DENNIS MORELAND

WEST COUNTY WING CHUN

Dennis started martial arts in 1982 at the age of eight. He currently holds a 3rd degree Black Belt in Chinese Kenpo under Tim (T.O.) Toeniskoetter at the Martial Arts Center in St. Louis, Missouri. During his time with T.O., Dennis taught group and private lessons including the instruction of the military and the St. Louis Police Department.
 
Dennis has also achieved a 4th Degree Black Belt in Kodokan Judo under a well known private instructor in St. Louis, William Howard . With the knowledge obtained, Dennis taught children's, adult, and private Judo lessons at Centerline Martial Arts in Destin, Florida to broaden the scope of the Wing Chun-based school. It was at Centerline Martial Arts that Dennis found what he was looking for, Ip Ching Wing Chun. However, prior to teaching Wing Chun full time, Dennis had extensive exposure to many styles.
  
Dennis trained extensively in the Defensor Method of Kali/Escrima, Pekiti-Tirsia, Serrada Escrima, Balintawak Arnis, American Kenpo, Boxing,  Joe Lewis-free-fighting system and Aikido. He has had the honor of participating in seminars and training with some world's most notable martial artist; such as Ip Ching, Dan Inosanto, Joe Lewis, and  Jeff Speakman.

What cannot be understated are the qualities of his youth that drove him to exercise practical knowledge with tactile precision he learned in a Kwoon. There is a huge difference between being taught - or achieving belts and point fighting -  and actually exercising technique in real world scenarios, where adrenaline rushes and you default to what you know best. Dennis is a fighter...in the Dojo, Kwoon, or on the street. "On the street" is actually Dennis's forte, when all rules are scraped, training is combined, and no holds are barred. 
 
At the beginning of 2008, Dennis found his home training under Chris Damiano in Destin, Florida. Sifu Damiano, a direct student of Ip Ching, introduced Dennis to authentic Wing Chun. Dennis champions this style today in his own school, West County Wing Chun.  Dennis remains a faithful student of Chris Damiano and continues to train and learn privately. 

In March 2011, Dennis opened West County Wing Chun in Valley Park, which has been growing rapidly ever since.  He has a large Wing Chun following through group and private lessons and continues to grow his school day to day. His passion for the art shows in the strong Kung Fu family he is building at the school today. The focus on friendship, family, adult learning, and love of the art is evident in every class.

Dennis has gone on the teach seminars across the country. Including Missouri, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Illinois as well as Michigan.