Dojo instructors

Ryan Hill – Godan (5th degree black belt). Ryan began his study of Shotokan Karate as a teenager and has practiced continuously for almost 40 years. He spent one year training at prestigious Waseda University in Tokyo, and regularly travels to California to practice with Sensei Tsutomu Ohshima, who was a direct student of Master Gichin Funakoshi. Ryan has traveled extensively to practice in Japan, Europe and throughout North America. Ryan was an assistant instructor at UBC for many years in the late 1980s and 1990s. He led a dojo while living in Montreal for several years, before returning to Vancouver in 2007. Ryan has instructed hundreds of students over the years, emphasizing not only the physical fitness and self-defense benefits of karate, but also the development of humility, self-discipline, and a strong mentality. Mr. Ohshima awarded Ryan the rank of Godan (the top rank in Canada Shotokan Karate) in 2014.

Ian Gan – Yodan (4th degree black belt).  Ian started Shotokan Karate at McGill University dojo in 1991 and joined the UBC Shotokan Karate Club in 1993. He moved to the United States for medical school and work, where he practiced for several years in Boston, leading the Boston Dojo and Seattle, where he helped lead the University of Washington Dojo.  He returned to UBC in 2017 and was awarded the rank of Yodan by Mr. Ohshima in 2019.  He has instructed hundreds of students over his 30 years of practice and looks forward to many more years of teaching.

Assistants – Several brown and black belts assist Ryan and Ian.