SENSEI
Those who made the road before
Ralph Lindquist
Isshinryu lineage: Tatsuo Shimabukuro >
Harry G. Smith >
Ralph Lindquist
 Born January 1, 1929.
Ralph Lindquist received his first
exposure to Asian martial arts during self-defense training in the
Army. The Korean War was in progress and Lindquist volunteered for
duty with an Army reconnaissance company. Recon men must be highly
skilled in armed and unarmed personal combat, since their missions
often require them to operate alone, behind enemy lines. His
training in judo and jujitsu proved to be very useful and
interesting.
After the war, Mr. Lindquist spent two
years in Japan studying Nichiren Buddhism at the six hundred year
old Minobusan Temple, located about halfway between Kyoto and Tokyo.
He also pursued his study of Judo, eventually earning a brown belt
in that art.
Upon his return to the United States,
Mr. Lindquist found Harry G. Smith’s Isshinryu dojo in Harrisburg,
PA and switched his training to karate. When Mr. Smith opened a
second school in Pittsburgh, PA, Lindquist gradually assumed greater
teaching responsibility at the Harrisburg school and eventually
assumed the duties as chief instructor.
In 1963, Lindquist and other students
from both the Pittsburgh and Harrisburg schools traveled with Mr.
Smith to Canada to the first karate tournament ever held in that
country. The tournament was sponsored by Mas Tsuroka, Canada’s
foremost instructor of the time. Although still a brown belt, Mr.
Lindquist competed in the black belt division winning several hard
fought matches before being eliminated.
The very next day, he tested for his
black belt in front of Sensei Smith and Sensei Tsuroka, and was
promoted on the spot. As a black belt, Sensei Lindquist became known
as a very difficult opponent on the tournament circuit. He competed
in many well-known tournaments of the time including Robert Trias’
World Karate Tournament in Chicago and at the Southeastern Karate
Tournament, one of the largest competitions of that time.
Sensei Lindquist would have the
opportunity to train directly under Master Shimabuku in 1966 during
his Pittsburgh visit. He would go on to establish the Isshinryu
Karate Club of Pennsylvania, a not for profit organization whose
members drew greatly from the Harrisburg branch of the Smith school.
This organization continues to the present day with associated
schools throughout the country.
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