Spencer Gee
In the prime of his life, Spencer Gee is a martial and creative artist who is a true renaissance man of many talents, abilities and interests. These range from expertise in several forms of martial arts, through physical fitness and gymnastics, to the creative arts in the form of music and dance. A master of Pananandata (the Filipino art of weaponry), an expert in Kung fu, Wushu and Tai Chi (the Chinese arts of health, longevity and self defense), an exponent in Pankration (the martial art of all powers), a graduate in Capoeira and an avid enthusiast of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Mr. Gee performs in exhibitions, demonstrates in competitions and teaches at a leading local university. As a creative artist, Mr. Gee has taken First Place in regional and national dance competitions in Cha Cha, Bolero, Swing, Rhumba and Salsa.
Born in San Francisco, California on May 9, 1960, to a Chinese-American physician and his wife, Spencer attended the Anna Head Royce Preparatory School before attending the University of Southern California, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physical Education. Spencer’s father was a general practitioner who helped bring acupuncture to the West Coast during the 1970s and who espoused deep tissue massage therapy and stretching early on. However, having seen the focus of Western medicine as heavily dependent on drugs and surgery, Spencer sought physical excellence and wellness in alternative forms with a focus on martial arts, which is valued more highly than medicine in Chinese culture. Unlike others, Spencer has always tried to balance the combative nature of the various martial art forms with the sensitivity, beauty and constructiveness of music and dance. Using a combination of creative and martial arts, Spencer also focuses on the healing and therapeutic nature of holistic physical movement, nutrition, mental focus and spiritual attunement designed for the average layperson as well as for the professional athlete.
Spencer’s professional growth to the holistic athlete he is today developed throughout his life. While in high school, Spencer received a Certificate of Merit in Piano from the music Teachers Association of California. Not long after, he participated in the first United States Wushu Touring Team to visit China after the Cultural Revolution, a highlight of his youth. He received the Red Star Seal of Recognition and a Certificate with High Honors from the national Sports Commission of Jangtzu Province in Nanjing in 1981. Other Wushu awards include 3 Gold and 4 Silver Medals in weapons and empty-hand Wushu. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s Spencer gave demonstrations of Wushu and other Chinese and Philippine martial arts at such venues as L.A’s Shrine Auditorium, Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, Madison Square Garden, the Trump Casino in Atlantic City, and the Armory in New York City.
At the University of Southern California, Spencer received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physical Education with concentration in Motor Growth and Developmental Learning. After receiving his degree, he moved to the New York area, where martial arts are taught on a more functional and practical level different from the California focus on exercise and health.
More than twenty years ago, Spencer began studying Pananandata martial arts under Amante Marinas, Sr., Punung Guro (Grand Master), the pioneer of Philippine martial arts on the East Coast. Over the years, he achieved mastery of Yantok, Yantok at Daga, Balisong, Latiko, Tabak, Sibat and Hawakan to become the sole lineage holder and Master of Pananandata in 1996, as well as sword and blade master (Patalim) in 2000. In the Brazilian Martial Art of Capoeira, under Mestre Bom Jesus, Spencer learned the unique combinations of martial arts, singing and playing instruments required by this discipline. In December of 2010, he received his Blue Cord as Graduado Ninja. He also has a Blue Belt with White Stripe in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Professor Joey Scarrulla.
Professionally, Spencer has been a Fitness Consultant with Spencer Gee Wellness Corporation for more than thirty years. As a Fitness Consultant, Spencer teaches fitness, self defense, stress reduction and Wushu workouts to a celebrity clientele including John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Heinz Gundthardt and Roman Hamirlik, the former New York Islander. He has consulted for Lilco, taught Sinosports at private and public schools, given demonstrations at fitness clubs, taught tennis fundamentals and instructed Nautilus at spas and coached for various soccer leagues. As a fine arts drama and dance instructor, he has led workshops at the Eglevsky Ballet Camp, Music Theatre Works in Manhattan, Great Neck School of Dance, North Shore School of Dance and Two Worlds Dance and Fitness Center.
Spencer’s involvement in dance is extensive and continues to grow. He had key roles in the Viennese Waltz, Chinese Dance, and Party Scene of the Nutcracker Ballet produced by Dany Holstein’s Two World Dance Company at SUNY College at Old Westbury. In the Empire State Dance Sport Championship of 2005, Spencer received 1st Place in several categories including American Cha Cha, Bolero and Rhumba. That same year, he received 1st Place in the Rhumba Cha Cha, Swing, Bolero and Salsa in the Tri-State Challenge in Connecticut. In 2009 , Spencer received the Bronze International and America Cha Cha and Rhumba Exam with Honors from the US Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance. He also studies classical Spanish dance and Flamenco while continuing to develop his skills in Latin and Ballroom Dance.
Spencer is a well known teacher of his unique craft. In the 1900s, he was an Advisor in the Exploratory Center for Alternative Medicine in Stroke Rehabilitation at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation. He also served as a Clinical Instructor in Psychology the Gordon F. Derner Institute at Adelphi University . Spencer has been a Clinical Workshop Leader for several years at the East Coast Filipino Martial Arts Federation, and he is one of the twelve founding members of the Matawguro Association (matawguro_notebook@yahoo.com and www.matawguro.com). He also teaches Tai Chi in Adult Education in the Floral Park school district, the Wyndham condominiums in Garden City, and the Baybridge condominiums in Bayside.
More recently, Spencer has lectured on Tai Chi Chuan at Vanderbilt University and gave presentations on Martial Arts and Self Defense at Hofstra University, where he is currently an Adjunct Professor in Tai Chi Chuan, Martial Arts and Self Defense.
Spencer Gee’s reputation has been featured in numerous media, including martial arts magazines and books as well as on television and in local newspapers. For his full list of credits and achievements, the reader is referred to his curriculum vitae, available on his web site, www.spencergee.com.
