Guro John Daniels
Guro John Bruce Daniels is a highly experienced martial artist and instructor based in The Dalles, Oregon, known for his expertise in Filipino Martial Arts (FMA), Jeet Kune Do (JKD), and other combative systems. Here’s a concise overview based on available information:
Background and Training
- Martial Arts Experience: Daniels has over 20 years of experience in martial arts, with a focus on Filipino Martial Arts, Arnis, and Jeet Kune Do. He holds a 7th Dan in Arnis and Arjuken Karate under Grandmaster Roberto Presas and is a full instructor in Daga say Daga.
- Key Instructors: His training lineage includes prominent figures like:
- Dan Inosanto: Certified Daniels as an instructor in Filipino Martial Arts and a 6th-year associate instructor in Lee Jun Fan Gung Fu (JKD).
- Marty Martinez: Awarded Daniels a first-degree black belt in Martinez Karate/Kendo upon high school graduation.
- Leonard Trigg: Introduced Daniels to Filipino Martial Arts, training him for 8 years and exposing him to masters like Ted Lucay Lucay and Ernesto and Roberto Presas.
- Fabio Santos: Taught Daniels Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) since 1993.
- Cliff Lenderman: Introduced Daniels to Dan Inosanto in 1986, emphasizing sparring to develop skills.
- Dan Inosanto: Certified Daniels as an instructor in Filipino Martial Arts and a 6th-year associate instructor in Lee Jun Fan Gung Fu (JKD).
- Other Disciplines: Daniels has trained in amateur boxing (12-3 record), knife fighting, Jujitsu, fencing, Thai Boxing, Pentjak Silat, and Kendo, enriching his combative arts knowledge.
Teaching and Philosophy
- Daniels Combative Arts: Runs a school in The Dalles, Oregon, teaching Kali/Eskrima, Jun Fan Gung Fu, Mano de Mano, Thai Boxing, Pentjak Silat, and Kendo. His mission, influenced by his teachers, is to preserve and spread martial arts for self-defense, not aggression, focusing on protecting family and community against malicious intent.
- Crowfoot Martial Arts: Daniels operates this academy, emphasizing practical self-defense techniques.
- International Reach: He has taught in Germany and continues to spread martial arts globally.
Professional Experience
- Trauma Center Work: Daniels worked in the trauma center at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), where he witnessed the devastating effects of improvised weapons (e.g., hammers, crowbars, knives). This experience informs his teaching of “weapons of opportunity” for self-defense.
- Instructor Roles: Served as a staff instructor at Straight Blast Gym for two years and currently at Dacascos Kung Fu Academy.
Publications
- Crowfoot Jeet Kune Do: Tools of Destruction (co-authored with Sifu Richard Whittle): This book combines Daniels’ trauma center experiences with practical self-defense techniques using everyday objects. It includes ER anecdotes and FMA-based methods, though some reviews note the techniques may lack real-world testing and suggest classes over the book for learning. The book is praised for its gritty realism but is not recommended for children due to its violent content.
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The Dalles, Oregon, USA
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Contact and Online Presence
- Website: danielscombativearts.com, where he and his son, Tommy Daniels, manage inquiries.
- Email: crowfootjkd@gmail.com (John Daniels); tommy@danielscombativearts.com (Tommy Daniels).
- Social Media: Active on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
THE CHALLENGE IS NOT A SONG AND DANCE: Trespass, Deterrent, and the Hour We Went Rogue
A challenge is a line drawn across a behavior that has already cost something. It names the cost. It withdraws ease. It puts weight back on the person who spent what was not theirs to spend. If the line does not sting, it is not a challenge. It is a suggestion. Suggestions do not deter trespass. They decorate it.
THE FIRST BIRD: A Lesson in Cadence, Agency, and Leadership Before the Light Arrives
Right before the sun rises you will often hear the first lonely bird start to chirp for a solid thirty minutes before anyone else wakes up. A lonely melody in the darkness, only to be received when the light arrives. As if that lonely chirp summoned it.
FLESH INTO IRON, WILL INTO WEATHERED STONE: The Fight Between Ego and Desire and Service and Stewardship
Look at the floor of any school long enough and you will see two arts being practiced in the same hour.
One art is advertised. Stance. Form. Contact. Breath. The body learning to arrive where the mind sent it.
The other art is older and less photographed. It is the argument running under the technique, the argument between the part of a person that wants to be seen and the part of a person that is willing to be used. Ego and desire on one side of the line. Service and stewardship on the other.
IF WE ARE NOT OPEN TO PARTNERSHIPS, WE REMAIN CLOSED TO POSSIBILITIES
A pencil is not interesting until it meets a surface. Held in the air it is only potential with a painted collar. Pressed to the page it becomes a point. Letters leave the wood. Content does not hover above the work like weather. Content is what flies off the moment two resistances agree to touch, graphite and paper, speaker and listener, a form and the eye that will not flatter it. The picture is not a celebration of words. The picture is a physics lesson. Nothing assembles until contact is allowed.
THE CADDY, THE STOOGE, AND THE FOCUSED IDIOT
Look at the photograph long enough and it stops being comedy. Three men on grass cut for people who can afford to miss. One of them is holding the bag. One of them is standing as if the course already agreed with him. One of them is mid-stride with a club and a face that has not yet decided whether this is work or play.
CHANGE AND TRUTH ARE TOUGH PILLS TO SWALLOW: How a bitter pill becomes a working supplement
Change and truth arrive the same way medicine used to arrive — not as a flavor, not as a brand, not as a story you tell at dinner. They arrive as a pill. Dry. Unadorned. Difficult to get past the throat.
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Do you offer beginners training in the dalles?
Aloha, we have an instructor there I believe..
Guru John Daniels
https://www.kajukenbo-ika.com/2024/02/11/guru-john-daniels/ here is his profile link