Yesterday was a glorious day. I got a chance to spend eight (8) hours
with Manong Dan Inosanto and Manong Romy Macapagal.
I was in heaven!
I did not know that both of the gentlemen knew so much about history.
For hours, they talked about the history of the Philippines, the history
of China, the history of Japan, the history of Indonesia, and the history
of Persia. I sat there and listened intently. Wow! What an experience
that was.
I assisted Manong Romy in demonstrating Original Kalis Ilustrisimo to
Manong Dan.
I was also very fortunate to share some of my own training methods in
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu with Manong Dan.
During the eight (8) hours we spent together, I got a chance to listen to
two very talented individuals share their knowledge with each other. I
also got a chance to observe the selfless giving from one human being
to another! Manong Dan and Romy are phenomenal examples in my
book.
Manong Dan gave us a tour of his new facility, took us to lunch and
dinner, talked with us, shared personal stories with us and even trained
with us.
This was my first chance to get to know the man, and I must say that I
am impressed! He was not only gracious and kind, he was actually
VERY FUNNY! The things he has witnessed and experienced in life
really should be put in a book. I really look forward to spending more
time with him!
If any of you have the chance to train with Manong Dan, you owe it to
yourself to listen to his experience and wisdom!
I recently read a book where Dan Inosanto made a very profound and interesting point.
I was so moved by what he said that I wrote it down so that I would remember it. What he said may not be that big of a deal to some BUT I think if one were to really think about it, it will have some effect on how they train and how they view their instructor/training partners.
Dan Inosanto made the statement in a book written by Joe Lewis. It was essentially about their experience with Bruce Lee.
Dan Inosanto, in a section of the book devoted to his personal experiences with Bruce Lee, said that over the years he (Dan) has trained with 30 or so Kali masters. He stated these masters were very very good. He said their skills and abilities were top of the line. He said for years he believed that if you train with the best that some how their skills, abilities, quickness, talents etc would rub off onto him and that he would be able to do what they could do. He find out that this mindset and thinking was a big mistake. He said when you train with and train under someone particularly if they are good, you don't get their skills, abilities, talents, quickness, speed, experience etc. Those things aren't transferable. Those instructors and training partners couldn't give you those thing even if they wanted to. They can't make you be like they are. The only thing they can give you and the only thing you really get is their training methods. You get how they understand and view things, how they explain and teach what they know.
That is very cool, Mr. Harris. I have always heard great things about Manong Dan through the years. He is on the top of Martial Artists I would like to meet someday.
On a etymological note what does Manong mean and what language is it from?
"Manong" originally comes from the spanish word "hermano" (brother). IIRC, in the Ilocano dialect, manong means older brother, and is an expression of both affection and respect. "Mang" is a shortened version of manong.