as a strong foundation in the striking arts that began in 1961 with his training in Kenpo Karate under Edmond Parker, Sr. Shortly after receiving his black belt rank from Parker. Hartsell spent time in the Army including combat in Vietnam, where he served with the elite military police.

Hartsell, already an accomplished Judo man, Larry enjoyed sparring with soldiers from the elite South Korean ROK division stationed nearby. Upon his return to this country he enrolled in Bruce Lee's Chinatown school in Los Angeles. It was at this school that Hartsell began his thirty five years of training under Guro Dan Inosanto, which he continues to this day. Hartsell's training under Bruce Lee continued with Private instruction at Bruce Lee's home in Bel Air, California. It is well known to the students of Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do that Bruce Lee broke combat down into the four ranges of Kicking, Boxing, Trapping and Grappling. The serious students of Jeet Kune Do are also aware that the development of the grappling range techniques in this system were assigned to Larry Hartsell. At the time of Bruce Lee's untimely death there were only 33 formal techniques in the grappling range. As the final and closest range there was much research to do in this range and Hartsell has continued his research into this area with various discrete techniques that now form the core of Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do Grappling.

Larry Hartsell's skill in hand-to-hand combat, his weapons training and his development of techniques in the grappling range led to a wide and varied range of professional experiences. With his training under Bruce Lee, his degree in criminology, his ten years of law enforcement experience, and his training under Dan Inosanto. Hartsell has been in wide demand as a professional bodyguard for celebrities like Mr. T of the A-Team fame, and as a trainer for both the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers. In addition to this he has taught classes at his own schools as well as at the Inosanto Academy, and has offered self defense and combat courses for the elite Navy Seals and police officers through various colleges, agencies and elite law enforcement training programs.

Hartsell has authorized several books on the subject of Jeet Kune Do Grappling. "Entering to Trapping To Grappling and Takedowns, Counters, and Reversals."  In addition he has seven internationally distribute videotapes on the grappling and combative arts. These books, videotapes and his skill in the grappling arts have resulted in Hartsell being listed in the "Who's Who in Martial Arts" and cover shots with numerous feature articles in Inside Kung Fu, Black Belt, Martial Arts Training, Inside Karate, Australian Fighting Arts, and many others. Hartsell is the man Dan Inosanto described as "One of the premier Jeet Kune Do fighters of our time."

Currently Hartsell has focused his efforts on the development of the Jeet Kune Do Grappling Association. With the tremendous rise in the popularity of the grappling arts it has become paramount to Hartsell to demonstrate to martial artists the fact that Jeet Kune Do has had a strong emphasis on the grappling range. Hartsell over the past thirty years has produced an extensive development of the grappling arts. The Jeet Kune Do Grappling Association currently has 22 United States and 17 International Representatives Worldwide. Hartsell continues to offer seminars through his members schools as well as through five international tours yearly. Additionally, he offers private intensive training programs to a number of students Worldwide in Marina del Rey, California.

 

"Si Gung Bruce was tremendously powerful, possessing a fifteen inch forearm and was always ready to beat me at Wrist Wrestling. Bruce taught me a lot about "Going with the Flow," and that because not everyone is built the same or fights the same, you must research your own experience. I recognize the value of Bruce’s approach  to martial arts and its application to personal growth and for these reasons I became his student and friend."-- Sifu Larry Hartsell

www.jkdassoc.com