St. Clair's Taekwondo Dojo in Ingleside: Free Classes, Tuesday Archery

St. Clair's School of Moo Duk Kwan TaeKwonDo works out of a modest storefront at 387 Ashton Avenue, just off Ocean Avenue in San Francisco's Ingleside, and it is one of the few dojangs in the city where a single grandmaster has been teaching under his own name since the early 1990s. The first lesson costs nothing: the school advertises free introductory classes for Little Tigers aged four to six and for beginners aged seven and up, booked by calling or texting the dojang.

Grandmaster Rick St. Clair started training at twelve, studying Moo Duk Kwan and taekwondo in San Mateo and San Francisco, and received his first black belt on May 21, 1981. According to an Ingleside Light profile from September 2023, he began teaching out of his garage, moved into a space in South San Francisco, brought the dojang into San Francisco in 1993 and relocated it to Ingleside in 2019. He now holds an 8th-degree belt in Moo Duk Kwan and taekwondo.

The school's homepage says he has taught more than 1,000 students, many of whom have stayed with him for over seventeen years, and that he has been inducted seven times into the Martial Arts Hall of Fame. The same Ingleside Light article notes that the studio won instructor of the year in 1999 from the United Martial Artist Association and school of the year in 2001 from the World Wide Martial Arts Hall of Fame.

St. Clair also went on to found an awards night of his own. In 2023 he partnered with his longtime friend Grandmaster Cynthia Rothrock, the martial arts film star, to launch the Golden Gate Hall of Honors, and photos on the school's site show Rothrock leading youth and adult seminars on the dojang floor, including a demonstration of her trademark scorpion kick.

Moo Duk Kwan is one of the original Korean kwan lineages, and St. Clair's leans on its traditional side. A student's first class is an introduction to the bow-in protocol, followed by the basic stances. Blocks, kicks and punches come next, and only after students are assessed on their abilities and commitment are they introduced to the full Moo Duk Kwan system, which the school describes as very physical, with sparring, ground engagement and stand-up fighting.

The tenets recited here are the classic five: courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit. The school also requires a dobok at every session, so the T-shirt-and-shorts phase ends quickly once you sign up. Two wall-mounted Punch King striking bags are the newest equipment in the room, used to drill accurate punching targets without straining wrists and shoulders.

The booking page lays out a compact week. Monday brings a youth beginner class for white and yellow belts aged seven to ten at 4:45 pm, forms at 5:30 and weapons at 6:15. Tuesday starts with Little Tigers, for ages four to six only, at 4:45, forms at 5:15 and then an hour of archery at 6:00, a rarity in any San Francisco martial arts school.

Wednesday mirrors Monday but swaps weapons for sparring from 6:15 to 7:00. Thursday has Little Tigers, forms and an advanced class for black belts at 6:00. Friday runs the youth beginner class and an adult forms session at 5:30 for students fifteen and older. Saturday morning is the busiest block, with Little Tigers at 9:00, an open-belt youth class at 9:30, sparring at 10:00 and an all-belts forms class at 10:45.

Call or text (415) 347-7797 to set up a free class, or use the school's online booking page. Adults should note that the dedicated adult slot is the Friday forms class, while older teens and adults also join the Saturday forms and sparring sessions. If you are new to martial arts, Saturday at 10:45 is the gentlest entry point, since every belt level trains together and beginners can follow the seniors.

Wear loose athletic clothes for the trial and expect to train barefoot. The first session focuses on bowing in correctly and holding stances, not on kicking hard, so it suits nervous kids and stiff adults alike. Ask about the student materials, a printed Moo Duk Kwan handbook the school shares online, which covers terminology and forms you will be expected to learn.

The front of the dojang doubles as a small pro shop selling uniforms, belts, training gear and school apparel, including Dragon Traditionz activewear. Posted prices are $25 for a short-sleeved school T-shirt, $30 for a long-sleeve T-shirt, $35 for a pullover hoodie and $40 for a zip hoodie. The shop counter is staffed Monday to Friday from 4 pm to 7 pm and Saturday from 9 am to 11:30 am, which lines up with class times.

Ashton Avenue runs south from Ocean Avenue, and the K Ingleside streetcar stops on Ocean a short walk away, linking the dojang to Balboa Park station for BART. After a Saturday session, walk a few blocks into Ingleside Terraces to see the giant concrete sundial on Entrada Court, a 1913 neighborhood landmark set in a small circular park.

For food, Ocean Avenue is lined with cheap and cheerful options, and Beep's Burgers, the retro drive-in with a rocket on its sign, has fed hungry students in this part of town for decades. Families with younger Little Tigers can head to Balboa Park for the playground and open lawns.

St. Clair's School of Moo Duk Kwan TaeKwonDo is at 387 Ashton Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94112. Phone (415) 347-7797 or (415) 665-8684. Classes run Monday to Saturday afternoons and Saturday mornings, with no Sunday sessions on the schedule. Free introductory classes are available for ages four and up; tuition is not published online. A dobok is required for regular training, and the school posts on Instagram as @stclairstaekwondo.