Last Updated October  26, 2001  10:13  pm mst
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Bio: Dennis Conatser

Dennis Conatser studied Judo in 1967 for a short period of
time but his formal martial arts training (American Kenpo)
began in August 1971, under the direction of Mr. Lonny
Coots in Tempe,Arizona.  He remained with Mr. Coots (start-
ed his studio in June1974) until he achieved his 1st Degree
Black on February 14th, 1976.  Mr. Coots then directed Mr.
Conatser to study with Mr.Gary L. Swan, President of the
National Chinese Kenpo KarateAssociation (NCKKA) in San
Antonio, Texas.  After a brief period of time (a little over 1
year), Mr. Conatser elected to study with  Mr. Steve
LaBounty, then Senior Advisor to the NCKKA and past
President and Founder.  This relationship lasted only a short
period of time, at which the opportunity arose to study
directly with the Founder of American Kenpo and Mr.
LaBounty's instructor, Mr. Edmund K. Parker in mid 1979.
Mr. Conatser then began studiesand became one of the very
few Kenpo instructors of the past  decade that studied direct-
ly with Mr. Parker, and being promoted to 3rd, 4th and in
September of 1987 to 5th Degree Black Belt, even staying
at his house as a guest.  This relationship continued until
Mr. Parker's  untimely passing in December 1990.
Mr. Conatser continues to be  active in teaching, researching,
developing, and exploring all aspects of American Kenpo.
Mr. Steve LaBounty recently, in September of 2001, promoted
Mr. Conatser to the rank of 6th Degree Black Belt.  While
studying the Art of Kenpo, Mr. Conatser has had vast
experience in many areas, to name a few: Competition,  Pro-
moting Events,   Teaching, Writing, Traveling all around the
United States,  England, & Australia with Mr. Parker and
interacting with severalother notable Black Belts such as
Steve LaBounty, Tom Kelly, Frank Trejo, Bob White, Skip
Hancock, John Sepulveda, Diane  Tanaka, Lee Wedlake, Huk
Planas, Craig McCoy, Joe Palanzo, Jeff  Speakman, Larry
Tatum, Paul Mills, Gary Swan, Ralph Castellanos, Gil Hibben,
Bryan Hawkins, Bob Liles, Mike Pick, Ron Chapel,  Harvey
Clarey, Tom Riskas, Tom Connor Sr. & Jr., Steve "Nasty"
Anderson, Ray Sua, Byong Yu, Joe Lewis, Mike Stone, Chuck
Norris, Bill Wallace, John Natividad, Pat Johnson,  Steve
Sanders,  Al Decascos, Eric Lee, Anthony Chan, Cynthia
Rothrock, James  Lew, Y.C.Wong, Paulie Zink, Ark Wong, Ted
Tabura, Benny Urquidez,Brendan Lai, Wally Jay, Robert Trias,
Tom Schlessinger, Robert  Haliberton, Roy Kurban, George
Chung, Roberta Trias Kelly and many, many  others.
Mr. Conatser has also trained many International and State
Champions proving his technique teaching methods are valid
to anyone that will devote time and effort into learning and
practicing the challenging and awesome art of American
Kenpo.
Having placed at the prestigious Long Beach Internationals
several times himself as well as being a 5 time Arizona
State Champion in  Forms, Breaking, and Sparring.   Mr.
Conatser has produced two of the States finest Karate
Tournaments: The Arizona State Open Karate Championships
and the Fiesta Bowl Karate Classic (now Fiesta Karate
Classic).Mr. Conatser now devotes much of his time to the
International KenpoKarate Organization, which he founded in
1991.  Like his teachershe is currently engaged in several
projects, and is currently writing several books on American
Kenpo and his experiences.  "To keep American Kenpo alive and
expanding is now my journey  and obligation .........
"He" would have wanted it that way"