USSD Vancouver

09/25/2026

Confidence. Focus. The courage to keep trying.

Martial arts helps teens build skills they can carry into school, friendships, and everyday life. See how lessons from USSD Vancouver can make all the difference.

https://ussdvancouver.com/martial-arts-lessons-for-teens-building-skills-beyond-the-studio/

Does your tween get frustrated when something doesn’t come easily? Does your teenager want more independence but hesitates to try anything where they’ll feel

09/23/2026

Rehabilitation isn’t always about forcing your way forward. Sometimes it’s about learning how to move beautifully again.

Today’s work: Stature of the Crane.

This form mirrors the movement of the crane—the bird jumping, landing, shifting and moving with balance, precision and grace. It’s an elegant form, but that elegance requires control.

For me, that makes it particularly meaningful right now.

I’m continuing to rehabilitate my left arm after five broken bones, a severely dislocated elbow and surgery that left me with two plates. Every form gives me another opportunity to rebuild mobility, coordination, strength and confidence.

Last week was the Pinans. This week, I wanted to challenge the arm in a different way.

The crane doesn’t fight the way back with brute force.

It finds its balance…and moves.

🥋 Stature of the Crane

09/19/2026

Congratulations to Alfonzo for taking 2nd place in Sparring.
Proud of you kiddo.

09/08/2026

Week 2 of rebuilding.

After five broken bones in my left arm—including a radius that snapped off and required two plates during surgery—along with a severely dislocated elbow, I'm slowly working my way back.

Last week I filmed myself performing Four Pinan. It was the first real opportunity for me to see what my movement looked like after everything my arm had been through, and I was genuinely happy with it.

This week, I moved on to Five Pinan.

And it looks good.

There are still limitations. There’s still a lot of work ahead. I'm not interested in rushing the process or pretending I'm further along than I am.

But martial arts has been part of my life for a very long time, and there's something incredibly satisfying about using the forms I've practiced for years as milestones in the recovery.

Four Pinan last week.

Five Pinan this week.

One form, one movement, one week at a time.

The rebuild continues. 🥋



Interested in joining us on future martial arts and travel experiences?
Send me a message for information on upcoming trips.

09/06/2026

Oh how so many of them have grown 🥹🫶🏻🥋

09/05/2026

🌸 The Shaolin Way Through Change 🌸

Change is inevitable.

Seasons change. Circumstances change. The world around us changes—often without asking whether we are ready.

And yet, as humans, we thrive within the safety created by consistency.

Perhaps that is one of the quiet gifts of training.

🥋We return to the dojo.
🥋We return to our practice.
🥋We return to our breath.

Again and again.

Not because we can control what is happening around us, but because consistent practice teaches us how to find steadiness within ourselves when we cannot.

Outside the front door of our dojo is a beautiful field of wildflowers that we have been incredibly fortunate to watch bloom every season. Among them are these brilliant wild fuchsia orchids, bringing color and peace to a landscape that will inevitably change. This may be the last season we get to see them like this.

So before they disappear, we wanted to pause and honor them—and share them with our dojo family as an anchor for whatever changes may come.

☯️Pause.
☯️Breathe.
☯️Stay.

Our breath helps us stay.

And when we can stay—with ourselves, with the moment, with the discomfort of not knowing what comes next—we create enough space to choose how we respond.

That is part of living the Shaolin way.

The world around us will continue to change.

☯️🥋Our practice gives us somewhere within ourselves to return home to. 🥋☯️

09/03/2026

Apparently some habits never leave you. 😂

In the Marine Corps, Thursday meant one thing:

FIELD DAY.

Barracks cleaned. Floors scrubbed. Everything squared away.

Well… it’s Thursday, and apparently my brain still knows the schedule.

So here I am at the dojo—scrubbing, mopping, cleaning floors and getting everything squared away for the week.

Different building. Different uniform. Same Thursday. 😂🧹🥋

Somewhere, a Staff Sergeant would probably still find something I missed.

Happy Field Day, Marines. 🇺🇸

09/01/2026

Closed this Saturday

09/01/2026