Sigung Larry Hartsell came into Bruce Lee's school as a man already 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 Ed Parker. Shortly after receiving his black belt rank from Ed Parker, he spent time in the Army including combat in Vietnam, where he served with military police.
Sigung Larry Hartsell, already an accomplished Judo man, 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.
His training under Bruce Lee continued with Private instruction at Bruce Lee's home in Bel Air, California. Aside from training with Bruce, Sigung also studied the Filipino Martial Arts under Guro Dan.
It is well known to the students of Bruce Lee's 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 Sigung 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 Sigung Larry Hartsell has continued his research into this area with various techniques that now form the core of Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do Grappling.
Sigung Larry was the man Guro Dan Inosanto described as "One of the premier Jeet Kune Do fighters of our time." With the tremendous rise in the popularity of the grappling arts it became paramount to Sigung to demonstrate to martial artists the fact that Jeet Kune Do has had a strong emphasis on the grappling range for thirty years and that those thirty years produced an extensive development of the grappling arts.
Sigung Larry Hartsell passed away in August 2007 but he, just like Bruce Lee, continues to live in our hearts and he is still alive today, through his martial art; Jeet Kune Do grappling.
"The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering." - Bruce Lee
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