/ INSTRUCTORS

DANILO LAJOLO

FOUNDER

Danilo Rossi Lajolo di Cossano was born in Turin on December 6, 1974.

The lineage of the Rossi Lajolo di Cossano family belonged to the warrior aristocracy loyal to the Savoys, who granted them nobility in the 1600s and the title of Count by King Carlo Felice in 1829.

Records of family members, alternating between merchants and military, date back to 1155, when they were listed among the families that fought against Frederick Barbarossa during his first descent into Italy.

In heraldry, the coat of arms can be described as: silver with a red pale, accompanied by six green lizards, three on each side, one above the other. In Asti dialect, derived from French, the word “lajeul” means lizard. The motto of the Lajolo di Cossano is “fidus custos,” faithful guardians.

And Maestro Danilo is a guardian, the sole custodian of the heritage formed over the centuries by the traditional knife schools and martial arts of the people, prevalent in the Italian peninsula.

Evidence of this is the establishment of the Italian Committee for Stick Fencing and Associated Arts (CISB) in 2011, signed by all the major knife and stick masters, who honored Danilo with the title of Master of the Italian tradition, representing all schools.

The founding of CISB and the acquisition of the title are the first peaks of a journey that began in 1997 when he started traveling throughout Italy to study with masters of the tradition.

The second peak was reached in 2019 when the National Fencing Academy of Naples recognized the Lajolo System as the only system of short fencing. The Academy is the only Italian body authorized to issue titles for fencing instructors and masters, and in accordance with the royal decree of 1880, its titles hold a master’s value.

In 2019, the System instructors and Maestro Danilo, simultaneously with the examination at the National Academy of Naples, also gained access to the Academie d’Armes Internationale, the world organization of weapon masters.

He has taught his system in the United States, Mexico, Japan, France, Switzerland, Greece, Ukraine, Russia, Australia, Bulgaria, Spain.

As a researcher and scholar, owner of a library with over 4000 books, some of notable value for their rarity, he is also an expert in the history of criminal organizations and criminal tattoos.

Thanks to his knowledge in this field, the Cesare Lombroso Museum of Criminal Anthropology in Turin has awarded him a researcher’s certificate for his contribution to interpreting the use of objects by inmates in ancient prisons. The certificate was presented to him by the rector of the University of Turin.

In 2014, he published the book “On the cutting edge”, where he describes part of his life and his search for the Italian knife tradition. The book has been translated into English, French, and Russian.

He is currently working on his second book, dedicated to the history of Roman bullies.

Regarding the rest of his previous martial career, Maestro Danilo is also a Filipino kali master, an instructor in Pencak Silat and Jeet Kune Do.

He holds the international PPL license for general aviation, the PADI scuba diving certification, the bronze medal from the National Federation of Dynamic Sport Shooting, and is passionate about skydiving.

He trained personnel of the FSB, GRU, and Spetsnaz in Russia for 12 years, being the only Italian to train special units with edged weapons.

Many specialized operators around the world count themselves among his students.

He resides in Latisana, in Friuli Venezia Giulia, and travels worldwide from there to teach the system he created.