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Sensei Ruth Ann Shamblin, Roku Dan, began her training in 1979 under the instruction of Master J.C. Burris of Athens, Tennessee. Her study continued with Master Angi Uezu, first in 1987, in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and again in 1993 as Mrs. traveled to and trained in Okinawa. She is the long-time student of the late Master Allen Wheeler of Powell, Tennessee. Additionally, her Sport Jujitsu training was received under the tutelage of Tony Maynard and she owes her study of Tae Kwon Do to Mr. Ben Kiker.       Her competitive accomplishments as a kyu rank include a two-time championship in the Professional Karate Association Tournament Circuit for 1982 and 1983. After her promotion to Sho Dan in January of 1984, it was rare that she didn't receive a first or second place in all three categories of kobudo, kata, and kumite, culmination close to 400 trophies and awards as a result. Ruth Ann was awarded the women's overall grand champion for four years straight by the Tennessee Karate Circuit. Sensei Shamblin was recognized by Karate Illustrated magazine as one of the top ten women fighters in the Southeast United States from 1985-1990. Mrs. Shamblin traveled to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in 1990 as a competing member of the United States Sport Jujitsu team. From these World Championships, she brought home a silver medal for fighting and narrowly missed out by a single point on becoming the first American to win a gold medal in sport Jujitsu. In 1992, Sensei Shamblin was inducted into the World Martial Arts Hall of Fame as the Female Fighter of the Year. Her 1999 tour on the A.A.U. tournament circuit produced wins at the state and regional levels, as well as bronze medals in kumite and kobudo at A.A.U. Nationals held in Orlando, Florida.       Highlights beyond the ring include her participation in the Isshin-Ryu Karate Demonstration during the Restoration Festival of Shuri Castle in Shuri, Okinawa. She has the honor of being the first woman ever to receive the Isshin-Ryu Hall of Fame Karate Ka of the Year Award. Sensei Shamblin is the two-time recipient of the Okinawan Karate-Do Union's Outstanding Achievement Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as the highest honor bestowed upon any person by the O.K.U., the Master Shimabuku Award. She is one of only two women to be tested and promoted to the rank of Roku-Dan by the O.K.U. and is the first woman to hold a position on its Board of Directors. She is currently Secretary and Treasurer of the O.K.U.       Mrs. Shamblin began teaching at Cleveland State Community College in the summer of 1984 as an assistant instructor. She has been the co-owner of Shamblins' School Of Karate since 1990 and is currently in charge of the college program, offering six credit classes in Karate and Kickboxing per semester. She is the co-owner and manager of Westside Commons business complex and has been recognized with an Outstanding Womens Executive of the Year Award for her work as a business owner. She reaches out within her community by volunteering her time and efforts and is a regular contributor to several non-profit organizations.       Mrs. Shamblin is respected within her community and within her dojo and has developed a reputation for quality, family-oriented martial arts instruction. She is an innovator when it comes to program design and class curriculum for adults and children. She is constantly seeking new knowledge and new ways to present our art to her students so that they might also come to love Isshin-Ryu the way she does.       She sets the example for her senior-most students and instructors through her tireless patience and caring as she teaches, and this is summarized well in the following quote by Carl Jung: "An understanding heart is everything in a teacher, and cannot be esteemed highly enough. One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feeling. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child."       Her instructors receive hands-on experience in the classroom working with students of varying ages, abilities, and motivations. She gently guides them to teach the basics, but also inspires them to think critically and creatively. They are taught to pay attention to details and always remember that every person doesn't learn the same way, nor does every person train for the same reason. She is always there for her students, giving selflessly to each individual. From her one will learn the true Isshin-Ryu way, because it is not only what she passionately teaches, but it is also what she passionately lives. She personifies the virtues of strenght, compassion, loyalty, and integrity beyond all imagination. The fortunate ones get to call her "Sensei"; the even luckier ones get to call her "friend". William Arthur Ward explained it best when he wrote, "The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher deomstrates. The great teacher inspires." Sensei Ruth Ann Shamblin has and will continue to inspire more students than she can possibly know.

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