Community Corner

Couple Builds Community at Shaolin Studios in Regent Square

Local couple Lisa and Steve Nakamura are celebrating their seventh year of business in Regent Square as they also take on new life challenges together.

For Lisa and Steve Nakamura, the philosophy and practices of have become both a lifeline and a lifestyle.

The couple opened the studio seven years ago on South Braddock Avenue in Regent Square, building a community of friends and family based in Buddhist principles of nonviolence and respect.

“We were getting ready to sign a lease in Monroeville in a strip mall and this was right when opened ,” Lisa said. “We were at dinner there and walked past this property and we could see it was all offices, but when we measured it, we saw we could take everything down and it would be a good space. It’s just a completely different vibe here.”

Find out what's happening in Forest Hills-Regent Squarewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Years later, the Nakamura family has built a space where three year olds and up can learn different styles of martial arts to strengthen both body and mind. The couple studies under grandmaster Steve DeMasco, a relationship that started when Lisa was a teenager.

“We are also unique in that we are one of the few studios that is pretty much 50/50 male—female, which is very unique,” she said. “A lot of the martial arts schools are male dominated, but ours is really right down the middle, which was a dream I always had because I was always in the minority. It’s taken on a life of its own, I think.”

Find out what's happening in Forest Hills-Regent Squarewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

provides 18 classes a week with semi-private and private lessons as well. In addition, they teach women’s personal safety classes and go out into the community to teach at schools and corporations, including PPG, General Electric and others.

But the most important aspect of the business has been the community.

“We have so many people here from the local neighborhood—you can see kids walking home from class and we have adults who walk here,” Steve said.

Shaolin Studios also has a high retention rate on all levels—the instructors that started there seven years ago have stayed since.

For both children and adults, Shaolin Studios focuses on several key rules, including discipline, self-control, honesty, respect and patience. The practice is transformative, especially for children who come in with special needs or are on the autistic spectrum.

“When they can stand still for two minutes, that is something they have never been able to do before, along with remembering the things we have talked about with forms and self defense moves,” Steve said. “That is just a really good feeling.”

For adults, the values developed and learned at Shaolin Studios are just as important. In 2008 and 2009 as the economy took a turn for the worse, Lisa said they braced for a drop in enrollment. But instead, it went up considerably.

“We had some people with kids who came and said they couldn’t afford it and we said just bring them and keep them going, but our adult enrollment has gone up and stayed up,” she said. “I think it’s a combination of two things—it’s a good workout, and if you look at the back of the room and move up in rank, there is a change in body and overall health.”

Rich friendships and community are at the core of Shaolin Studios and everything they do, the couple agreed.

“There’s been a lot of support when people have health issues and they cook for each other,” Lisa said. “It’s physical, they are learning something but it’s also spiritual and self confidence building.”

Lisa, who recently was diagnosed with breast cancer, said she is now experiencing the healing power of support that the Shaolin community offers.

“I started chemo and the energy I am getting here right now with support from the students is the best healing medicine for me,” Lisa said. “Part of it is the discipline that every day I am going to make myself get up and do something—some sort of exercise—but when we are in here and working out, it’s just amazing energy.”

For Steve, starting Shaolin Studios has been a major life change from being a banker to building community.

“Even though I may work until 8 p.m. some nights, I don’t bring it home with me,” he said. “I don’t have to think about it. I have the best job in the world. I get to wear a uniform that feels like a pajama, and feel good about helping people from little kids to grandparents. They thank us all the time for making their lives better and I never got that as a banking professional.”

Lisa encourages people who might be curious to try a class.

“Everyone’s journey is different,” she said. “Nobody goes through it the same way and it’s very personal.”

For more information and for a class schedule, click here.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Forest Hills-Regent Square