Kip began his martial arts study in 1977 while living in Tokyo, Japan. He studied Ninten Ryu and Kyokoshin karate with Master Koki Narushima. Shortly after receiving his black belt instructor rating, Kip returned to Southern California and began teaching karate.
Upon relocating to the San Diego area, Kip initiated his study of Yang Style Taiji in 1983 with Abraham Liu, one of Cheng Man-Ching's senior students in Taiwan and China. Kip has competed successfully at several national tournaments. In 1994, he won first place in forms competition at UC Berkeley and later won a gold medal in Push-hands at the U.S. National Chinese Martial Arts Competition in Orlando, FL.