Dee Pooler grew up in rough neighborhoods in Oakland and Berkeley.  He found early on that he had to protect himself on the streets.  At the age of six, he met a janitor who worked with the Oakland Public Schools.  By night, this janitor was a Shoto Khan instructor who taught self-defense to the school teachers at the Oakland City Parks and Recreation Dept.  For a long time, young Dee only watched, helped clean up, and set-up the mats for the classes.   His hard work paid off and he was eventually given self-defense lessons for his work – an arrangement that was wholeheartedly supported by his mother, a single parent.   

Dee then started to study other martial arts, including boxing.  At the age of 12, he began practicing boxing at the Boys Club, participating in Thursday night smokers.  His first tournament was in 1972 at the Oakland Henry J. Kaiser Center.  Dee worked with key boxers in the Bay Area until he joined the Army.  In 1978 he started training and teaching Martial Arts and Boxing in the Army and didn’t stop until 1988.  His first boxing competition was the Brigade Boxing Championship in 1979, when he won his weight class of 156 pounds.  In 1980 he was stationed in Germany and won the German-American open tournament.  He also fought in many local boxing events.   

From 1987 on, Dee continued his training, working with well-respected trainers around the Bay Area, and continued to look for fights.  In 1990, he decided to train solo because he “could never find the right kind of trainer.”  When he decided to become a full-time trainer he ended up fighting as well until 2001.