FEATURED INSTRUCTORS: JJ Morris and John "JD" Daniels

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This audio interview with JJ Morris and John Daniels is about 45 minutes long. Enjoy!

 

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this podcast interview are those of JJ Morris and John Daniels and do not necessarily reflect those of FMA Pulse. 


 

 

JJ Morris

We had the opportunity of interviewing JJ Morris and John "JD" Daniels, both instructors of FMA as well as other Martial Art disciplines. JJ Morris began his martial arts journey when he was just a child. His background in the Martial Arts include Modern Arnis, which he loved so much, he adopted it as the base for his Mixed Martial Arts style. He continues to teach his students today at his Asian Mixed Martial Arts school in Oregon. His other martial arts background include Bruce Lee's JKD, Parker's Kenpo, Muay Thai based from the old Muay Boran, Kenjitsu and Tae Kwon Do in which he competed nationally in NASKA and the Tiger Balm world Class A tournaments.


John "JD" Daniels

John "JD" Daniels also started in the martial arts at a young age. Because he used to get picked on by neighborhood gangs, his father urged him to take Karate lessons where he got hooked from the start. Since then, JD has moved on to study other disciplines which include Kendo, and various styles of FMA. His introduction to FMA was through Professor Leonard Trigg, whom he studied with for 8 years. Professor Trigg then exposed JD to Guro Ted Lucay Lucay and Grandmasters Ernesto and Robert Presas. In 1986, JD met Cliff Lenderman who introduced him to Guro Dan Inosanto. JD eventually made his way to become a certified instructor under Dan Inosanto.

Now what do JJ and JD have in common aside from teaching and having backgrounds in FMA? They are both professional stuntmen that currently work on the hit TNT show Leverage. As many of you may or may not have noticed, Filipino Martial Arts has been used as the main fight choreography for many of the blockbuster Hollywood movies in recent times. Movies such as the Bourne Trilogy, Repo Men, Book of Eli and Star Wars to name a few all utilized the Filipino Martial Arts in their fight sequences.

Listen now as we talk with JJ and JD about themselves, the stunt business, how they became professional stuntmen, working with stunt coordinator legend Kevin Jackson, why FMA works so well on screen and much more!

For more information, you can visit JD's website at www.danielscombativearts.com.

To learn more about the show "Leverage", visit: www.tnt.tv/series/leverage