The Collector's Mindset: Learning from Everyone

Let me tell you about Dan Inosanto. I've never formally trained under him, but I've watched him for years, and he's taught me more about what it means to be a student than most people realize.

I first met Dan through his cousin Pas Fidel, who came up alongside me in the early days. Dan had just started exploring the Filipino arts and told Pas about this system he was discovering. That conversation pulled both Pas and me toward the Filipino systems. Changed everything for us.

But here's what struck me about Dan. It wasn't his connection to Bruce Lee, though most people focus on that. It wasn't even his technical skill. What made Dan different was simple: he never stopped learning. Ever.

The Guy Who Takes Notes

I've seen Dan at seminars over the years. While other instructors are standing around talking, comparing credentials, trying to be seen, Dan's on the floor with a notebook, taking notes from other instructors. I've witnessed this personally multiple times.

Think about that. Here's a man who trained with Bruce Lee. A man who's mastered multiple Filipino systems. Been teaching for decades. Influenced thousands of martial artists. And he's sitting there taking notes like a white belt at his first seminar.

That's a real student.

Most people, once they reach a certain level, start believing their own publicity. They stop asking questions and start making statements. They stop listening and start lecturing. Dan never fell into that trap. He understood something most martial artists miss: the moment you think you've learned enough is the moment you stop growing.

This mindset makes him dangerous in the best way. When someone with Dan's skill level stays curious, stays humble, you can't categorize them. They're constantly evolving. You can't outmaneuver them because they've already studied how you move from five different perspectives.

Knowledge Collector

Dan doesn't just study martial arts. He collects knowledge. Bruce Lee and JKD, yes. But that was just the beginning. Knife fighting from Filipino masters. Grappling from Brazilian specialists. Internal arts from Chinese teachers. History from scholars. Psychology from therapists. If there was knowledge to be had, Dan was already digging for it.

But here's what separates Dan from other martial artists who dabble in different systems: he doesn't treat knowledge like a trophy. He treats it like something alive that needs to be shared, tested, refined. Most people guard their art like it's going to disappear if they share it. Dan gives it away and somehow becomes more valuable.

I've watched this for decades. Dan will share a technique, explain a principle, demonstrate a concept without holding back. He doesn't save the "secret" parts for his inner circle. He knows that knowledge grows when it's shared.

This isn't weakness. It's strategic brilliance. When you give away what you know, people want to share what they know with you. Dan became a repository of martial arts knowledge not because he hoards information, but because he creates an environment where information flows freely.

No Style Prejudice

Most practitioners get emotionally invested in their system and start viewing other approaches as inferior. They build walls around their training and wonder why their understanding stops growing.

Dan never did this. He studied everything without prejudice and found value in every system. Chinese internal arts taught him about energy and flow. Filipino blade work taught him about range and timing. Indonesian systems taught him about close-quarters chaos. Japanese arts taught him about structure and discipline.

More importantly, he learned to see the connections between these systems rather than just the differences. While other martial artists were arguing about which style was superior, Dan was discovering the underlying principles that made all effective martial arts work.

This is what we call principled adaptation in Kosho. You don't abandon your core training, but you're not limited by it either. You maintain your foundation while staying open to new understanding.

The Gathering Spirit

This collector's mindset is exactly what we've tried to cultivate at The Gathering over the past forty-four years. When we started this event in 1981 at The Grange Hall in Orangevale, California, the martial arts world was much more divided than it is today. Different styles rarely interacted. When they did, it was often competitive rather than collaborative.

The Gathering was designed to break down those barriers. We bring together masters from different systems, different cultures, different approaches. Create an environment where they can share knowledge freely. It's not about proving which style is best. It's about learning from everyone who has something valuable to teach.

Dan embodies this spirit perfectly. When he comes to an event like The Gathering, he doesn't come to demonstrate his superiority. He comes to learn. He asks questions. He takes notes. He experiments with new ideas. He treats every interaction as an opportunity to discover something he didn't know before.

This year's Gathering, October 4-5 in Folsom, California, continues this tradition. We're bringing together world-class practitioners you may never otherwise have the chance to meet, let alone train with. These are living libraries of martial arts knowledge. They're willing to share what they've learned over decades.

But here's the key: you'll only get out of it what you put into it. If you come with Dan's mindset, as a collector of knowledge rather than a defender of your current understanding, you'll leave transformed. If you come to prove what you already know rather than discover what you don't know, you'll miss the entire point.

The Practical Collector

Some people think studying everything means mastering nothing. That's not how real learning works. Dan didn't become a jack-of-all-trades and master of none. He became a master who understands the full spectrum of martial arts possibilities.

This broad knowledge makes him more effective in his specialty areas, not less. His understanding of blade work improves his empty-hand techniques. His knowledge of grappling informs his striking. His study of internal arts enhances his external power. Everything connects when you understand the underlying principles.

