Master Dennis “Bear” Kirby

Dennis Kirby was born in Flint, Michigan on September 29th 1951.  Dennis  was an active and curious  boy.  His family broke apart at the age of 5 and his mother moved the family to a small town is south east Missouri.  After two years the family moved again to Paramount, California.  Dennis was an average student in school, played sports with some success but was not a standout player.  By the time Dennis  was fifteen, physical confrontation with others became a regular occurrence.  The streets of Paramount were tough streets filled with racial overtones and criminal activities.  Dennis  started working when he was 13 to help support the family, and wandering the streets in the off hours.  There was always trouble available if you wanted to be involved and he often was as a  young man.  

When Dennis was eighteen years old his life was forever changed, he fell in love with a beautiful girl, named Kitty, from a neighboring town and when he was twenty Kitty and Dennis were married.  That same year another event altered his life forever.  Dennis Kirby walked into the Frank Woolsey Kung Fu Studio.  Because of his past street experience, Dennis recognized there was something extraordinary about this art.  It was not like the other martial arts he had seen, this art was REAL.  The effectiveness of the movements astonished Dennis and his career in Nam Pi Kung Fu started in  March of 1972 in the studio of Frank Woolsey in the city of Downey, California.  Dennis’ workout schedule was one of the most brutal of all the students.  His passion for the art drove him to workout 6 days a week, 4 to 6 hours per day.  He preferred working out with the more advanced practitioners because he could pick up extra techniques.  But the workouts came with a cost.  There were many times Dennis would go home bruised and battered from the grueling workouts.  But, after only a short time, he was given a moniker, “BEAR” .  This name was tagged on him because of his aggressive workout style and tenacious attitude toward application and practice if the Nam Pi Kung Fu art.  “Bear” became one of Frank Woolsey’s top students and Head Instructor of  the Woolsey school in Anaheim in 1974.

 In 1975, “Bear” left the Frank Woolsey school.  “Bear” opened the Nam Pi Kung Fu Studio in Anaheim and began studying with Grandmaster Chin Siu Dek, Frank Woolsey’s original instructor,  in the Grandmasters school in the city of El Monte, California.  “Bear” was amazed by the skill of Grandmaster Chin and studied with him twice weekly while operating his own kung fu school in Anaheim.  In 1978  “Bear” left California and moved to Kalispell, Montana. The distance between Montana and California did not stop “Bear” from continuing his instruction.  In 1979, he began making trips twice a year to southern California to study.  First, with the late Master Al Rubin, until his untimely death in 1987, and then with Master Ted Sias.  Both of these men were top master instructors  of Grandmaster Chin.  In 1986, after 14 years of workout and learning, Dennis “Bear” Kirby earned his Masters degree.  It was especially gratifying for “Bear” when Grandmaster Chin arrived personally to witness and participate in  the promotion and demonstration with Master Ted Sias.

 In 1979 ‘Bear” opened the Nam Pi Kung Fu Studio in Kalispell, Montana, which continues to this day as the oldest martial arts school in Montana.  He has turned out 5 Master Instructors, 12 Black Belts along with thousands of students at many levels of learning.  But it is not the number of students that Master Kirby is concerned with, it is the individual relationship with the student along with the instruction that is vital.  That is the reason he insists on making this site as personal as possible.  “Bear” wants to know  YOU.

Master Dennis “Bear” Kirby has been teaching the Nam Pi Kung Fu art for 28 years. That moniker “Bear” has held on for over 28 years, and his attitude for proper instruction has not altered over the years.  He has an exceptional grasp on the art and its applications.  He never tells a student, do it because I told you to do it, he believes that the creators of the Nam Pi Kung Fu art did not do anything without a reason.  If you are to perform the art correctly you must know the anatomical reasons why the techniques work. He believes this idea, which came to him during his prayer time,  is the most innovative idea for teaching the Nam Pi Kung Fu art ever.  His prayers are that you will allow us to assist you in learning an interesting and fun self defense art.

A word from “Bear”

“Hello, I hope you are enjoying the learning experience with the KungFuStudio.net.  Although I have had many physical confrontations, I do not subscribe to the theory that might makes right or fighting is the solution to any problem.  I believe you should defend yourself only when there is no other way to escape.  I believe we should all try to make ourselves better and live in peace when ever possible.  God has made us for a greater good, and I hope the confidence I received from Nam Pi Kung Fu will pass on to you, so you can accomplish your God given destiny.”
“Bear”