These Arts are practiced by people of all ages.  Scott P. Phillips

teaches students from age 5 to 75.  But that does not mean these arts are for everyone.  Each of us has different needs.  We each have unique “appetites” for movement and stillness.  Try a class and find out if one of these dynamic and inspiring arts is a good match for you!

What Our Fans Are Saying:

“Scott is one of my dearest friends.  I trust and respect him deeply.  I have studied with him in the Taiji class at the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine and in his thrice-weekly Bagua class for the past three years.  I choose to study with him because he has more knowledge, insight, self-discipline, experience, integrity and genuine compassion than almost anyone I know.  What I have learned from him -- about martial arts, history, culture, politics, religion, and the human body -- is immeasurable.  What I appreciate most about him though is simply that he is a courageous, fair-minded, and authentic individual.”--Jennifer Barber

“Scott is a genius and a contrarian who really knows his stuff!” --Anonymous quote from ACTCM Student, teacher evaluation.

“How competent, clear and careful Scott is in his teaching.  He keeps the right pace and conveys his passion about Taijiquan....  He is a treasure!”--Anonymous quote from ACTCM Student, teacher evaluation.

Many of the martial arts practitioners I know have a ‘performance’ way of being and a more casual, daily kind of behavior. It appears that from his years of Daoist training Scott doesn’t just have one performance mode but rather can manifest several ways of being that are quite dramatically different from each other. It is impressive to see and has a real quality of credibility, as though he were enacting, rather than performing his martial art.

Scott also has a really nice group of students who brave the early hours and the cold San Francisco fog to train with him. It was a pleasure to meet such funny, devoted people.”--Daniel Mroz  (Professor of Theater at......)

“I enjoyed and learned the most from the explanations, descriptions, and adjustments made in class.  I found that my questions were not only answered but usually opened-up to reveal related questions and ideas.  Scott’s answers are direct when necessary but also revealing of the complexity and richness of Taijiquan, Chinese Medicine, and Chinese culture and beliefs in general.”  --Anonymous quote from ACTCM Student, teacher evaluation.

[The Northern Shaolin Residency]...was an excellent experience for all my students.  Kungfu dramatically improves my students’ ability to focus in all curriculum subjects....Scott is an outstanding teacher! --Lilly Chow, 5th Grade Teacher SFUSD

[The residency]...made me more aware of how kinesthetic development is very important in helping students learn more and stay more focussed....and my students enjoy his class very much!” --Ricardo A. Cortez, 4th Grade Teacher SFUSD

Mijin Lee’s Yelp Review

I started training in Bagua and Qi Gong with Scott about three to four years ago on sort of a whim.  Tim was consistently attending his 7am class three mornings a week, and I was impressed with how disciplined he was.  What could get him out of bed that early in the morning?  So I visited one morning out of curiosity, the night before having had a dream about the class.  In my dream a small group of martial artists were underneath a great big tree.  The teacher was an old Chinese man with a stern face, his students silent and disciplined doing their exercises with only the sound of the swish of their uniforms.  But then I saw for myself who Scott was and what his class was like. 

I love Scott!  He is quite a character.  A fan of horror films, an ex-skater of SF hills, teenage sailor, regular shopper of Civic Center farmers' market, tea educator, African dance major, teacher who doesn't order his kids to tie their shoelaces ("If he can function without tied shoelaces, then why should he have to tie them?"), master of pulsing and warming up cold hands, and the list goes on.  He has an opinion about everything and loves confrontation, so I think some people are rubbed the wrong way.  But I think he's funny and just tries to be honest.  I miss those days when I didn't have a car and he'd pick me up to carpool to the park.  He'd turn off NPR after ranting for a minute and then ask how my weekend was.  He's so laid back his students feel comfortable enough to talk about whatever comes up.  Morning warm-up while chatting is one of the many many perks of taking Scott's class.

I am not a martial artist- I don't think I could kung fu fight a mugger though I often daydream about it.  I take Scott's class for my health and self-defense.  I have learned how to attain warm hands in an atmosphere of chill and fog (without working up a sweat).  I have been learning how to twist and wrap my muscles, move my organs, work out the tension in my body, pulse my joints, walk properly, make myself soft, move internally.  So far, Scott's taught me five of the eight palm changes.  I am constantly learning every class from watching him, watching my classmates, and listening to his creative explanations of how to maneuver and readjust the body. 

Next week we're making a video about a pizza delivery guy who fights off ninjas.  And this summer we're going on a camping trip.  We do fun things and are a motley crew of low key individuals - come join us if you're interested in a martial arts scene that isn't stereotypical.