This is the difference between collecting techniques and collecting understanding. Anyone can memorize a hundred different ways to throw a punch. It takes wisdom to understand the principles that make any punch effective regardless of style or circumstance.

Dan chases process, not status. He's more interested in understanding how something works than in being recognized as the person who knows it. This keeps his ego out of the way and allows him to see things clearly.

The Student-Teacher

When Dan teaches, you can see his collector's mindset at work. He doesn't just show you what to do. He explains why it works, where it came from, how it connects to other principles, what variations might be more effective in different circumstances. His teaching is rich with context because his learning has been rich with exploration.

But even while teaching, he remains a student. I've seen him stop mid-demonstration to ask a question of someone in the class. I've watched him modify his technique based on feedback from a student who had a different perspective. He understands that teaching and learning aren't separate activities.

This is what made James Mitose tell me that "the student is a better teacher than the teacher." A true student maintains the curiosity and openness that allows for genuine discovery. A teacher who has stopped being a student becomes rigid and defensive, more concerned with protecting their reputation than expanding their understanding.

Dan managed to remain both student and teacher simultaneously throughout his career. This is what makes him so effective and influential. He has something valuable to share, but he's always ready to learn something new.

The Notebook Lesson

There's a simple lesson hidden in Dan's habit of taking notes: write things down. Not because you'll forget them, though you probably will, but because the act of writing forces you to process information differently than just watching or listening.

When you write something down, you have to translate what you've seen or heard into your own words. This translation reveals gaps in your understanding and forces you to think more carefully about what you're actually learning. The notebook becomes a tool for active learning rather than passive observation.

Dan's notebooks aren't just records of techniques. They're maps of his learning journey. They show him where he's been, what he's discovered, what questions he still needs to explore.

Most martial artists rely entirely on their memory and physical practice to retain what they've learned. This works fine for basic techniques, but it's inadequate for complex principles and subtle insights. Writing creates a bridge between physical experience and intellectual understanding that makes both more effective.

The Legacy of Learning

What impresses me most about Dan is that his influence extends far beyond his direct students. Because he's collected knowledge from so many sources and shared it so freely, he's become a bridge between different martial arts communities. Filipino masters who might never have interacted with Chinese teachers have found common ground through Dan's teaching. Traditional stylists have discovered value in modern innovations because Dan showed them the connections.

This is the real power of the collector's mindset: it creates synthesis rather than just accumulation. Dan doesn't just know a lot of different things. He understands how those different things relate to each other. This relational understanding is what allows him to innovate, adapt, and continue growing.

Training Like a Collector

So how do you develop this collector's mindset? Start by questioning your assumptions about what's worth learning. If you practice a striking art, study some grappling. If you're focused on self-defense, explore the philosophical aspects. If you're all about traditional forms, spend some time with modern applications.

Look for teachers who embody this learning spirit, not just technical expertise. Seek out people who ask good questions, not just those who have impressive answers. Pay attention to practitioners who are curious about your background rather than just eager to show you theirs.

When you encounter something new, resist the urge to immediately judge whether it's better or worse than what you already know. Instead, try to understand what it's trying to accomplish and how it goes about accomplishing it. Look for the principles behind the techniques.

Most importantly, keep a notebook. Record what you learn, but also record your questions, your failures, your insights. Track your journey so you can see how your understanding evolves.

The Gathering Opportunity

This October, you'll have the chance to train with masters who embody this collector's spirit. These aren't people who know one thing very well. They're people who understand how many things connect to create something greater than the sum of its parts.

Come ready to learn, not to prove. Bring your notebook. Ask questions. Try things that feel unfamiliar. Challenge your assumptions about what's possible.

Remember that these masters didn't become masters by limiting themselves to one perspective. They became masters by collecting understanding from everyone they encountered and synthesizing it into something uniquely their own.

The Gathering isn't just about preserving martial arts heritage, though that's important. It's about continuing the evolution of that heritage through the kind of cross-pollination that happens when collectors of knowledge come together to share what they've learned.

Dan Inosanto understood this from the beginning. He knew that martial arts grow stronger through connection, not isolation. He proved that sharing knowledge multiplies rather than diminishes its value. He demonstrated that the best teachers are always students.

That's the legacy we're carrying forward. That's the spirit we're preserving. That's the opportunity waiting for you in Folsom this October.

Come be a collector. Come be a student. Come discover what you didn't know you needed to learn.

Ready to embrace the collector's mindset? Join us October 4-5 in Folsom, California for The Gathering 2025. Meet and train with world-class practitioners, share knowledge, and immerse yourself in the living history of martial arts. Don't miss this rare opportunity to learn from masters who embody the spirit of continuous learning.

Register at: skski.net/