Bio for Mr. Moss

I was born on October 31, 1961 in Kansas City, Missouri. My family lived in Kansas City for 6 years, before moving to Inkster, Michigan. My dad was born in Michigan and wanted us to be near our grandparents. Inkster is a suburb of Detroit. My dad’s family worked in the concrete and masonry business. They specialized in home foundations; even at times building homes too.  My father was a minister in a local Baptist Church (Second Baptist Church), where he was Pastor of the Sunday school department and bus ministry. He also owned a taxi cab business and a local franchised restaurant. My mother worked as a medical secretary at a local hospital. Some of my family members (uncles and cousins) were involved with selling and transporting drugs. My father didn’t want his children in this type of environment, so he decided to move to Los Angeles, CA. in 1972.

In 1971, prior to moving to Los Angeles, Pastor E.V. Hill of Mount Zion Baptist Church visited our family in Inkster, Michigan. He heard of the great things that were happening at Second Baptist Church in Inkster. Over 3,000 people were attending Sunday school at Second Baptist Church, being bused from local communities. My dad oversaw this entire program, so Pastor Hill wanted my father to become the Executive Director of the World Christian Training Center in Los Angeles.

 

After moving to Los Angeles in 1972, my father worked full time in church ministry. He gave up the security of family in Michigan, successful businesses and financial security to live in California. As you may know, working as a full time minister in the early 1970’s was not financially rewarding. However, God blessed our family.

Through the years, we lived in very tough neighborhoods in Los Angeles, Inglewood, Long Beach, Lynwood and Compton.  Some of these areas were surrounded by gangs, “Crips, Bloods, Brims and Bounty Hunters”, just to name a few. I can remember many days fighting to get to school and fighting to get home. My brothers and I were always near dangerous situations. Again, God continued to watch over us throughout all of these tough times. Because of all the physical threats, I decided to get involved in Martial Arts while in middle school.

My Start in Martial Arts

I was a big fan of the movie star Bruce Lee, so I made some Kali Sticks and Nunchucks out of a broom handle. I didn’t really know how to use them, but they came in handy in a few early fights.  During middle school, I met a guy that was teaching B.K.F karate in the city park, his name was Mr. Williams. I started practicing with him twice a week. I worked with him for about 6 months.  After which, I went on to Shoto Kan Karate, for 2 years with a guy named Mr. Clarkson.

As young freshmen in high school, my friends and I that were involved with martial arts use to challenge each other all the time. It was just like in the kung fu movies.  We fought everywhere including the park, at school, in our garages and at home in our front yards.  Sometimes even until we drew blood, then we’d head to Chico’s Pizza in Lynwood, CA. to laugh and joke over Pepperoni Pizza. Through those early years, my friends and I developed our talents in martial arts. The local gang members and other school mates highly respected us and for the most part, didn’t bother us.

So who were the martial arts experts from the hood? I'll take a moment to name a few; Charles Owens, Benny and his brother, Juan Brown, Byron Jenkins, Leonard Walker, Kenny Bailey, Darryl Moore, Ralph Williams and Sammy Baxter, just to name a few. These were the guys who "Put it Down" in Compton and Lynwood back in the late 70's and early 80's! We even made a short motion picture during this time.

  

Teaching Martial Arts

I started teaching martial arts in one of the rooms at our local church. I passed out flyers at school and in the community. Over 20 people signed up to take lessons from me. My initial class became so popular; I eventually leased a 1500 square foot building in Lynwood. I only charged $30 a month per student. I wanted to make it affordable for anyone that was interested.  In two months, I had over 100 students. I opened a second school in Compton a few months later. After 4 years of teaching, I decided it was time to take some time off from the group teaching sessions and invest in additional training for myself.

I took classes in Aikido in Torrance, CA. with Master Lee Tea. Stayed with him for 2 years then studied Kung Fu at a school in the Chinatown area with 5 Animals Master Ark Wong. After 2 years there, Ark Wong died and his grandson Seming Ma took over the school. I worked out at a school called J.K.D Bruce Lee Style. Danny Inosanto was a teacher there. They specialized in sticks, boxing and ground techniques. I didn’t stay there, as I was looking for something unique.

I finally found Wing Chun Hawkins Cheung School in Culver City, CA. I go in and see pictures of many celebrities and found out he was a long- time friend of Bruce Lee. Some guy name Yip Man was their teacher. I didn’t know too much about this style; remember there was no Internet in 1985. The little guy “Hawkins” was simply awesome! I was so impressed with this “Wing Chun” style, I had to learn it. I practiced Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Even though I wasn’t’ teaching group lessons anymore, I still had many privates students. So as I learned Wing Chun, I started teaching this style to my private students. I became good friends with Phil Romero, one of the head teachers at the school. I took private Wing Chun lessons from Phil Romero. He currently has a school in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Off to the Inland Empire

Fast forward many years, I’m now in the Inland Empire.  I’m far away from the battles of city life, in Rancho Cucamonga, CA (about 50 miles east of Los Angeles). I opened a school in Upland, CA. I shared a training facility with my friends Dave and his brother Jerry, who were teaching Gracie Jujitsu. They use to train with the Gracie brothers in Torrance, CA. I had a chance to meet with some of the Gracie brothers who stated they always admired the Wing Chun system. After teaching there for 2 years, decided to only do private lessons from my home. I got married, had my first child and decided to take a break for a year. After my second child was born, I decided to teach privately again. Through the years, I’ve always continued to stop by the school in Culver City just to stay sharp in all my techniques. If I couldn’t get to the school, I would work out with other students from the school, at their homes.

In 2009, I met with Pastor John Miller of Calvary Chapel San Bernardino and shared my desire to teach group lessons again. He agreed and allowed me to teach Wing Chun classes at the church facility. In the first month, we signed up 45 people. It was a great blessing from God to allow me to teach and do what I do best.  In 2011, I moved the training from the church facility to my home training center. Currently, I’m focusing on small group sessions and private lessons.

I’ve received many awards and certificates. I’ve also fought in over 60 tournaments, winning 1st or 2nd place in most of these tournaments. Open combat tournaments were my tournaments of choice when I chose to fight. This gave me the opportunity to safely test my skills and techniques!